Chapter 122 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

After Bryan’s phone conversation with Matt, he tried to read the novel he had picked up earlier, but he was unable to read it because his mind was clouded with thoughts of Sonia and he kept staring at her picture which was behind the novel.

He rolled over on the bed but all he could perceive on his sheets was her scent, so he decided to go out to the poolside as usual to have a nightcap and enjoy the cool evening breeze.

While sitting there, enjoying the cool evening breeze he remembered the last time he had been there, and how Sonia had come out to join him and offer him a deal. It seemed like everything and everywhere in his house was beginning to remind him a lot of Sonia, and he didn’t like it one bit. He especially did not like the fact that he was beginning to like having her around because of their unnecessary conversations and arguments. He didn’t want her invading his space or being around him. Not here in his house and definitely not inside his head either.

He picked up his wine glass and moved his wheelchair from the spot where he usually sat and turned off the light before going to the other end of the pool where he wouldn’t be easily noticed. He didn’t want Sonia to find him if for any reason she decided to come looking for him at the pool.

Once he was at the other end of the pool, he looked longingly at the water which beckoned to him to take a dip. It had been a while since he last took a dip in the pool, so he was very tempted by the calmness of the water. He glanced at his ankle which was still bound by a ankle brace and then decided he was just going to sit in the water for a few minutes to clear his head without doing any vigorous swimming exercise that would hurt his ankle.

Bearing that thought in mind, he took off his shirt, leaving just the boxer short he was wearing, and he directed the wheelchair to the edge of the pool before gently getting out of it.

Holding the handle of the pool, he pushed back his wheelchair so that it wouldn’t be too close to the pool, before slowly climbing into the water using the pool stairs. He moved away from the shallow part and buried himself under the water.

Bryan shut his eyes as he tried to clear his head from thoughts of Sonia, but Matt’s words about Sonia being perfectly suitable for him kept coming back to him. He shook his head to discard the thoughts.

That girl was crazy, and he couldn’t do crazy. He wanted a girl who was as sane, gentle, and calm as his mother and sister. Even Benne had managed to get himself Celsie, so why did he have to be attracted to someone as wild as Sonia?

Just as he raised his head to the surface of the water to draw in air, he saw the patio door open, and because of the light which was reflecting from inside the house, he could see Sonia without her knowing of his presence inside the water.

He held his breath as he watched her stand there with her back to the door. He couldn’t see her face since she was backing the light, but her long braided hair had been twisted into a knot on top of her head, and the skimpy bathrobe which was the same as the color of her eyes revealed those damn long legs of hers that always caught his eyes. A white towel was hanging on her neck, and she was holding her phone in one hand and a glass of wine in the other hand.

He watched as Sonia surveyed the surrounding in one quick glance as if she was looking for something before she gently shut the patio door with the hand holding her phone as if she was trying to not make any noise that would rouse him from sleep. With the patio door closed, the place was dark once again, so he had to squint his eyes to adjust them to the darkness as he watched her, and waited to see what she was up to.

Once Sonia was sure that the door was locked, she set both her phone and the glass of wine on the table, before quickly throwing the towel on one of the seats beside the pool, where Bryan had sat the last time they had been there.

Bryan watched her curiously. Did she want to swim? Why was she doing it with such cautiousness in the dark as though she was about to do something she shouldn’t be doing? Should he make his presence known to her now or just until he sees what she wants to do? Or maybe he could scare her when she enters the water? Bryan thought with a mischievous glitter in his eyes as he remained at the other end of the pool with his body submerged in water, and only the upper part of his head above the water as he watched her.

His mouth dropped open when her hand moved to the belt of her robe and he snapped his mouth shut when water rushed inside. Surely she had a swimsuit on, right? Bryan thought in alarm. Was this the time to make his presence known to her? Or was he supposed to just stay still and let her do her thing? Why did he feel like he was invading her privacy when she was the one invading his privacy in his own home.

He should say something. He should do something. He should stop her from taking off her robe, Bryan thought, but his mouth refused to cooperate with him, as his eyes remained glued to her body waiting for the robe to drop so he could see what she was wearing beneath it.

‘Traitor!’ He cussed himself when he felt his body reacting to the sight of Sonia trying to undress. His body was his problem. Why was his body always reacting this way to her even when she was yet to take off the robe?

Sonia who was ignorant of the solo audience she was entertaining, stood there with her hands on her belt as she got ready to take off the robe. Halfway through untying her belt, she paused when she remembered that her glass of wine was too far away from the pool, and she was yet to turn on the music.

She stopped, and without taking off the robe she dragged the chair which was holding her towel closer to the pool, and placed the wineglass on the floor, close to the pool before picking up her phone.

Sonia turned towards the door, wondering if the sound of the music would be loud enough to get to Bryan’s room, but she shook her head. Bryan was fast asleep, and the doors were closed, so he definitely wouldn’t hear the music, she concluded as she scrolled through the albums on her phone until she stopped at Cardi B’s album.

She was definitely in the mood for some Cardio B music, Sonia thought as she tapped on Cardi B’s ‘I Like It’, and soon the sound of music flooded the place.

Bryan watched in amusement as she started rapping alongside the music and swaying her body to the rhythm of the song.

“I like texts from my exes when they want a second chance (What?)

I like proving niggas wrong, I do what they say I can’t (She can’t)

They call me Sonia Bardi, banging body, spicy mami, hot tamale

Hotter than a Somali, fur coat, Ferrari,” Sonia sang on, and Bryan chuckled to himself when he noticed that Sonia had replaced Cardi Bardi, with Sonia Bardi. This girl was not just crazy. She was a very crazy nutcase.

Still unaware of her audience, Sonia undid her belt and let the robe fall to her feet while she continued singing and swaying her hips. Bryan who had been watching her with a smile on his face, felt all the blood in his body move to the point between his groin as he watched her beautiful body.

Now that she was stark naked, there was no going back. If he came out now, she was going to say he was a pervert for not making his presence known to her until she had stripped. At the same time, Bryan reminded himself that the lady in front of him was Sonia. There was nothing normal about her, and she was likely just going to wink at him if she finds out that he had been enjoying the private show she had been putting up.

Sonia dove into the water and screeched excitedly when the cold evening water hit her naked body. Soon she disappeared under the water, and Bryan held his breath, since he didn’t know the direction she was swimming to, and she was likely going to discover that there was another creature in the pool with her if she came anywhere near his edge of the pool.

Maybe this was the time to also scare her, that way she would think he had remained quiet because he wanted to pull a prank on her, and not because he was enjoying her show.

With that thought in mind, Bryan dipped his head into the water, and although his eyes stung, he tried to keep his eyes open so he would see her position in the water.

He raised his head when he heard her gasp as she came to the surface of the water. And he watched as she cleaned the water from her eyes and continued to rap alongside the next song that had started playing on her playlist.

With half his head still submerged in water, he gradually headed in her direction, trying not to use his injured foot, and also trying to avoid getting discovered by Sonia who had moved to the edge of the pool to take a sip from her wine glass.

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