AFLOAT Season 4 E3

Reader discretion advised

Previously: SEASON 4 EP.2 

A person is a person because of other people.

                    – African Proverb: SeSotho / Ubuntu

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David froze, his heart hammered frantically against his ribs as the sudden surge of adrenaline completely washed away the lingering heat of desire and the priest’s echoing words from his buzzing head.

He scrambled to his knees but stayed low, pressing his side against the sofa while his breath came in silent, shallow rasps. 

"Who dey there?" he called out. His voice barely carried across the room.

The house was dead quiet except for the low sound of the airconditioner which was now doing nothing to stop the sweat running down his back. The tension in the room had turned thick and David tried to resist the suffocating fear creeping down his spine. It was probably one of the maids, he thought. But the none of the maids lived on the premises. Alex enjoyed his privacy too much. 

Just then, a shadow shifted against the strip of light spilling from the open kitchen door. The floorboards groaned again and David reached blindly along the side table, his fingers wrapping around the heavy brass base of a reading lamp, one of the set Alex had imported from Dubai. He unplugged it with a swift yank of the cable and pushed himself up from the cold marble floor, holding the lamp like a club.

"I know someone is in there!" he called out, forcing a steady confidence into his tone that he didn't feel.

The silhouette moved out of the kitchen frame and into the dim light of the living room.

Tricia? David murmured while staring at her as if he was seeing a vision.

She stood in the doorway, holding a half-empty glass of water. Her wide eyes took in David’s disheveled state, his bare chest, the beads of perspiration on his forehead, and the heavy lamp raised like a weapon above his head. Her gaze slowly swept down his figure and back up to his face, taking in his wild, erratic breathing.

"David?" she said softly, her brow furrowing in confusion. "I thought you left already. What on earth are you doing?"

David met her questioning gaze as his mind went blank. the brass lamp suddenly felt twice as heavy in his hand as a wave of relief washed over him. He let out a long, ragged breath and slowly lowered the lamp. Tricia was supposed to be asleep. When did she come downstairs?

He swallowed hard and just then his mind snapped back to his disheveled state. Hurriedly pulling up his pants, he fumbled with his zipper and blindly smoothened his creased shirt as his panicked thoughts spiraled.

  

Had his groans woken her? 

"David, you startled me."

"Sorry about that. I thought you were a break-in," he stammered, trying to regain his composure. "What are you doing awake?"

Tricia didn't move any closer. She glared at him, unable to hide her annoyance. 

"This is my house. I should be asking the questions. What are you still doing here? Did something happen? Is Alex okay?"

David sighed and collapsed onto the couch. "Alex is fine. I just decided to stay back since the bodyguards had to knock off for the day—thanks to my stupid PA, who messed up the contract terms."

Tricia’s frown deepened as she stepped closer, slowly swirling the water in her glass.

"What about you?" David asked, desperate to redirect her focus away from his disarray. "Don't you have to be at work in the morning?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I came down for a drink," she replied, stopping a few feet away, her tone dropping into something far colder. "As for work, didn't you threaten to lock me in?"

She scoffed, taking a sharp sip from her glass. "Anyway, I called in sick. A colleague is covering for me."

David nodded absentmindedly. But as his eyes drifted down, recognition hit him like a blow to the chest and he registered what she was wearing. It was the exact nightgown Alex had dragged him along to pick out as a gift for her. In the warm glow of the living room, the fine lace left very little to the imagination, exactly as Alex had intended. 

Suddenly, the room seemed to lose its oxygen. A suffocating knot tied itself in David's throat. He forced his gaze upward as all his nerve endings became hyper-aware of Tricia. He reached for his wine glass...

CONTINUE