THE TAPE

The door swung open with force and the silhouette of a man could be seen in the partial light. The shadow of Mr Mdnase fondled the wall until it found the switch of the bulb.

He turned the light on and saw me about a meter and a half in front of him.

"What happened? Why were the lights off ? ", he asked.

" The lights tripped", I said lowly.

H must have turned the lights back on and reset the security settings. He was a lifesaver.

" Are you sure you are okay ? ", He asked.

I nodded in agreement. I had no idea as to where H disappeared into after turning the light on. This somewhat frightened me. I didn't want both men bumping into each other. Far worse, in the other's house.

" You look so beautiful tonight", He said as he began to walk towards me.

I let him come around me for a hug despite still having H's scent. He immediately began to assault my neck with kisses and moan lightly.

"You smell so good ma", he said in an aroused tone.

He only called me ma when he wanted to eat me out. I was purely disgusted and irritated by the thought of it. I was pretending to enjoy this when I saw H come by the glass door furiously looking at us.

I saw the wrath and rage in his eyes that he couldn't express at this moment. He stood there for a second or more and turned to leave.

With Katlego intensely fondling me, I became irritated. I slowly resisted him until he noticed it. I stared into his eyes and honestly spoke.

"I have a bad headache", I excused myself.

He hugged me tightly and kissed my forehead. My mind is still stuck on the moment I earlier on had with H.

"What is in your hand ?", he curiously asked as I began to walk away.

I too did not know what it was. I opened my hand allowing both of us to have visual access to the material.

It was a box of the morning-after pill. Something I needed.

"You don't want my babies no more, right ? ", he jokingly said.

I laughed first and he followed. Who would have thought I would never want to have his kids again? Not even me.

H seemed to have tabs on me. It looks like he knew whenever Kat and I met. This was somewhat embarrassing, but yet again, H was a lifesaver.

There was just something about him. There was something toxic that attracted me to him. I don't know how he did it but I liked it. He was consistent with it around me.

I took off the heels and carried them in my hands to the bedroom. I needed to shower even though I didn't want to. I still wanted to have his scent all over me.

Strawberry ice cream and sweat.

It was time I did my hygiene. I stood before the mirror and I met me. I couldn't recognize myself. I was entirely yearning for a thug. And that alone gave me butterflies.

Ashamed, I looked down and opened the box of the morning-after pill. I took the pill with the help of the saliva in my mouth.

Just as I was about to dispose of the box, I saw the corner of a pink paper peeking.

I hurriedly locked the bathroom door and drew the curtain over the small window the room had. I slid two fingers into the box. Gliding my fingers out by the upper surface of the box, I exposed a pink paper.

He loved sneaky notes. His love language maybe? I opened the paper silently and read it with so much joy. It said:

Tomorrow. Highland Avenue Plot No. 1335. 6 pm.

It was an address. Maybe for a date. Maybe where he lived. I wasn't sure. But the thought of him being so sure that I'd show up was a turn-on. It's like he knew I was yearning for him. He could read minds, if not, he could read mine.

I remembered there was another note he stuffed between my breasts. I quickly pulled it out and silently read it. It read:

Hezekiah Mumba. 25th June. 34 years old.

He gave me a few details about himself. Was this a way of showing little or no interest? In my own opinion, He was interested in this whole resistance game.

He wanted me to want him but not as much as he wanted me and not as much as I wanted him. It was pretentious. We inwardly knew how we felt for one another. We both adored one another so much even though none of us verbally said it.

Our physical touch and closeness said a lot. The way he always looked at me and explained things when he shouldn't. The little he said when he could. It was glorious.

I memorized the details of both notes before I chewed them into a ball altogether. I spat their remains and flushed them down the toilet. I had the information I needed right in my temple.

I quickly did my hygiene humming to amazing grace. I was at peace. I couldn't wait for the next day to arrive. I was eager to meet this man again. This time, intentionally.

I stepped out of the shower so happy. I continued humming to amazing grace, I was lost in my world and happiness. I didn't even pick it up when Mr Mdnase came into the room.

"Care to explain ?", he finally said raising a CD in his left hand.

He must have been there for a while watching me stack naked applying lotion to my legs.

He had these silly manners of invading my privacy. They started after we had Tristan, he felt like he knew everything and anything about me.

He went through my bag and he found exactly what he was supposed to find. H's plan seemed to be going on perfectly.

I quickly shrieked and covered my body with the towel that innocently lay bundled up on the bed.

"Something happened in the morning ... You didn't give me chance to explain ", I said putting much effort into sounding vulnerable and hurt.

" I had to get an extract of the footage from the store", I said still looking to the ground.

I know he saw the badge. It was less of importance since it wasn't in active service anymore. If it was, he would have carried it along and asked about it too.

He said nothing, yet. Walking over to the table in our room, he turned the laptop on.

H's plan was going as expected. He needed Katlego to see the footage. Then what would come next?

I could only guess. Was he trying to tease him ? or get on his nerve. I was lost in thought trying to calculate what H was up to that I didn't recognize Kat's presence in my front.

"Why didn't you tell me what happened?" he said, pulling me into a hug. I hugged him back just to match the energy.

"If this guy almost shot you, why did he send you flowers?", he asked in a very surprised tone.

He was back at asking the same questions I had earlier on asked myself. I had answered this time around. But I couldn't share with them with Mr Mdnase. I did not respond instead I just hugged him tighter to make him understand that I was confused. But deep down, I was hiding a dirty little secret. I desired H.

Katlego watched the footage over and over again while still caressing me. This time he relaxed and I was lightly in his arms. He looked upset and irritated. He realized I wasn't sleeping around or anything. He was just insecure. He didn't want to be with me but he wasn't letting go.

The idea that someone would want me immediately after his rejection seemed to trigger him a lot more than expected. According to my atmospheric reading, he still wanted to have access to me despite the breakup.

It was the sex. Kat loved good steamy sex. He always said nobody ever satisfied him to the maximum as I did. He said I had the most beautiful body he had ever seen both on men and women. It was weird he used both genders to compare. But don't get it wrong, His sexual orientation was entirely straight.

He didn't want me to move on pretty soon. I know he saw the connection I had with H over the footage. But again, he saw it was uncalled and unplanned. He knew I didn't know the man.

I finally managed to pull away from his caress. My excuse was, I was getting cold and I needed to cover up. I quickly finished applying lotion and fully dressed up.

"I have a few calls to make. I have connections. He won't get away with it. Nobody messes with what's mine. Not when I'm alive.", He finally said after he watched the footage over fifty times.

He sent out the footage to whomever he knew and I heard him make some calls. I heard him say things like ' Search the photo, run tabs on him, send me what you find, find out who his dearest friends or relatives are, is he married? where does he live? has he been to school ?'.

I couldn't say a thing but listen closely. I didn't want to get in the way of H's plan neither in Kat's little investigation. They both seemed to have their situations under control. They trusted their ways