The moment his feet entered water and his hands connected with the lady, the young man mused in his heart that she is to be his, and his only.
The wave violently flings them out, like one would spew out extremely hot water. In that moment, he can feel the panic of the almost unconscious lady, through her chest.
And at that moment, his heart skips a beat.
"You're safe. I'm with you." He mutters as he tactically maneuvers his body, twisting with the flexibility of a reptilian as he switch's places with the lady for the imminent ground impact.
BWASKKKKKKAA!
The young man grit his teeth as he absorbed the impact of his back on hard granite shore. For a brief seconds, he feels the need to do something, unleash something but hardens his heart against that.
Instead, he banks on the impact rebound force and locks lips straight into the lady's mouth. For yet another second, he wishes time to stay still as he playfully explores the insides of her tongue.
The lady is motionless still, unmoving as the flash of light erupts around him. And in that same second, his hands at the back and waist of his catch glow green, hidden from sight by the brilliance of the light.
The second that follows sees the lady jumping up and away from him.
*Cough*
*Cough*
Water splutters out of her mouth with each cough. She caresses her chest, calming her shaky body. At this, he tries to move closer but she pulls away. Her face is flushed as she looks towards the lake, in a view to avoid his face.
With narrow eyes, he looks over to the source of light, looking at the lady's friend rushing towards them.
"Deola are you okay?"
"Wow! You kissed Dee. Is that how you go about kissing people you just met?" Tunrayo's face has mock anger written all over it as she splays her hands to her sides.
"What do you mean? T-that was only CPR." The young man replies, hastily rising to his feet.
"Haha... CPR or hungry, needing kiss!" Tunrayo mock laughs.
For an awkward moment, he stares at the lake, eyes flashing with glaring hate. He fists his hands and makes to say something when he is called to.
"Helloooooo?" Tunrayo calls with a tilted head at him.
"Sorry!" He smiles at Tunrayo who is squatting beside the seating drenched Deola. "I'm just angry at the Lake for ruining such a day as this for you too."
"Oh!" Tunrayo pats Deola's back while the latter steals glances from the Mister. "Thanks but our prom was already ruined long before that. Thanks to that bitch.."
"Tunrayo." Deola calls softly, a hand to her shoulders. "Can you take me to the car."
"Yes, sure sure." Tunrayo places a hand under Deola's left shoulder as support as she rises.
"And thank you, s..." Deola is interrupted.
"Allow me!" The young man volunteers and before they can either protest, he sweeps the half risen Deola in princess carry way.
"Where's the car? Migod! You're burning hot!" He exclaims, his black pupils locked into her mahogany brown eyes.
"Mmmpph..." Deola only mutters, weakly.
"Don't speak! Just rest." He says softly. "Where's the car?" He asks again.
"Follow me!" Tunrayo replies, leading the crew on to the black convertible by the picket fence.
As they walk down, the granite below crunches continuously, under the night sky, almost in competition with the constant hum of the lake as it's waves move to and fro. The space outside the hall is pretty empty and the music seems to have gone up. Occasionally, the sound of the Master of Ceremony blares softly from the speakers, reciting announcement and whatnot.
Tunrayo's thought is focused on all of that, as she walks wordlessly to the car. She scans the rooftop for her purse and retracts the key to unlock the car, oncemore.
And while she is doing all of this, she fails to notice the flash of greenish light from the Mister's hand, vanish into Deola.
Wordlessly, Deola is placed into the back seat and the door to the lake, is left open. As result, the car seat absorbs the moisture and soon enough, the smell of moist begins to circulate in the car. Tunrayo slides into the car via the opposite rear door and places Deola's head on her laps, carefully dabbing her forehead with a dry hankerchief.
"She no longer has a fever!" Tunrayo looks at the Mister who hangs just outside the door, hands on the roof as he leans in.
His clothings too are wet and sticking to his body. But in a way, wet seems to stick well with him.
"What happened?" The Mister puts a hand in to caress her forehead.
"Why should I tell you? I don't even know who you are." Tunrayo's curtly replies as Deola's eyes weakly open.
Seeing this, the Mister leans into the car and kisses Deola on the forehead. "Welcome." He mutters.
But Deola is not impressed.
If for anything, she is irked as she rubs off the kiss with the back of hand, staring daggers at the Mister.
"Look, I appreciate you saving me earlier but you don't get to go..." Deola says slowly.
"Ah! Forgive my manners." He exclaims as his whole body is outside the car again. "I am Tade, Tade..."
"Tade what?" Tunrayo asks, a hand patting her friend's back.
"Tade Submergee...eeh... Tade Subme. Yes, Tade Subme. That's me!" He drags the name suspiciously.
"Are you sure?" Deola asks. Although her body is hot, she is still very much weak and chilled despite the fact that the Mister had blocked most of the Lake Wind already.
"Hmpfh!" Tunrayo huffs.
"May I know your names, ladies?" Mister Tade asks, after an awkward pause.
