#2 Letho noKhayone
I was busy practicing the vosho in front of the living room mirror when I heard a knock on my door. The knocking didn’t stop until I got to the door. They’re very excited for someone who is dropping by unannounced. I’d be more humble. Pitty I don’t have a peephole, else bengizothi “rounda”, but now I can’t take that chance.
The knocking stops when they hear me tuning the key in the lock. It’s Letho and Yaara. My heart begins to race but I manage to catch the confusion before it’s fully formed. They greet and walk in. Letho, seeing my face, begins to explain that they’re here for a date with me. Well this came around sooner than I expected. But I agree to it. And to my added surprise, they follow me to the bed.
Three months ago, Letho and I established that we have feelings for each other. It was a long conversation that I had to initiate after the second time she showed up at my hotel room in London. We went from door to bedroom during that encounter as well. At least she’s consistent.
I had never met Yaara before but here we all are, sitting at the edge of my bed. Letho won’t tell me where we’re going. And her lover is sworn to secrecy so I’m not getting anything out of her either, so I ask them something else. Things are intense and aren’t helped by Letho coming towards me and offering to help button my top. Her fingers are cold, so I recoil a bit at first. “Hayi, big baby” she says with a giggle and puts her entire hand under my top. It’s so cold I jump back and nearly fall on Yaara. She laughs. Her voice gets a bit hoarse at the end of each chuckle. I can see why Letho adores her.
The laughter subsides and I’m back to being aware of how new this is for me. They look beautiful together. And they smell great too. I got a whiff of Yaaras perfume earlier when she caught me. Speaking of smell, I remember that I haven’t brushed my teeth this morning, so I excuse myself. As I walk to the bathroom, I start to panic about my grooming in general. Not knowing where we’re going doesn’t help. At this thought, I turn back to go ask one more time. I meet Letho half way. I ask her but she says nothing and takes my hand instead. Everything else blurs and we stand there in the passage silently. Her smile gets me every time. So I pull her close and kiss the side of her face before turning to walk towards the bathroom. She follows me.
My mouth is foaming from the toothpaste and Letho is sitting behind me on the tub talking. We’ve crossed several domestic boundaries today. She explains why she came with Yaara and that she thinks that it would be good if I bring Khayone to our next date. I can already hear the “no babe, you go” coming from Khayone. Which is just as well because I don’t agree with this suggestion, Yaara and Khayone don’t need to meet … yet. I like that Letho takes the lead on things she feels strongly about, it’s attractive. Her and Khayone have that in common, in addition to being funny.
I rinse and wipe my mouth. I turn around and she stands up. My breathing becomes audible when she’s this close to me but I hold her gaze and lean forward to give her a soft peck on the lips. They’re slightly parted, so I cheekily bite her lower lip and she exhales. We smile, she takes my hand and we make our way back to the bedroom but find Yaara has moved to the living room. She’s watching a property show, I nod in approval as I leave the room to go get my bag.
In the car Yaara and I are having a serious conversation. It’s unexpected, I didn’t think she’d be into property. Then again, we all want land these days. We have a good vibe, even though this conversation is serious. I love that she seems to care and wants me to make the best decisions to grow my company. This has been one interesting ride to the gate.
As we stop in front of the boom – gate, I see that my aunt and my cousin are already waiting for me. I get into the car and they catch me up on their holiday. My aunt it beaming. But this doesn’t stop her from scolding me about making them bring back stuff for me. “lama yeza akho cost me my carry on, I had to check-in my beautiful tote bag. You’re lucky it didn’t get damaged” she says. Shoo I’m glad, because this make-up already cost me a lot of money. I hug my aunt and thank her. I give Thoko a fist bump and remind her not to be late for the dinner later. She winks and gestures towards Lethos car while handing me the gift bag. I let out a nervous giggle and mime “yeyi, later” as I get out of the car.
Noma the writer 