The Man Hunt

Micheal wasn’t good enough for me, so I thought to myself. I and micheal have been dating for the past three years, I got tired, the relationship became boring, I began to crave for more. I felt I needed to explore. Micheal was no doubt a great guy, but I fell out of love with him or maybe I was never really into him as much. I have always been looking for enough reasons to leave him and, finally, I got a reason to.  Micheal was very soft, gentle and calm. I saw him as a weak man. I needed a man with a little bit of toxicity, so I thought to myself. Micheal tolerated all my excesses despite there being a whole lot to deal with when it comes to me.   A Man of God had also asked my mom to tell me to leave my present man alone because he wasn’t the one for me. When my mom related this message to me, I screamed, “Oh yes”. The news wasn’t heartbreaking because it was what I had been planning to do for a long time . The year was elapsing so I made up my mind not to go into the new year with Micheal as my lover. I called him the night into the New year, “Hello Michael, How are you?” “I’m fine”, he replied. I don’t think I can continue dating you. I need to move forward. Moreover, I don’t think I see a future with us; he kept mute. Then he finally replied after some minutes; “Ella, I know you’re joking, you can’t be serious, I love you so much and I can’t remember offending or fighting with you. Please stop this joke babe.” I had no other option than to end the call. Micheal wasn’t ready to give up easily. He kept calling day after day and I didn’t want him in my life anymore, so I resulted in insulting him so he could leave me alone. After a month, our bond began to break. I blocked him on all social networks, I felt so free and ready to explore the world. It seemed I had been held back by the relationship this year. I was finally free to explore, so I thought to myself. I began to check out my options and then I chose kester. I met Kester through a social media platform. We got talking. Kester was a very handsome, tall and light-skinned man. I liked him despite noticing he was quick to anger. Well I guess that's what I wanted,” a toxic man”. Finally, I decided to pay Kester a visit to Asaba one very day. I traveled all the way from Lagos state to see my mystery man. The journey was rough and very tiresome. He kept calling me throughout until I got to Asaba. He picked me up and we went to his place.  I took my bath and got dressed. I was literally starving at this point, so we went out to eat at a nearby restaurant which he claimed to be the best in town. We ate and went back home. It was late at night already, we were watching the movies and suddenly I felt his hands moving slowly on my thighs. He kept on caressing me, then we began to kiss, he switched off the television and we continued smooching and then I could feel his d**k sliding into me. We had unprotected s*x and slept off in the parlour. It was morning already. I did the morning chores and we started talking. Kester was a cool guy, but I knew he wasn’t the kind of guy I would eventually want to spend the rest of my life with. Should I just keep him for fun? I thought to myself.  We had several discussions and it was obvious we saw life from different perspectives. I told him I wanted to start traveling back. He said I should spend the weekend with him, so I obliged. We spent the weekend together with lots of laughs, fights and good s*x. Saturday came and I had to travel back home, which I eventually did. He claimed we were in a relationship he wasn’t so interested in him, he wasn’t perfect enough, he had excesses, he had his issues, he's definitely not the one for me. We kept on talking on the phone for about a month until we finally decided to call it quit., since we kept on having countless arguments.  Kester’s phase was over and I moved on. I continued my search for this special partner that I thought I needed.    Months later, Universities went on strike so I decided to travel to Port Harcourt to pay my aunty a visit. On one very Sunday, my aunt made me follow her to her church, which was St Peter’s Catholic Church. We got there and the ushers showed us our way to our various seats. The choir gave some soul lifting songs which every member sang along to. The priest soon mounted the altar to preach his sermon. Then the service came to an end. Everyone began to leave the premises. On my way out, I noticed this tall-skinned chubby guy staring at me continuously. At some point I felt irritated and shy. “Why is this boy just staring at me this way?” I said to myself. Then I continued walking outside. I walked towards the parking lot only to find this same young man standing close to my aunty’s car. He then walked up to me.  “Mr man, what do you want? I said. He was shaking and couldn’t even speak. “Do you want my number?” I said . Then he replied “Yes please”. “I’m Tony. What’s your name?” He asked . “I’m Ella”. We then exchanged phone numbers and said goodbye. On my way home, I saw a message pop up from a strange number. I definitely knew it was Tony.  