ONE LAST DANCE

THE BLUE EYED STRANGER

CHAPTER ONE

“ I did it , Mama I did it !” I yelled as I entered the living room

“ Mama “ I called again

“ I’ll be down in a sec “ I heard my mother say from upstairs

“ Hurry , I can’t hold it in any longer “” I yelled again

“ Fine fine I’m coming “ she said walking down the stairs

“ Mama guess what ?”

“ You know I’m very bad at guessing “

“ Just try “ I pushed

“ You got the scholarship?” she asked

“ Bingo “

“ Oh my God , you got in … oh my goodness this is crazy , bébé I’m so happy for you “

“ Mama I never thought I would get in ,I’m literally over the stars right now “ I said

“ We should celebrate”

“ Hell yeah we should “ I squealed excitedly

“ call Carolina over , let’s have an indoor party tonight “

“ Oops “

“ what you already made plans ? Without me ?” she asked

“ Mère there’s this party I have to attend , it is well known for hosting big fashion designers and artists, I don’t wanna miss my chance tonight “ I said

“ Fine you can go but we are definitely celebrating tomorrow “

“ of course I’ll make it “ I said

“ you better “ she said giving me a tight hug

“ I’m proud of you bébé “ she said

“ Thanks mom “ I replied

Guess who just got into the biggest Art school in France ? Your girl just landed herself a scholarship in the School of her dreams . Oh my bad ! I’m Adele Kingston , half Nigerian, half French , I’m a nursing student but I’m on vacation now so I’m good .

We moved to Nigeria when I was Five and surprisingly I blended in pretty fast , I’ve dreamed of going to my Dad’s alma mater since we lost him to cancer few years ago , I grew up among artistes so it’s no big deal that I’m drawn to arts and painting .

“ Black gown or blue corsets ?” Carolina asked showing me her preference of clothing for the party tonight

“ Gown ? Girl we are going to shut that party down and you’re wearing a gown ?” I asked

“ Corset it is then “ she said

“ you could wear those killer black boots you bought last year “ I added

“ The Balenciaga?” she asked

“ Yeah that one “

“ Thanks Del , you’re a live saver “

“ I know I am “ I said flipping my hair proudly

“ I can’t believe my best friend is finally chasing her dreams , girl you’re going to freaking Paris “ she squealed

“ I know I still can’t believe it myself , I can’t wait to meet those hot French guys “ I said

“ Arrrgh I’m jealous, anyways speaking of guys you know you have a blind date with that Tinder guy today right ?” she said

Shit !

“ Shoot ! That’s today ?” I asked

“ You forgot?” she asked

“ what do I do Caro ?”

“ Dress up and go now “ she suggested

“ or I could just tell him that I got hit by a bus on my way “

“ Bro no you can’t say that , besides you can’t keep poor guy waiting “ she said

“ Fine I’ll go “ I said lazily

It’s been thirty minutes and forty seconds and my Tinder date hasn’t shown up . I knew the whole blind date was a bad idea , my mom has been trying to set me up with different guys for the past few months so she opened a tinder account for me and sealed a date with a good looking and rich guy who hasn’t shown up for the so called date yet .

I dialed Caro’s number

“ Hey babe how’s your date going?” she asked

“ lover boy hasn’t shown up “ I replied

“ what ? You’re kidding right ?”

“ unfortunately I’m not “ I replied

“ Maybe you should leave “ she said

“ There’s a bar here , imma just grab a drink before leaving “ I said

“ oh ok take care then ,let me know if he shows up “ she said

I picked my bag and moved to the bar

“ can I get a tequila shot please ?” I asked the barman

“ Sure “ he answered

I sat on one of the chairs and ruminated over my life .

I’m going to miss my mom and Carolina so much , they’re the only family I have and separating from them is a very hard pill to swallow .

After taking couple of shots I couldn’t help the tears running down my face

Why am I crying ?

“ Why are you crying ?” I suddenly heard a deep accent laced baritone voice say

“ orrr I –“ my words were cut short as I looked up and saw the deepest pair of blue eyes I had ever seen

“ Ocean eyes “ I said unconsciously

Shoot! I didn’t just say that

“ What did you say?” he asked

“ Nothing” I replied

“ Why are you crying?” he asked again

“ It’s – orrr – it’s nothing , actually it’s no big deal “ I said

“ but you’re crying “ he said again

“ It’s – you – can you just mind your business?” I asked

Whoa ! That was harsh

Why am I so nervous ?

“ I’m sorry ,I didn’t mean to snap at you , I just have a lot going on you know “ I said

“ I understand” he said giving me a megawatt smile which could make any woman drop dead .

My breath hitched as I stared at his midnight black hair , his face literally screamed perfection, don’t even get me started on the well tailored suit he was putting on .

“ so what’s your name ?” I asked

“ what’s your name ?” he asked back

“ Wow are we seriously playing this game? I’m Adele “ I said

“ I’m Rodrigo “ he replied

I guess that’s where the accent came from is he French?

“ I’m from Italy “ he said like he read my mind

“ Oh … “ I mumbled

“ Bella “ he said

“ oh my name is not Bella “ I replied which made him burst out laughing again

Why is this man so fine ?

And what’s funny ?

“ Bella means beautiful “ he said

“ oh sorry “ I said laughing

I can’t believe I just made a fool out of my self

I shouldn’t have slept off in those Spanish and Italian classes .

But wait a minute , did this fine looking specimen just call me beautiful?

“ beautiful girls shouldn’t drink so much “ he said collecting the shot from me and gulping it down

“ And who are you to tell me that ?” I asked which made him smile

No don’t smile at me you good looking man

“ we’ll see “ he said simply

What does that mean ?

“ Amor you’re not safe here , go home “ he said more like commanded

who does this man think he is ?

“ And why should I do that ?” i asked

“ I wasn’t asking , go home now “ he said with great intensity contrasting the cute smiles he gave me earlier .

The air around us suddenly changed and for some weird reason I wanted to obey every single word of his .

Without thinking I grabbed my bag and left angrily .

Who does he think he is to tell me what to do ?

I got home and texted Caro

Sorry I can’t make it to the party , I’ll make it up to you tomorrow

I changed into my nightwear and sat on my bed thinking about the blue eyed stranger I just met .

I went downstairs to grab water in the fridge and saw my mom watching TV

“ What are you watching ?” I asked

“ You know that bar down the street ?” she said

“ which one ?”

“ The one close to our favorite restaurant “ she said

“ Feliz bar ?” I asked

“ Yeah , apparently there was an explosion there this evening” she said

“ An explosion? that’s impossible, I was just there hours ago “ I said

“ look it’s on the news “ she said

I looked up and saw the bar that was buzzing with music and bright lights earlier in ruins.

I couldn’t help but remember what Rodrigo had told me

Amor you’re not safe here , go home now .

Fuck !