CHAPTER THREE
1090 Words
She was sitting all by herself in the university's infamous garden of love.
Once only a garden, it was given the moniker "Garden of Love" when two of the university's top students fell in love there, dated, graduated together, and were married.
Now, the spacious garden with its two fountains, groomed shrubs, walks, and various tree shadows was a fortunate spot to discover true love.
As she browsed through her phone under the shade of a mango tree, everything seemed serene and tranquil. She was looking for the best places to dine at the campus and to see if there was a location where she could study without Ezra seeing her.
Before she could see a human sitting next her, she felt an arm encircle her shoulder. She liked him, but Demetria genuinely valued her privacy. She could not handle him constantly, but she did not know how to let him know, so she put up with it. "What's up Metric? Whatcha doing?"
"For the umpteenth time, that is not my name." Demetria rolled her eyes.
"It's my nickname for you. You don't like it?" Ezra pouted, holding a hand over his heart.
"Ezra?"
"Hmm?"
"What are the four major topics under food science?"
Ezra blew out a breath and hugged her closer. "Food, types of food, examples of food and how science is related to food."
"Yup, you're definitely going to fail." The female nodded her head in agreement to his ridiculous answer.
He opened his mouth to speak but she held up her hand. "No, you can not copy me in the exam Hall. We won't even be sitting close to each other. By matric or last name, we're very far apart."
"It's fine, I'm aiming to get a pass not distinction. Anyway, have I ever told you you're a two-person human?"
"You say what?" She scrunched up her face.
"Two-person human. You have a hidden soul behind your eyes."
"Two-person human is not a real thing."
"Yes it is. I discovered it. Gravity wasn't a thing until Albert Einstein."
"Actually, gravity has been disc-"
Clamping his palm over her lips, he shushed her, saying, "Do not want to hear it."
She rolled her eyes and he removed his hand before standing up. "Gotta go now. Malachi is throwing a party tonight, are you coming?"
"No."
"It's not a house party Metric, it's at a restaurant outside the school. We're meeting up with some people from the state University. Maybe you can even catch up with some of your old friends."
Demetria felt a surge of rage at the thought of her old school, but she repressed it. The past was behind them, and Ezra did not need to know anything.
The plump woman scooped up her bag and got to her feet. "No." She then walked away.
"Fine, I'll bring back some edibles for you though." He yelled out loud as she walked farther away from her.
Ezra stopped and glanced around. "I should not have said that out loud, I should not," he whispered to himself as Demetria shook her head.
It was a day later when they were on another coffee/study date.
"Demetria?"
In surprise, Demetria looked up. In the brief weeks that she had known Ezra, he had never referred to her by that name. He had even called her Metric while presenting her to his other friends, and she had to correct him and give them her true name.
"I don't think I can hold it in anymore." He closed the book in front of her as all playfulness drained from his voice.
"I actually like you. To be honest, I've never met anybody like you before. You're so sweet and nice and calm and gentle and always alone. Being alone is not a bad thing, I actually like it. It's the opposite of me and helps keep me grounded plus you're very smart. I mean think of what we will be together. You book smart and me street smart. I thought if I kept being around you, you would see how much I really like you but I guess you're not that type of girl. I would like you to be my girlfriend please." He said in one breath.
Demetria was left speechless and dumbfounded.
"Also my birthday is coming up in a week and I'm having a small house party. I would really love to introduce you officially as my girlfriend."
"What makes you think I'll say yes?" She finally found her voice.
"Fingers crossed, I'm hoping you will. I really like you, metric."
"What if I don't like you like that?"
"You can grow to like me. You're already fond of me, I know that," he joked before going back to being serious.
"But just give me a chance, I may be a good friend but let me show you I can be better as a boyfriend."
"Please," he added.
"You don't even know me. What if I did get abortions?"
"Everyone has a bad past Demetria, I'm not going to hold you to it as long as you're trying to be better and with what I've seen since we met, I can say you're doing a great job and I would like to grow with you."
"I'm not good with people Ezra, you will get tired of me."
"I know you're not. I also know I can be too much at times for you. I see it on your face and your body language tells me too but I promise to lower my rate of annoyance."
"You promise?" She eyed him.
"That's your second soul looking at me, both of you doubt me." He pointed at her.
"Stop saying that, there's no such thing as a second soul."
He raised his hands in surrender before asking. "So what do you say?"
Demetria bit the inside of her cheek before groaning lowly. "Fine, we'll start with a one month probation and see how it goes. Hope I don't regret this."
With a laugh and a clap of his hands, Ezra got up and extended his hand to her. "My lady?"
Demetria took his hand and he helped her to her feet before pulling her in for a hug.
Demetria accepted since she found the embrace to be pleasant and reassuring. She couldn't wait to tell her mom she got her first boyfriend.
"Happy birthday in advance by the way," she mumbled into the hug.
"Thank you," he released her before kissing her forehead.
"It's gonna be a day to remember."
- Writer