I like his looks, but his personality also isn't what I need in a man. He was an internet fraudster. I can’t be in a serious relationship with someone who frauds other people and would like to talk more like getting married to someone like that. Tony was also very young, he was just a few months older than I was. I already knew a relationship with him wouldn’t work out though we kept talking on the phone.   Tony has begged me on countless occasions to pay him a visit but I never obliged. On that very day, he invited me over, so I decided to see him. He booked an Uber ride which came to pick me up and drove me to his place. On getting there, he went outside, hugged me so tightly and gave me a soft kiss on the cheeks. He then took me inside and we sat down in the living room. We got to talk about a lot of stuff and watch the movie “Never Ever Have I” on Netflix.   While watching the movie, Tony suddenly switched off the television and started to stare at me. He kept gazing at me, then he drew close to me and kissed me. I then pushed him away. “Did you call me here for s*x?” I asked . “ I can’t get my eyes off you Ella, I want to make you mine” he said as he continued, drawing closer to me. I got up immediately and left his apartment. He chased me and kept pleading with me on the roadside. I obliged because I was even scared to walk alone. Tony followed me home that very night. It was late, he needed to make sure I was safe.   “Tony is not such a bad guy”, I thought to myself. He was nice to me even though he tried to sleep with me, which is almost normal for every normal guy who has blood running through his veins. We continued talking but I still did not like him enough to date him. He noticed it and began to withdraw. As time passed, I constantly refused to see him again, so we began to draw more apart until we finally turned into strangers.  The university strike was not seeming to end anytime soon, so I decided to get a job. I had once seen a poster close by indicating the need of a sales attendant at a supermarket, so I decided to apply for it. On that very day, I went into the supermarket. I got to the door and was struggling to open the door. It wouldn’t let me. Suddenly, I just saw the door open from behind and I looked inside and it was a young man who had helped me with it and I just said thanks and went inside. “Please can I see the manager?” I asked the lady I saw there. She asked me why, “I want to apply for the post of sales representative “ I replied. Oh, fine great, you can drop your application letter.  Oh my God, I didn’t even come up with an application letter. I quickly ran outside and got a pen and paper and a brown envelope, then I wrote my application, then I went back inside to submit it and finally took my leave. I got a call the next day asking that I may come for the interview on Monday.  Monday is here already. I went to the supermarket and got interviewed by the manager. I got asked a few questions about myself and school. Then I was asked to leave so that they would get back to me. They called me a few days after to let me know I had gotten the job. I was so excited even though the pay wasn’t  encouraging. At least I don’t get to stay at home all day.  I resumed work that very day  and I bumped into this guy who had helped me with the door the other day. I saw him smiling and staring at me. He was really the least of my problems, so I worried less about this strange admirer. I went into the office, then I got addressed by the manager so I could begin the day’s job.  During the day, I decided to text Tony to inform him I had started working. “Babe please, you have to stop this your job. How much are they paying you? I’ll pay you the money please babe, how would you ever have time for me?” These were Tony’s exact words. I wished he understood that the job wasn’t just about the money, I just needed to leave the house. He didn’t understand, he became even more pissed and stopped texting me.  The way he felt meant nothing to me, because I felt I didn’t really owe him anything. I spent the rest of my day trying to get familiar with my new job.  