Relationship

What started as check-ins witty banter deepened into more personal exchanges with Cassandra. They discovered shared interests in certain types of music (she introduced him to some underground Nigerian alté artists he hadn't heard before), debated Nollywood movies versus Hollywood blockbusters, and discussed their views on life at some point. She had a sharp sense of humor that matched his own. The flirting became more overt, less reliant on emojis, woven directly into their messages.

Cassandra: Finished that project finally. Brain is fried. Need distraction.

Dat_yung_boi(You): Suffering from success? 😉 What kind of distraction are we talking about?

Cassandra: The kind that involves good food and not thinking about the effect of pollution on the ecology for 5 minutes.

Dat_yung_boi(You): I might know a place. Or... my place. But hear me out! has a decent kitchen and a very comfortable couch? Just saying.

Cassandra: Bold. I like it. So when can I come to this magical place, Mr. Trader?

He invited her over one morning the following week, when his mom traveled and Elizabeth was still in school.

Daniel opened the door for her, slightly dazzled when he saw her.

She wore a peach crop-top that showed her flat belly, on top of a mini skirt that showed her long legs and fair skin. He shoulder length hair was packed up, highlighting her almost glowing face.

"No hello?" She waved her hand in front of his eyes exasperatedly.

"Oh." Daniel facepalmed. "Where are my manners? Hello, please come in."

He moved to the side to give her way.

"Wow. Your house is… really nice." Cassandra commented when she came in.

Her parents' house matched this, but that was rented, and she already knew that he bought this. Not to mention Daniel hired very good interior designers.

He took her on a small tour, and her yes were almost literally shining when she saw the PC setup in his room.

"You also game?" Daniel commented when he saw her expression.

"Yeah I do. Unfortunately all I have is one Monitor. This kind of setup is literally my dream." She replied honestly.

Daniel nodded and didn't say much. Who knows what he was thinking.

After the tour, he made some popcorn, and put on a movie on Netflix. They gradually became silent as the movie progressed, with only the silent crunching of popcorn being heard.

"I'm a bit cold." Cassandra commented, rubbing her elbows, and Daniel looked over.

'Is it finally here? My destiny?' He thought jokingly, quickly cleansing his mind to avoid having a 'reaction' at the thought, considering that she might actually be cold because the A/C was on.

"Hold on."

He went to his room and picked a big enough blanket, coming back with it and handing it over to her. However as he sat down, she handed him the other end of it.

Daniel looked at her, and back at the blanket, but took it without much change in his expression.

As the movie went on, he found himself putting an arm over her shoulder through the sofa, and before he knew it, she was in his embrace, hot breath tickling his neck.

"Daniel" She whispered.

She looked up at Daniel and bit her lips eyes glazing over. As their eyes met, Daniel didn't waste a moment before he kissed her.

'Hmm. Tastes like strawberries.'

They only separated when she was out of breath.

As she looked in his eyes again, she smiled naughtily before going under the blanket.

"Hmm." Daniel inevitably let out a moan as she worked diligently, almost unable to hold himself back. In less than two minutes…

He let out a groan, and his body shook slightly. Cassandra emerged victorious from under the blanket, wiping some white from the corner of her lips.

As she was about to take off her clothes and get down to the main deal though, Daniel hurriedly stopped her.

Cassandra was confused. "Is there a problem?"

He was helpless. There was a problem. A big one.

He was still a minor!

He literally just turned Seventeen a week ago.

But of course, he didn't want her to know that, so he casually gave her an excuse.

"Maybe... let's not do that for now." Cassandra looked into his eyes and nodded, settling back into his embrace as he traced his hands over her body.

The movie credits rolled through the screen.

"Definitely not just neighbors anymore." She whispered with a smile.

Daniel grinned, landing another kiss on her neck. "Wasn't really planning on staying just neighbors."

Yep. He finally had a Girlfriend.

…

This new relationship didn't slow his financial engine. Rocket Funds was exploding. The tiered referral system was a massive success. The user count shot past 500, then 600. New users poured in daily, driven by the enthusiastic testimonials and recruitment efforts of the existing base.

His daily MH income attributed to RF consistently exceeded half a million Naira, sometimes pushing towards N700k on active trading days, on top of his own direct MH activity. His total MH balance climbed aggressively past N30 million.

With this influx, he decided it was time for another round of family upgrades, solidifying their comfort and subtly reflecting his own rising status. Elizabeth had been dropping increasingly unsubtle hints about wanting a phone upgrade, often 'borrowing' his 15 Pro Max to take pictures.

He surprised her one weekend by ordering her the iPhone 14 Pro – a significant step up from her XR, better than the phone he himself had only recently stopped using. Her delighted squeals echoed through the Wuse II house as she unboxed it.

For his mother, he went even further. He knew she appreciated the Samsung A54, but he wanted her to have something truly top-tier. He ordered the newly released Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, Samsung's absolute flagship, known for its massive screen, powerful camera, and integrated S Pen. He paid the N1.5 million price tag without blinking.

Presenting it to her felt good.

Maybe this was one of the things that made him consistently try harder. This warm feeling inside.