DATING NAIROBI

I knew she was not coming. Kelvin paced his room tensed. He checked the phone as a message came in. Confirmed, you have sent Sh.2000 to Evelyn Moraa, your current balance is Sh.150. He sank to the edge of his two-by-four mattress defeated. Why is dating in Nairobi so hard? His phone rang and he almost tripped inside his water bucket as he ran to pick it up. It must be Evelyn. She said she would call immediately after she boards an Uber. '' Hello'' ''Kevo, where are you, bro?'' A male voice sounded from the other end. ''I'll be busy tonight bro, I have some paperwork to finish at the office. Remember I just got employed.'' '' Damn bro, a piece of advice. Never carry work to your home. Always leave work at work. Bro, anyways you are forgiven this one mistake, next weekend you better show up. Club 68 will be lit. We have performers from South Africa.'' ''Ok, ok, I have to go I will talk to you later, bye'' Talking later, the Kenyan way means that hang up and I am not planning on talking to you anytime soon. ''you have become so grumpy'' Amos complained as he hung up. Kelvin dialed the number again and the metallic voice on the other end informed him that the person he was trying to reach was unavailable. Maybe he should try later or even leave a message. Kelvin moved around his house trying to figure out what to do. His studio apartment was on the 7th floor. If he wants to get exhausted and forget about the two thousand shillings he just sent, maybe he should use the stairs to pace back and forth instead of staring at his new room which was almost empty. Kelvin was born and raised in Nairobi. But from the family which he came from, dating is a new game to him and he is willing to explore it. He had met Evelyn once and the girl's beauty struck her. She had the beauty of a goddess. The dress which she wore that day fitted her hourglass body well, and everything in her body was proportional in her body. The well-rounded breasts, her thin waist, and her perfect round legs. Well, yes, her face..... She had a smooth dark complexion, her perfect small eyes went hand in hand with her small nose, which was well complemented by her full plumpy lips. She was the true African goddess. Just the thought of her made Kelvin's ancestors come knocking on the door. And he went to open his door so that he could get some fresh air. And there she was."Surpriseee..'' Kelvin almost dropped to his knees. Damn, she was more beautiful than the first day they met. Today she had a shirt dress with boots on, plus her hair was perfectly tied in a smooth bun. She smiled and Kelvin went hard on. ''Hiiii, you scared me, I thought you were not coming.'' ''Oh, you thought that I was going to eat the transport money, as they say.'' ''Haha, not really, come in please.'' They went in and Kelvin scanned the whole house to make sure that everything was in its right place. He cursed when he saw the wrinkles at this bed's edge, the place where he sat some moments earlier. I am sure she will understand, he thought. From where they stood you could see everything Kelvin had. The cooking utensils were well piled together inside a blue bucket. The three clean plates were well placed inside a blue basin. On the left side of the room was his laptop, which was placed on a plastic table, and right next to the table was his suitcase, followed by the bed. Everything was clean. He was not used to such kind of a lifestyle but the boychild had to do it. ''I thought you were rich.'' ''huh'' ''I said, I thought you were rich'' she said, placing her handbag on the plastic table. ''How can you tell that I am not rich?'' ''A plastic table..'' she said, slapping the table too hard for comfort. ''You have three dishes and you live in a bedsitter.'' ''Well, I am sorry if I didn't achieve your goals, but I am working hard. Plus, I just got employed and moved out of my parent's house. From where he stood, he could see his shadow and wanted to address it to see if it could resonate with him. She was beautiful and the last time they talked she made it sound like they were on the same page. Should he tell her or just let it be? He shifted out of discomfort and his shadow shifted, he could see his muscles from the shadow. He was 6 ft tall and well built. He did not see the need to go to the gym since he played football all the time and this helped him tone up his body. He was the true definition of the term tall, dark and handsome. But this girl is trying to make his life difficult. He moved closer and took her hand. ''Listen, Evelyn, I don't understand how my financial status is affecting anything. As I said, I just got employed, so you don't expect me to be rich.'' ''It