The very next day, this guy who helped me with the door came in and was talking to some other staff, yet he kept gazing at me. I kept acting like I couldn’t see him, then he finally spoke up and said “Hi, I’m Andy. Yes,  Are you the new worker? “Yes I am and I’m Ella, I replied. We then exchanged pleasantries and he went outside. Mabel, who happened to also be a staff member, came to me and said “this guy likes you”. I just smiled over it, then I told her he wouldn’t like me because he barely knew me . Mabel was so sure Andy was into me, but I refused to believe in such love. She then went ahead to give me information about him. She told me he was related to the owner of the supermarket and many other stuff which weren’t really my concern. I just came here to unbore myself. I don’t really care about any of the happenings here. Days finally went by and I and Andy began to become good friends. He was fond of bringing lunch for me in the afternoons and also giving me rides home at night. Everyone kept on saying he was into me, but I saw him as just a good friend. On that very day, I had closed from work but they was a heavy down pour so I couldn’t go home. Everyone had driven off in their cars and it was just me and the security officers. I kept waiting for the rain to stop or reduce to some extent but it wouldn’t. I was already feeling cold. I just sat inside and hoped my aunty would come. Suddenly, I saw a car drive into the supermarket. It was Andy. I was so excited. He came in, gave me a tight hug and his hoodie. We talked and finally, Andy opened up to me that he was in love with me, but he was scared I may not like him as much. “ I even told my mom that I liked him. She said I should tell you, but I’m scared of being rejected by you Ella. I immediately tried to open the door to go outside, then he drew me back, held me so close to him, he kept looking into my eyes and then we shared a kiss. “Go away from me” I said. I ran outside and then he came after me. “Ella please. I’m sorry, it won’t happen ever again. At least let me drop you at home”, he said. I got into the car and we drove to my place. I thanked him for the ride. As I was about to open the door, he drew me close to him and began to kiss me. I held him close to me as I kissed him back. We caressed each other . Andy was rubbing my thighs, then he tried to go in between my legs.  “Please stop “ I said, opened the door and ran into my house. Andy was calling me throughout that night but I refused to take his calls.  The next day at work, I saw Andy there even before I got to work. I tried as much as possible to avoid him but he wouldn’t let me.  “Ella, The Manager is calling you” Andy said to me, so I followed him into the Manager’s office. “Where is the manager? She isn’t here” I said. “Please please forgive me, I’m sorry for what happened last night. It was never really my intention to put you in a tight corner. I get it if you don’t want us to be friends anymore. I just want to let you know I really do like you but I’ll give you space if that’s what you really want “ Andy kept on pleading. I just stormed out because I wasn’t ready to be seen in such a weird way with him. I wasn’t really myself throughout that very day. I kept on reminiscing about the last night kiss. I began to imagine tearing his shirts off him and making out with him, but I decided to control my urges and emotions. I kept on avoiding him for weeks until that very day, Andy came to my workplace again. “Ella, please allow me to give you a ride home. I just want us to talk things out, I’m tired of this weird attitude between us please”, Andy said, so I obliged and accepted the lift. We drove to my place and we agreed on being just good friends. “Okay, just goodnight bye”, we said to each other, so I went inside. As I was about to open my door, I saw a hand grab me by my waist and started kissing me. We kept on kissing, it was Andy. He kissed me so passionately, I felt his hands moving slowly on my thighs, he kept taking his hands towards my v****a. I could feel his fingers in me. He started fingering me so hard, I became so wet, I was moaning so loud, I unzipped him and began to massage his d**k. I sucked his d**k and he kept moaning loudly. He slowly inserted his d**k into me and banged me so hard. He kept sliding his d**k into my p***y every time it slipped out. He carried me to the dining dining and bent me over on the table and kept pounding me hard. We got knocked out and slept off on the floor. The next morning, I woke him up. I asked him to leave immediately, so he left.  Andy called me immediately when he got home, but I refused to pick him up. I was feeling less of myself. I had allowed my urges to control me, it was good s*x, but Andy wasn’t really someone I should have made out with.  “Ella, your phone is ringing”, my aunty kept screaming, so I went to the living room to pick up my iPhone and, of course, it was Andy.  “ And you seem to be mistaking s*x for a relationship. We had s*x, nothing more. I’m not your girlfriend. Please stop calling me”, I said to him, and ended the call. Andy kept stalking, he kept on coming to my workplace and even my house without informing me. It has become too weird. He kept acting like an obsessed child, so I finally decided to quit my job. I didn’t want any trouble with my manager. I went to work the next day and submitted my resignation letter without uttering a word to anyone and left. My aunty had begun to ask me if I knew this man that always came to our house and stared at the gate, then drove off and refused. I lost count of how many times I had pleaded with Andy to let me go. What we had was just a one-time thing. Luckily for me, the university strike was over and I could now travel back to school. I packed my belongings and luggage and traveled back to school.   