AFLOAT Season 4 E.7

What comes singing, leaves whistling.

        - Finnish Quote

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Maitama, Abuja

The kitchen was flooded with bright, clean light. Unlike the dim living room and the darkness beyond the glass doors, every polished surface gleamed beneath the pendant lights, making the room feel almost too bright. The faint aroma of freshly baked bread still hung in the air as if competing with another aroma David couldn't quite place. 

Tricia had already opened the refrigerator's massive door. She set a loaf of bread, tomatoes, cheese and lettuce on the marble island before reaching for a knife.

David stopped a comfortable distance away, leaning against the opposite counter, his phone in one hand, eyes fixed on the screen.

"I hope you don't mind simple food."

Tricia's question pulled his attention away from the bright screen.

"I'd eat cardboard at this point."

That earned him another small smile.

"I'll see what I can do. But, I won't do this again for you."

David nodded, pocketing his phone. 

Tricia only cooked for Alex. That was one thing she would never allow the house help or chef take over. Not because she particularly enjoyed cooking, but because Alex loved eating wahtever she prepared and she was very good at it.

The rhythmic sound of the knife against the chopping board filled the room. David lowered his gaze, watching the wine swirl lazily inside his glass.

Keep looking down. His head cautioned.

The knife continued its steady rhythm, filling the sudden silence with a tension David refused to acknowledge. Every movement reminded him that she was only a few feet away. He swallowed hard.

Don't look.

He focused on the marble floor. Then on the reflection of the pendant lights. A sudden beep made him pull out his phone again and swipe down the notification bar. There was a message from Ada about her work trip and every detail he wasn't in mood for. Typing a swift "enjoy yourself," he switched off the screen and set the phone back on the counter. His eyes darted towards the sign above the exit door, desperately forcing himself to focus on anything except the woman standing across from him.

Just then Tricia leaned forward and reached across the counter for a plate. The movement caught the corner of David's vision and for one brief treacherous instant, his eyes found her. 

Her robe had slipped slightly open as she reached and the delicate lace of her nightgown caught the bright pendant light, the soft fabric almost glowing against her exposed skin.

David's jaw clenched. The image seared itself into his mind before he tore his gaze away as though he had been burned.

Heat coursed through his body with frightening speed. He gripped the edge of the counter until a dull ache traveled up his arm. His breathing hitched.

Tricia met his gaze and froze. 

She slowly withdrew her arm and without a word, adjusted the robe, pulling it firmly around herself before fastening the belt more tightly.

David shut his eyes.

"I... I'm sorry."

She didn't answer.

The only sound in the kitchen was the quiet scraping of the knife against the chopping board as she resumed preparing the sandwiches.

Neither of them spoke again.

Several minutes later she slid one of the plates across the island toward him without meeting his eyes.

"That's yours."

"Thank you."

She nodded once.

"We have tea, juice, coffee or whatever you prefer in here somewhere. You can help yourself. I'm going upstairs."

David looked up as she picked up her own plate.

"Wine is enough. Good night, Tricia."

She walked past him without another word.

Only after her footsteps disappeared on the staircase did David release the breath he'd been holding. He stared at the untouched sandwich sitting before him for a long time before quietly laughing at himself.

"Omo, David you've really messed up," he murmured as he reached for the sandwich.

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Upstairs, Tricia quietly closed her bedroom door and turned the lock with trembling fingers. The soft click echoed in her stunned mind. 

Still clutching her plate she leaned back against the door and shut her eyes. Her heart refused to slow. She had never seen David like that. Never.

She slid down until she was sitting on the soft rug covering the floor of her entire room. The cream shade blended perfectly with the warm baby-pink of the blinds, just the way she loved it. She had designed the room herself and in the end, it had turned out to be Alex's favorite room too. He would sleep there whenever she had to work all night.

Tricia placed the plate with forgotten sandwich on her lap as fragments of the evening replayed themselves in her mind. 

Something was off with David. She had genuinely thought he'd stormed off after the drama earlier that evening. But the strange sounds she had heard when she came downstairs to get water and the glimpse she'd caught from the hallway had made her flee into the kitchen. 

It had taken all her willpower to act surprised when she found him holding that lamp, bare-chested and in his boxers with his pants pooled around his feet. As much as she detested the man, she didn’t want to embarrass him for choosing to engage in such a conduct in her livingroom.

 She had decided to ignore and even blame his actions on Ada's abscence but his panicked expression, the way he kept avoiding her eyes and just now, the look in his eyes when... 

A chill ran through Tricia as one memory after another quietly fell into place.

She remembered the hotel. His unexpected anger. The way he always seemed to appear whenever Alex was around. How he would abandon whatever engagement he had to stand guard around her simply because Alex asked him to. The way he sometimes looked at her with an expression she had, over the months, come to interpret as respect because of the brotherly bond they all shared with Alex.

Her eyes slowly widened. "No..."

The whispered denial sounded hollow even to her own ears.  Her stomach tightened as realization settled over her. 

David...had feelings for her!  But, how had that happened? David was Alex's closest friend. The only one Alex trusted enough to allow near her. 

She had always been nothing but formal with him. In fact, she always intentionally avoided all Alex's friends and would never dream of cheating on him with anyone. 

Sighing deeply Tricia hugged her knees and the plate slipped from her lap onto the rug. She didnt know whether to feel empathy or disgust for the man. But she was sure of one thing, whatever David felt—if she was even right—could never become anything more. Never. 

A sharp knock at her bedroom door shattered the silence. 

She jerked upright.

Another knock was followed by the door handle twisting slowly. Then David's voice came through the door.

"Tricia? Are you still awake?"

Her breath caught as she stared at the lock. Every instinct told her to call Alex.

CONTINUE