Thread by @thesegunadeleke

Femi hails from Oshuka Village, somewhere in Abeokuta.

He came to OAU to study mechanical engineering with the hope of being able to help himself.

According to what Femi informed me, he is a huge fan of automobiles.

He claimed to have assisted his father in his repair shop when he was alive.

That was it. I left my Hostel in Maintenance around 9.30 p.m. to get something from the Country kitchen.

This is something I always do.

This is something I always do. I told my flatmate I'd be right back, like I had a speed or something.

I walked into the Country kitchen and noticed a guy staring at me.

I assumed it was the slippers I was wearing.

I didn't give a damn because it was late, and I was wondering why my slippers were so important at this hour.

He came up to me and asked whether I knew Lara. Why was he asking? I said yes.

Men sha, I realized it was only a way to communicate with me.

He got my contact and that was another hit. We started chatting, from afternoon "Hi's" to evening "Take care of yourself" messages.

I hadn't seen him in weeks, since the previous time we met at Country Kitchen, I didn't bother to look for him.

I came to OAU to study.
It was completely unnecessary. I am a very focused individual and I do not have time for all of those activities.

One afternoon, Femi sent a message on WhatsApp "Should we plan to meet at Motion Ground after your class?"

It was somehow. For me, seeing Femi again was stressful.

What did we want to talk about in person that we couldn't say over the phone?
Nevertheless, I agreed. It was motion ground. No where else.

I started liking Femi, you could tell.

Femi was honest. Femi loved everything about me. He made me feel special but I just had a thing with him, this village thing.

He wasn't so good at taking pictures of me. He could not even stay behind the Camera.

Every single time, he had one excuse or the other. I wondered why?
"Is the camera going to swallow you?", I had to ask one day.

But I liked him. I didn't tell him. I wasn't sure I wanted anything to do with him.

Mayowa had broken my heart, and I was fighting it. It was a very sad situation.

Every time I see Mayowa in class, I wish we could hold hands.

It was hard. Mayowa, on the other hand, did not feel the same way about me. I tried numerous times, but it didn't work anymore.

Sigh. It was really difficult trying to also like Femi and his village attitude.

Femi liked me too. He was hoping to get something out of our several hangouts , following me to take my classes and joining me at Fellowship on Fridays.

After one of our regular Sunday evening outings, Femi asked me directly, will you be my girlfriend?

I was not in shock. I wasn't surprised. I wasn't happy. I hissed. I was angry and packed my bags to leave.

He didn't let me. He apologized and said it was all a prank.

To be honest, I preferred the lie. I wasn't going to embarrass myself in front of Femi. Never.

I mean, Why would he ask me to be his girlfriend just like that? We never had any conversation about this coming up ?

This is why I like Mayowa.

Femi is just a village boy.

I've been with Femi for almost 6 months and he hasn't tried to kiss me, touch me, or do anything with me.

We are both Christians, and I am aware that there are limits. I'm also a fellowship executive, so I wasn't searching for anything to stain my white.

However, the relationship was becoming Boring. This Village boy doesn't know anything. His actions annoy me and make me laugh at the same time.

This time, we're celebrating our six-month anniversary. I'm going to try to press my lips on his and see how he reacts.

We were meant to meet at Motion Ground, but I couldn't imagine touching his lips in such an open space.

So I thought to myself, "Why don't I invite him over to my Hostel in maintenance?" That's exactly what I did.

I sprayed the room with one of my favorite body sprays.

Don't you do that too? I wanted him to be able to smell me the entire time he was in my room.

After a few minutes with Femi in the room, he said, "I've never kissed a woman in my life, but I'd like to try it with you."

Wait!
What?

I am actually dealing with a real village boy. I mean, didn't we all do the secondary school mummy and daddy?

So I promised him that we would take it slowly. This is something a man tells a woman in a movie, but this is my own reality.

**********
My final exams were approaching, so I called Femi to schedule an appointment. We needed to stay in touch while also focusing on our schoolwork.
So we agreed to meet every Saturday afternoon until evening, which is ideal for me.

There came this Tuesday afternoon.

I was in Femi's room. Maintenance has done their thing again, No light and water anywhere.

I told Femi I didn't need us to kiss today since I was ovulating, but that was a lie. It was just what my body required at the time.

It happened, and we kissed, but I was furious.

I was angry because I wish these things could just happen without causing me any mental turbulence. I saw Mayowa. Mayowa seemed to be the one who was holding me. I can't seem to take this boy from my mind.

I stood up and called my friend, Faith.

I went to Faith's room and told her that I was ending my relationship with Femi.

Was there anything that happened? Was there anything that you don't like? Did he cause you any harm? Faith asked.

My responses were all negative. It felt small.

Mayowa continues to hold a special place in my heart. I don't see Femi. I don't.

This is really driving me crazy. Faith wondered how Mayowa came into this story again.

"I thought you had gotten over this Mayowa, Sola?" Faith asked.

Yes, I was supposed to, but we met at Awo Cafe and....
And you kissed? Faith screamed, putting her hands on her head.

"Is kissing really your problem? Or what exactly is your problem?

Stop acting like someone who doesn't have any sexual control, Sola", she said as she packed her bags and left for fellowship.

What did you expect? I can't go to fellowship. I can't. I just want to lay in bed and sulk till I doze off.

********
"Please, Sola, speak to me. Please accept my apologies for that day. I'm not sure where I went wrong".

This was the SMS I received on a Monday morning.

It was the week of my exams. I didn't require any further distractions.

I had informed Femi that our relationship had come to an end.

I want to be alone.

Femi sent me Voice notes. Femi sent me emails. Femi sent my friends to me.

I was worried but there was nothing I could do.

I can't be with Femi. It's Mayowa I really want to be with.

Mayowa does it differently. There is this thing about Mayowa. It's just different.

It was stupid to Faith's hearing.

I know it doesn't make any sense. It was why I see no reason being with Femi either. I just want to be alone.

Why do people think it's so simple to ignore Femi's undying love for me?

******
It's been 25 days since the breakup and Femi texts me everyday.

I am going to block this boy today, I said to myself.

I had changed his contact from Babe to Femi the Village boy.

#gistlover

I clicked the blocked button and a tear dropped. This wasn't an easy thing to do.

It was just few minutes after I had blocked him, Femi sent a message on WhatsApp and it reads
"Sola, this is the last time I will be texting, I love you."

#gistlover

But the message couldn't be delivered.

I dropped my phone after blocking him and said to myself

"Now, I can clearly face my exams".

<<<THE END>>>

Written by Tolulope Oguntayo {@Tee_extra_}

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