Her Arms, His Sanctuary

Chapter 8

When he emerged from the house, he had a spliff in his hands. He lit it, applying flame to only the tip while he slowly rotated the spliff by rolling it between his thumb and index finger for a slow and even burn.

Although this was not the time to test waters, the tight feeling was due to the fact that he was angry, mad and sad at what her ex-husband put her through. He needed to calm down, all these emotions were cluttering him. It was not his nature to lose control.

He enjoyed and loved his joint. He hoped she would accept that he used it for ‘recreational purposes’. In any case, this was who he was. He sat beside her and asked if she had qualms with him smoking.

She shook her head and watched him as he took three puffs.

To his astonishment she reached out and took it from him, quietly but unapologetically.

He stared in disbelief as she took 3 puffs as well. The whole time he was watching, he was holding his breath and forgot to exhale. He paid dearly for that lapse and started coughing.

Thankfully it was not his usual joint, better for her since the spliff was not strong.

Their conversation wandered to the use of m*******a or c******s, with Kay advocating that it should be legalized. His argument was that their government should take cue from other countries that have legalised it and take the bold step as well.

He was of the view that once decriminalized, it would be regulated by setting up limits. This would eliminate the criminal market and the drug cartels would be denied their key revenue source. The government on the other hand could tap into the tax revenue thus generating income. This would grow the economy and translate into job creation.

“Besides, m*******a users are known to be peaceful and not violent. They only experience feelings of great happiness and excitement. He stated.”

“That would then mean that law enforcement officers would be able to focus on violent and dangerous crimes.” He closed his argument.

She was taken aback by his passionate advocacy for the herb.

“What about the negative reactions, number of road accidents brought about by the impairment from smoking it, the impact on education for youngsters?” She challenged.

He shook his head in dispute.

“Do not mention the youths’ education and accidents. What about alcohol? They did not put any legal prohibitions against it. In the same breath, c******s should be availed to the adult general population for purchase and use at will.” He lamented.

She felt a pang of admiration for him. That was an enlightenment for her. Intelligent men were a huge turn on for her.

That brought her back to the question that had been bugging her since they met, she wasted no time in asking.

“What is the line of your business?”

As if he had been ready for the question, he simply replied “I have a chain of restaurants. It is strictly vegetarian menu”

She was impressed to learn that there were outlets country wide and branches in the neighbouring countries as well.

That was how much he wanted her to know, for her sanity and protection. He had no intentions of revealing that those joints were actually a disguise. There was something hidden happening in the outlets.

“That explains the dinner today! Did you really cook all that, by yourself?” she quipped

“Honestly, I called in one of the chefs” he admitted.

Suddenly an idea crossed his mind. He turned to face her. “Can you make me a cake one of the days? I know you enjoy baking” he requested.

“For you, anything…” She battered her eyelashes at him.

He raised his eyebrow to confirm her answer, “not just any cake, but a space cake”.

She gawked at him and jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow.

He chuckled at her reaction.

She sulked and the way she was pouting made her lower lip protrude.

Kay could not help himself, he roared with laughter.

Her lips curled, amused at his idiocy. She soon realised that his laughter was infectious. Within seconds she was also giggling and they were now laughing uncontrollably. Her laughter was also contagious to him.

Tears were streaming down her cheeks, she was sore from laughing and her face hurt.

He then narrated a story of how he almost got himself into trouble during his university days. He was staying on campus and his sister paid him a visit unannounced.

He had a slice of space cake from the boys’ party the previous night. It was on his desk and he was looking forward to it.

When she saw it, she did not even ask because chocolate cake was her favourite. He tried to grab it from her but she dodged and quickly popped the whole chunk into her mouth.

He tried tickling her with the hope that she would spit it out. Eventually he gave up.

His sister called him two hours later, all giggly. She complained about how weird she felt.

The part that cracked them up was where she continuously and repeatedly confessed how much she loved her big brother.

After that much laughter his body tensed up.

He finally looked at her with a sombre expression, her laughter seized as she worriedly regarded him

“Your name translates to ‘star’” he began.

“Tell me something I do not know” she taunted.

“There are about nine thousand stars visible across the entire sky and there is always that particular one that shines the brightest?” he posed what was seemingly a question.

She liked it when he became philosophical.

“Down here you are that star” he continued, “You shine brighter than any woman I have known. You are my star”

As he said that he turned to her and gently stroked her cheek. He liked the way her eyes opened wide. He grabbed her chin with his index finger and thumb, turned and lifted her face. They gazed into each other’s eyes.

What she saw reflected there was intense desire.

She sucked in her breath, the longing that had been building up since they met gushed out.

She closed her eyes, sighed and waited with bated breath for the kiss that never came. She slowly opened her eyes to see him staring at her face lovingly.

That was the cue for him. He stood up, held out his hands and helped her up.

With her heart beating hard against her chest, her hand clasped in his, she allowed him to lead her up the stairs as she followed quietly behind him.