I continued like this till I got to
the University and met Bimbo. He was my course mate and the class governor. Of
course, we didn’t start off as friends…I used to see him as egoistic and
appallingly arrogant…like the position got into his head and made him feel like
he was a tad higher, in status, than other students.
The day he crossed my path, because
of an assignment that was due, I lashed out and gave him a, strongly-worded, piece
of my mind. To my surprise, he didn’t say a word…he was as shocked as other members
of our class that were present. I remember someone saying jokingly “Kí la gbé,
kí lẹ jù” (that’s overkill). I could care less what anyone thought; as far as I
was concerned, I had set a boundary that no guy in the class should ever
cross…I used Bimbo to send the message home.
About a month later, I took ill…it
was typhoid fever and I had to spend a couple of days at the health center. I
had just been discharged and was resting when someone knocked at my door.
It
was Bimbo...
I was too tired to frown or even put up an attitude and it was
obvious he had rehearsed the scene.
He quickly told me how he found out
where I lived and why he came.
He had noticed I was not in school
for two days, which was strange and we had a test scheduled for the next day.
He knew I could not afford to miss it because the lecturer was known for his
strict “no make-up test” policy. The lecturer already warned us, during his first
class, that if anyone missed his test there was no way they could pass his
course.
Bimbo also had some photocopied
pages for me…the lecturer had given some tutorial questions to the class and
they figured his test questions would come from them. Bimbo also brought the
answers they got when the whole class worked on the questions, so I could study
them.
I didn’t know how to thank him…he
broke through all the defenses that I had spent years building, with a singular
act of kindness. The fact that he didn’t have to do it made it more meaningful,
especially going by how I had treated him in the past.
That was how we became very good
friends…we were so close that he even visited me at home at the end of that
semester. It was a big surprise, I never gave him my home address either…I was running
errands for Aunty Titi, got back and met Bimbo in the sitting room, drinking from a
bottle of Coca Cola. I was surprised alright but at the same time happy to see him…as hard as I pressured
him; he never disclosed how he got my address.
Uncle Taiwo found it hard to believe
when he returned and was told that a boy visited me.
I remember him teasing me
“So a man can actually get through to you?
Tell
that boy he has a future in either marketing or as a mediator with United
Nations.
He must have been a lion tamer in one of his earlier lives”.
I had come to see and know a
different side of Bimbo...very caring, thoughtful, gentle, kind and smart. I
knew I was falling for him…however, he never really asked me out. It was like a
relationship that we never defined. The weird thing was that Bimbo never made a
move on me, which made me appreciate him more.
When it happened, I kind of
orchestrated it. Bimbo came to my hostel for tutorials…it was a few weeks to
our second semester exams and I was struggling with a particular course.
Mathematics was never my thing but Bimbo wasn’t only good at it, he knew how to
explain it to Math-dumb students like me.
He was sitting on my bed and
explaining the steps to solving one of the problems…I sat next to him and
leaned in.
I knew I was “brushing” him but I acted like it was nothing…after
all, he was my unofficial boyfriend. He was uncomfortable at first or maybe he
was trying to understand what was happening as well or maybe the fact that I didn’t
seem to care gave him the courage.
The Math problem that had been
giving me nightmares…explained and understood in 15 minutes? Wow!
I gave Bimbo a full-body hug and
pecked him on the cheek…he looked at me, grinned and tried to return my peck
but I moved my face and met his lips with mine. It was intense and a new, yet
wonderful, experience all over my body.
The kiss must have been on for about 2
or 3 minutes…I didn’t want it to stop. I moved in closer and literally merged
my body with his as I was wriggling with passion.
Bimbo started to fidget around my
bosom…I could tell he wanted to touch but wasn’t sure what my reaction would
be. So I guided his hands till they were positioned accordingly. That was all I
remembered until we got to the point where I knew it was too late to turn back
“Wait, wait…it’s my first time” I managed to say as I withdrew a
little and pulled my blanket to cover up. I had no idea I was that naked.
“I’ll be gentle” Bimbo responded as he reached for his wallet and
brought out a condom.
I was confused and wondered why he
had a condom handy…he quickly added that condoms were distributed, earlier, on
campus as part of the ongoing Nigerian
Medical Students' Association Week activities.
“They had a lecture on HIV and insisted that everyone should take them
(the condoms)…including girls. If you were at LT1, you would have been given as
well”
The explanation made sense to me so
we got back to business and that was how I lost my virginity to Bimbo. I had
heard stories of girls that cried afterwards…I didn’t. Somehow, I wanted it to
happen…I felt good about it and although it was very awkward at the beginning,
I was never really sad.
We slept together about three more times;
one was even at his hostel. Somehow, we didn’t talk about what we were doing; I
didn’t see a reason for it.
Must it have a label for us to know what it is?
We
had signed the deal…the feeling was mutual, the chemistry was there, the sex
was passionate (except for the first time) and I was in love…after all, actions
speak louder than words.
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