Two's Company, Three's Chaos

Amanda scrolled through her i********: feed, double-tapping photos absentmindedly. Her feed was full of friends' beach vacations, food pics, and the latest memes. She stopped when she saw a post where she was tagged by her friend Favour. It was a candid shot from last weekend’s party. There she was, laughing with a cocktail in hand, sandwiched between Favour and another friend. Her cheeks were flushed from dancing, and her eyes sparkled with joy. Amanda tapped on the story to see the comments. Most were the usual: "Looks fun!" and "Wish I was there!" But one comment stood out: "Who's the girl on the left? 😍" She didn't recognize the username, and the profile picture was a bit blurry. Curiosity getting the better of her, Nina texted Favour: "Hey, who’s that guy who commented on your story about me?" Favour replied almost immediately: "Oh, that’s David. He’s a musician, pretty popular in the afrobeat scene around here. He saw your pic and asked about you. Hope you don’t mind!" Amanda felt a mix of flattery and caution. A musician, huh? She didn’t mind the attention but was wary of strangers on social media. Still, she couldn't help but be intrigued. Later that night, as Amanda lay in bed scrolling through her phone, a notification popped up. It was a text from an unknown number: "Hey, this is David. Saw your pic on Favour's profile. Hope it’s cool. I got your number from her. You seem really interesting!" Amanda's heart skipped a beat. Part of her was excited, but another part was cautious. She stared at the message for a few moments before typing back: "Hi, David. Yeah, that’s fine. Nice to meet you!" She blushed, holding her phone to her chest. Things were about to get interesting. David replied quickly, and they started chatting. He told her more about his music and how he and his twin brother, Daniel, had started their afrobeat duo a few years ago. They had been performing in local venues and were slowly building a following. "What do you do? Wait, let me guess." Amanda smiled, hoping he got it right, "You're a project manager who loves painting. You probably attend DIY workshops and all" Amanda burst into laughter, "How do you know all that?" She could tell David was a bit nervous, "I might have stalked you on the socials. And I saw your LinkedIn profile.I hope you don’t find it too creepy?" Amanda giggled. "I actually don't. To be honest I would have done the same if Favour didn't already tell me all I needed to know". Their conversation flowed effortlessly, and before she knew it, an hour had passed. "So, do you go to a lot of parties?" David asked. "Not really," Amanda admitted. "Favour dragged me to that one. I’m more of a homebody, to be honest. But I had fun." "I’m glad," David replied. "Maybe we could hang out sometime, get to know each other better?" Amanda hesitated for a moment. She barely knew this guy, but something about his straightforwardness was appealing. "Maybe," she texted back. "Let’s see where this goes." Over the next few days, their conversations became a regular part of Amanda's routine. She found herself looking forward to David’s messages. They talked about their favourite songs, the best places to eat in the city, and their dreams for the future. David's passion for music was contagious, and Nina found herself wanting to hear him play live. One evening, as they were texting, David mentioned, "We have a show coming up this weekend. Would you like to come? I mean, there's no pressure, you don't have to if you don't want to. I just really really want to see you." Amanda bit her lip, considering. It was a big step to meet someone from the internet in real life, but she felt a strange sense of trust towards David. "Sure," she replied, her heart racing. "I’d love to." "Great! I’ll send you the details," David replied. "Looking forward to seeing you there, Amanda." Amanda put down her phone and smiled. This was definitely out of her comfort zone, but she couldn’t help but feel excited about what might come next.As the night wore on, Amanda found herself thinking more and more about David. She wondered what it would be like to meet him in person, to hear his music live, to get to know him beyond the screen of her phone. The excitement was mixed with a touch of nervousness, but she decided to take it one step at a time. Before she drifted off to sleep, her phone buzzed again. "Goodnight, Amanda. Looking forward to our next chat," David had written. Nina smiled as she typed back, "Goodnight, David. Talk to you soon." As she placed her phone on the bedside table, Amanda felt a flutter of excitement in her chest. This was the start of something new, and she couldn’t wait to see where it would go.