I felt so relieved on getting to school, it seemed as if I was starting a new life. We had been away from school for about 6 months, so I guess that’s why everything seemed so different and fresh. It definitely felt like a breath of fresh air and that was what I needed at that point. I was also reunited with my friends, Joy and Mary, after such a long time. We decided to hang out together later that evening. We went to this restaurant later that day. We ate and did a lot of catching up, then we gossiped about men and also talked about our various experiences in the course of searching for a man since we were all single. We then ordered some drinks. We drank till we could no longer recognize each other. Thank God for Victor, we had picked her up and taken us to Joy’s place. Victor is Joy’s ex-boyfriend. Days turned into weeks and weeks into months and loneliness began to crawl in . I began to long for a man. I definitely needed someone to talk to, cry to, and make love to. My s****l urges were also there to be satisfied, “ I have to find a man”, I said to myself.   On this very day, I decided I wasn’t going to leave my room, I just wanted to be on my own and reminisce about all my encounters with different people who didn’t meet my taste. While I was thinking about myself, a w******p message came in and guess from who? It was Tony. Tony had said he wanted to see me, he wanted us to just talk about everything that had happened and I obliged. I wasn’t going to see Tony because I wanted to hear him talk. I was already tired and bored of my single life and he seemed to be my only option right now. I travelled down to Rivers state to pay Tony a visit. I got there at about 10pm. He asked his driver to come pick me up. I was so tired, my back was aching. I finally got to his place and he had already lighted some candles and red flowers were all over the flower, it was like the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. “ Tony, what’s all this?” I had said to him. He pulled me close to him and kissed me passionately. He carried me to his bed, and kept on kissing me. I slowly opened his buttons. I began to caress his body, we kept on kissing and finally made out.  The next morning, when I woke up, I saw that Tony had brought breakfast for me in bed. This man is definitely a romantic and I was beginning to love him. He kissed her and said “Good morning my princess, today I’m getting you whatever you want, I just want to take care of you today” and this was exactly what he did throughout the day. Later that day, he took me out to the supermarket where we shopped for some groceries and also went to see the movies. I loved the way Tony was treating me. If I’m being honest, no man has ever treated me the way he did. Tony was not perfect after all, he had a little p***s and poor s****l performance, but I was ready to overlook that at least, so I thought to myself. Things continued to fall in place for I and Tony. Our relationship grew and we fell so much inlove with each other. We couldn’t go a day without talking to each other, not until I went back to school.   Tony kept on complaining that I was no longer having his time, I was so busy with studies and lectures but he definitely wasn’t getting it. We began to fight every day, attention reduced day by day and soon we became strangers again. We stopped talking to each other at some point.  At this point, I was already tired of my boy dramas, the unhealthy relationships and the random s****l i*********e. I decided to give myself some time to heal and face my studies henceforth.  For months, all I did was attend lectures and practicals and go on outings with friends. It really felt peaceful being alone, but at thesame time it was lonely. Sometimes I just need someone to talk to and also heal me, satisfying my cravings. I still decided to remain single because I was still hurting from previous heart aches and failed relationships. Months later, I decided to continue my man hunting. I was done with my semester exams and so I had all the time to focus on boys and relationships. I decided to download an online dating app and search since physical meetups were not working for me, at least so I thought to myself. I matched with a lot of people and we really got talking but the conversations just died after a while until, that very day, I matched with this guy who happened to be my senior colleague. I have always fancied being with a medical personnel, so I was already interested even before the conversation began. We got talking and he asked if I was free later that weekend and that he would like us to go on a date together, and I obliged. We finally went on our date that weekend. His name was Victory. It was a nice and expensive restaurant. We ate and drank and got to know each other. He was an absolute gentleman, but I need not conclude yet, atleast not so soon. He drove me home that night and we waved each other goodbye. He called me later at night to say he missed me. “Ella, should I come pick you up? I miss you so much already” he said. I also felt like spending the rest of the night with him, but I didn’t want to rush into things, so I declined. We talked for a few minutes and then I slept off.  