"Okay. I'm Deola. Deola Ac..."
"Shut up!" Tunrayo's hand lodges itself over her mouth. Before any more reaction can be made, She says. "Since you can't tell us your full surname. Don't expect us to tell you ours too." Deola shivers.
"I think you two better go home!" Tade says, looking over this shoulder.
"Our tyre is busted." Deola replies. She leans her head on a hand which in turn rests on her drenched gown over her thigh. Her gown is beginning to get drier now, as the wind blows every now and then.
"Ah!" Tade exhales. "Who would have done that to you? Which tyre?" He moves back a bit to examine the tyres close to him.
"It's over here." Tunrayo is moving out of the car already. She points to the punctured tyre until Tade comes over.
"Sadly, it was done by people who had deceived us earlier with a toast to new beginnings." Tunrayo grumbles to herself but Tade catches the words as he stoops to examine flat tyre.
"That's cruel!" He says, tapping the tyre lightly. " But why?"
"Because she wants to be Prom Queen. so she somehow drugged the wine toast..."
"Ah Ah! How would would you know?" Deola interrupts.
"What? Look babe, wise up. That girl is a demoness. Or did you take lot of sugary stuff that your stomach is revolting?" She asks, bending down to see through the glass window.
"No!" Deola replies.
"Did you take any deworming tablet?"
"How does that even relate to this?" Deola asks, flabbergasted.
""I'm serious. Because the way you pooped out..."
"Tee, stop!"
"No... It's only people who are deworming that do stuff like that. And they stay at home mostly. And that must have been what you are given in that wine toast. So that you end up pooping on yourself as all the toilets are occupied. Occupied by Grace's friends, at the same exact time you needed the toilet."
"Wait! Did you say Poop?" Tade narrows his eyes as he lowers his frame too, looking at Deola who has a fatigued expression on.
Immediately, Tunrayo's face is blanched of color as she freezes for a nano sec. The next second, she grabs Tade by the lower ends of his shirt.
"Please don't let anyone know. We'll be ruined." She pleads desperately.
"Hey, I understand. After all, it was me who freed you from the guard. Your friend is really exhausted and she needs to get home so I'll just go about seeing how I can help." He says, gently removing her hold on his shirt.
"But I just don't understand why someone would go the extent as this." Tade adds, watching as Deola looks away, embarrassment clearly written all over her.
"We better not be talking about this, if it makes you any uncomfortable." He chirps in, kicking lightly at the deflated tyre.
"Ah, come on. I swear, if I don't talk it out, I'mma go in there and turn the whole Prom into a b***h fight." Tunrayo kicks at the granite, absent minded with hands on hip as her frame rests on the car against the lake.
"Do you realise that b***h has always had a thing for the Prom King, Nathaniel who is the head boy of our set? But he has always had eyes for Dee. Not her!." She says exasperatedly.
Tade only grunts in reply, bending down to look at Deola. At the moment they do, their eyes jam and the latter looks away.
Smiling to himself, he waves at Deola, grinning as a child would do when presented a candy bar.
He trailed her plaits, from the scalp to the tip ends. Then over to her eyes, picking out the now washed out but faint eye make up that was there as he unconsciously licked his lips.
Just then, a drop of water balls on her eyebrow, readying to drop when he instinctively pushes in, with a finger to wipe it off.
However, Deola does not like the gesture, bolting out of his touch. But that only seems to fuel Tade up as he moves more of him into the car, half kneeling on the seat and half standing on the granite, in an attempt to wipe the few more water drops collecting at her eyebrows.
"What?" Tunrayo asked, looking at the duo.
"Mister Tade, I seriously don't like strangers touching me. Please keep your hands to yourself." Deola warns sternly.
"There. Yes." Tade jubilates, beaming a killer smile as his right hand brushes her eyebrows.
It is at this moment, Deola catches the offending hand at the wrist, with her left hand and tries desperately to squeeze it till it hurts.
Another drop trails down from her braid, slithering down to earlobe. Seeing this, Tade eyes light up and he dived with the other hand to wipe the drop before it falls. Only for his hand to be slapped away by Deola.
In the background, Tunrayo erupts in peals of laughter, muffling her mouth with her hands as she watches the drama.
"What is funny?" Deola fumes, staring daggers at her friend. "Will you like it if someone you never met just started touching you anyway?"
A drop slithers down from her neck, zooming happily into the valley between her cleavages. To this, Tade narrows his eyes and before Jack is said, his free hand speeds there. Calmly and with precision, he extends a finger into the valley, earning a shocked gasp from Deola.
And FLICK!
The offending drop is flicked away into the air. Before Tade can rejoice in his victory, his hand at the cleavage is ripped forward by a red headed Deola.
However, with the sudden jerk, Tade falls forward, and just as Deola turns to him, their face meet in a speedy collision, lips on cheek.
The air seems to still itself as if all of creation were holding their breath as Tade's lips connects with her left cheek in what seems like forever, Tunrayo's giggling becoming the only sounds present.