is alright. Let us get over it so that I can go. My friends are waiting for me in Kilimani.'' What? Kilimani? Who is this girl? '' I thought you wanted to spend some time with me.'' ''I am sorry, Kevo, but I wanted to see where you live first. Before we can proceed, I am sure we will keep on seeing each other." ''Okay, when will I see you again?'' ''let us make it next weekend.'' ''Okay, that's perfect. We can go and see the Amapiano artists from South Africa at club 68. I will be there with my friends if you don't mind.'' ''That is perfect, Uhm... Kelvin, I am sorry about what I said earlier about you being rich and all that, I want to ask you for something. With the money you sent me, I used to purchase some items and now I don't have any. Will you please help me with some money? I will refund it next weekend." An excuse to see her next weekend. Kelvin thought. '' Yes, should I use the same number?'' ''Yes, the same one'' press one to fuliza Sh.1850. A notification read. Kelvin confirmed and she received the money. ''See you next weekend?'' ''see you, and don't forget to bring that beautiful smile of yours.'' ''I will, I promise'' ''bye'' ''bye.'' Evelyn ''Giiiiillll?'' ''Whaaaaaaaat?'' '' I just left his house 4K richer'' '' Girl, what did you do this time round?.'' ''I didn't do anything, I just asked for money and he gave me'' ''Did you sleep with him?'' ''No, I did not!'' ''Do you want to date him?'' ''Okay, I thought I could date him, but I changed my mind about it just now.'' ''why did you change your mind?'' Asked Soledad at the end of the line. She has been best friends with Evelyn since high school, but somehow they have different lifestyles. Soledad is a nerd just finishing her Ph.D. in education, while Evelyn loves it easily. ''Are you interrogating me, Soledad?'' ''No, I am not. Anyway, where are you off to?'' ''I am going to Nairobi street kitchen to meet this guy whom we met online. He is from France. I will let you know as soon as I get there.'' ''Please be careful'' ''I will bye'' Kelvin ''Bro, where did you say you were at?'' ''Oh, you are already done with paperwork? So fast huh'' ''Never mind.'' ''Okay, okay, we are at Whiskey River. Just uber I will pay for it, bro.'' ''Yes, you better because I am running bankrupt from where I am right now.'' ''Hahahaaaa, bro what the f**k did you do?." ''I will explain. Don't worry, you will have the full story just now so you can judge me.'' The cab cruised past the city buildings but Kelvin never saw the changes made to the buildings since he was thinking about Evelyn's comments. ''Sir, we are here'' ''Just a minute. You will be paid right now'' Before Kelvin could call his friend, he appeared. ''That was fast, so tell me what happened?'' started Amos ''bro, let me catch my breath first, a lot is going on. I feel tired already before I have started doing anything.'' They walked in silence. When they reached their table, Kelvin grabbed a half glass of whiskey and gulped all the contents at once. '' Bro, I can't explain exactly, but I feel like Nairobi women were built differently. I gave out almost 5K of my money, and after she left that was when I felt the pinch.'' ''Wait, you gave out money which you did not have?'' Amos laughed so loudly that his laughter could be heard by people across the bar. ''You took credit because of a pair of boobs bro? Oh hell no. I told you don't give your money before you have received the goods bro, now see.'' ''I think I love her bro'' '' oh hell, you just met her for two hours last week.'' ''Maybe it is love at first sight.'' ''Hahahaaaah what? What do you know about love? Huh?. Okay, did she tell you her second name? Where does she come from?.'' ''Bro, you are making it harder than it is already. I will make it right, I will go slow with her.'' ''Your damn right, you will go slow with her alone because, from the looks of it, she is already taking it fast with your money.'' They say dating in Nairobi is not for the faint-hearted. It is like gambling. You are never sure of the outcome. Kelvin laid back as he recounted the events of that day. The day was not easy damn. Soledad She is a beautiful girl, half Kenyan, half Spanish. Her father is a rich man from Spain, while her mother is a Kenyan lawyer and her family decided to settle in Kenya. Her phone rang as Soledad was making her bed. ''Hello..... Evelyn?'' ''Soledad, it is Friday. Are you coming? We are going to Naivasha for the weekend.'' ''Oh no, I am sorry, we are having this family dinner with some of my father's businessmen and they are coming with their family and you know I can't miss such an event, my dad will skin me alive but I will be there for the open