The next day, I was already telling my friends how much I loved the guy I met just yesterday and fantasizing about dating him. I liked him already, he was good looking, had a regular job and definitely clicked the boxes of everything I needed in a man so far. I was already obsessed. My friends gave me their little piece of advice and warned me to control myself, but I guess the heart always wants what it wants. Later that day, I texted him “Hey what’s up?” And he relied. He told me that he was going to the strip club later that night with his friends and that I could join them if I was interested. I told him I had never gone to a strip club before, but he finally convinced me to join them then. He came to pick me up later at night and we went clubbing. I saw naked women all over the place dancing. It was really my first time in a strip club, it was such a wild experience. The ladies twerked their naked butts on several men. I kept watching in amazement and shock. We drank and partied all night and we got wasted. We left the club at midnight. My hostel gate would be late, so I decided to follow him home that night. We got to his apartment, I took my bath and fell on the bed. I was so tired and drunk and all I needed was a good rest. Victory went into the bedroom and also took his bath and laid beside me. We fell asleep so fast, not until a few hours later, I started feeling a man’s hands caressing me and trying to rub my boobs. It was victory trying to insert his hands into my v****a. I removed his hands, “please stop touching me” I said. Then he stopped. We just stared at each other and rushed each other and began to kiss passionately. Things went out of hand and we couldn’t keep our hands to each other. We had s*x that night and I fell asleep in his arms. The next morning when I woke up, I started to feel regret. I knew I shouldn’t have done that with him, atleast not so soon. I got dressed and left without telling him. He was still fast asleep. I cried myself to sleep when I got home. I was beginning to fall for someone who wasn’t ready to love me right. My pillows were filled with tears. I didn’t want him to see me as a desperate lady, so I decided not to call him and he also didn’t call me. After some weeks, I got a call from him asking us to see him. He claimed he had been robbed, hence why he hadn’t reached out to me for so long, so I decided to go and see him again. We met  for the second time and all we did was make love. We didn’t even talk about the last time and he still didn’t mention anything relating to the relationship, so it now dawned on me that he definitely wasn’t looking for a relationship. He was only after a fling. I got home, blocked him and decided to stay away from him. It was very depressing because, at this point, I was already tired of not being in a stable relationship. I was tired of trying every girl that came my way. I wanted my own person. I was broke. “Am I just unlucky with men?” “Is this spiritual?” So many thoughts kept coming to me.  I gave myself time to heal and eventually move on. It was the Christmas holidays. I was finally going home. I was so happy-at least I would get a break from the boy's drama and spend quality time with my family. I decided to visit my elder brother in Yobe.  I traveled then to Yobe and spent a few weeks with my brother. We visited the Dokshi spring water and the Old Daniski settlement. We had so much fun. We also visited the cinema to see some movies during my stay in Yobe until I decided to travel back to see my parents before the holiday came to an end.  My brother drove me out of the park and I got the bus and he left. I met three brothers on the bus and they kept trying to have a conversation with me. “My name is Peter, You’re so pretty” one of them said. “Thanks”, I replied with an uninterested face, yet he kept bothering me with questions. I wasn’t ready to meet anyone new at that point. I’m too broken right now.  The bus filled up and we embarked on our journey. I plugged in my ear buds because I wasn’t ready for anymore questions about these strange brothers. I got to my destination and highlighted from the bus. This guy highlighted and followed me and kept asking for my phone number. At this point, I was beginning to feel embarrassed, so I decided to give him my contact and that was how he finally allowed me to be. He kept texting and calling me and I began to give him attention. We talked for a month and feelings started growing.