galore at KNT on Wednesday.'' ''You are going to such a boring event? Anyway, I will be there to support you girl, bye.'' Soledad hung up and left to go get something from the sitting room when she met her mum. ''Put these glasses on the table dear, and go get dressed. The visitors will be here any moment'' ''Mum, it is still early because nobody comes on time with the traffic jam and all that'' ''Today is Saturday, plus all our visitors live around Caren, so they will be here on time.'' ''As you say mama.'' The visitors came earlier than expected, and her father did not waste any time. He went ahead to welcome his guests. Ting ting ting. sounded the attention alarm. ''Good evening everybody, I am so happy to welcome you all to our mansion. Today is all about having fun celebrating the successful merging of our two companies and also the beginning of a beautiful family, the Jacobs and Alvarez family. Welcome you all and have fun.'' finished Soledad's father. ''What a beautiful marriage, grumbled Soledad.'' ''What is it that you don't like? Is it the champagne you are holding, or the food that you are about to eat, or maybe me who is standing next to you?.'' A deep voice asked. ''First of all, I will start with you. There is plenty of ground to stand on and you had to go and suck all the air around me.'' ''Well, I looked around and saw a beautiful princess standing alone, so I thought I should give her cover before the hungry hyenas spot her.'' ''And you are the sheep, huh?'' '' Yes, you could say that.'' God help me before I use this glass to knock his damn teeth out. '' I am Kelvin, James.'' ''Okay.'' ''Can I please use this precious opportunity to know your name?'' ''No, you may not.'' ''Soledad, my dear, I see you have already met Mr. Jacobs's son.'' Her mother appeared holding a glass of champagne. ''Mmmh Soledad, a beautiful name like the owner.'' complemented Kelvin James Soledad rolled her eyes, avoiding her mother so she wouldn't start complaining about how she had begun the bad behavior again. '' Yes mama, and he was just leaving.'' ''Actually Mrs. Alvarez, I was just inviting Soledad...Soledad right?'' ''Yes speak'' ''Yea Soledad is here at our golf club on Tuesday. We are having a tournament at the parklands sports club.'' ''And I was just telling Kelvin James here that I will be busy on Tuesday, preparing for my art galore on Wednesday so I can't go to the tournament on Wednesday with him.'' ''Oh come on dear, you have been so consumed by your art that you barely have time to go out and meet new people. You have my blessing you can go out this one time.'' Said Soledads mum smilling. ''It is settled then, Wednesday it is.'' She rolled her eyes and this time Kelvin James caught a glimpse and he chuckled. Evelyn ''I promised to give this Kelvin guy a visit next weekend but I am going because he is taking me to club 68, otherwise he will never see me.'' ''Eve, you have not refilled your gas yet? How do you cook?'' ''I don't cook hun, I order takeouts. You should try it.'' ''Hell no, these delivery guys eat your food before it reaches its destination.'' ''Yuck Soledad, who told you that? Anybody who says such things is jealous of us who order take-outs.'' ''I am not jealous and I don't like takeouts.'' ''Just order this once you won't die.'' ''Ok, I will after you promise to give me all the last weekend's details. I am dying, tell me everything.'' ''Okay relax girl, I will, so this guy, Kelvin, did not say his second name, and to be honest, I did not care, he asked me to visit him...... I reached there and almost fell out of shock to find his house almost empty. I don't know why but he gave me the rich kid vibe. Mmh I guess I was wrong but at least I was 4K richer that day.'' ''I swear you are unbelievable, so you say you don't feel anything for this guy?'' ''Nada, nothing.'' ''Ok, on my side, I am supposed to go out with this guy my mum set me up with last weekend.'' ''Girl, finally you are going to get some d.....k.'' ''Oh, hell no, he's probably some spoiled rich kid who just wants to get to my pants, plus right now I am not looking for any relationship and if I have to be in a relationship I want that soap operas love, just magic.'' She spread her hands, showing the extent of her love. ''You watch too many love stories. This is the real world. There is no Romea and Julliet thing anymore. My love wake up.'' Evelyn teased Soledad as she handed her a glass of wine. ''I have to go and meet this guy before my mum starts calling me and ruins my day.'' ''Go girl, your mum understands these things.'' ''God Eve, she dated in the 90s. She knows nothing about dating nowadays.'' They said goodbye and she left.