Chương 24: Twenty four

"You don't like it?" Uche asked in a concerned manner after noticing that I wasn't chewing on mine.

"It's okay...I just wished I had agreed to add some sprinkles on mine." I muttered but to his hearing.

"Do you want a new one, you can add sprinkles?"

"Nahh, then I'll have to thrash this one." I shook my head.

"Do you want mine?" He asked making me look at the doughnut in his hand, it was still in the paper bag; he was eating it while using the paper bag like a kind of glove.

I nodded, of course I wanted his.

"Here." He gave it to me and my grin could not have been wider.

"Are you going to eat mine?" I asked and he nodded taking it from me. With just one bite into his doughnuts, it was clear that it was more tasty. I guess doughnuts weren't that bad, I've just not been eating them right. This one I just took from him had jam in it.

Some of it smeared on my fingers while I still held the doughnut he just gave me, I tried licking my pinky which had more of the smeared jam than other fingers but a little from it(my pinky finger) touched my chin.

This is embarrassing, really embarrassing. What if Uche thought I was weird because I didn't know how to eat a doughnut. I slowly lifted my eyes up to meet his, he was looking at me. I hated this situation so much. I pursed my lips as I lifted my head..... someone tell me this wasn't happening, it couldn't be really happening.

"I have a hanky." He dropped his paper bag which he still used to hold my doughnut that I had switched with him. Why didn't I do that....why didn't I put mine in the paper bag while eating it.

I watched him stand up to check in his trouser pockets for his handkerchief. He found it and then handed it to me before it occurred to him that I might not be able to take it with both of my hands; all ten fingers filled with doughnut jam.

"Oh....sorry." He said in realization and came closer to where I sat. Squatting in front of me, he gently rub off the little on my chin before taking the remaining doughnut from me and putting it back in the paper bag.

He wanted to wipe the jam off my fingers but I stopped him, I couldn't let him do that with his white handkerchief.

"I will just suck it off." I said putting my middle finger first in my mouth and sucking it clean and I planned to repeat that with my other jam-stained fingers.

"You don't want to use my hanky?" he asked and I could sense that uncertainty from his voice, he probably thought I didn't want to use it because it was his or something.....I don't know, I couldn't tell what he was thinking but I was sure he sounded like he was just repudiated, I knew because I felt that more often than never.

"I do. I just don't want to stain it, it's white."

"It's already stained, I just used it to wipe off the jam on your chin."

"Well that's a small stain, it could easily be removed....look at my hands." I raised my ten fingers to his face."This is a lot, it wouldn't go off your handkerchief."

"I have others, it's not just this one hanky." He shrugged.

"So you are willing to put this one to waste?"

"It's not being put to waste if you use it to wipe off your fingers."

"Well...,"I said putting my ring finger first in my mouth to lick of the jam before doing so to the others while he watched. "I can have it now." I said once my hands were less jammy.

He gave it to me, happily and I used it, at least it won't be very stained now. I put it in my own pocket when I was done and he looked surprised even if not offended.

"I plan to wash it before returning it." I explained and he just smiled again. At this point, I could swear that he knew I loved the way he smiled and hence did it more often.

....

When we were back to walking, he was talking as he pointed places but I wasn't listening, I could hear him but I wasn't listening. I wasn't listening because I was lost looking at him again, how could anyone be this cute. His lower lips were somewhere in between red and pink and his upper lips were light brown but seemed red too whenever he smiled.

I started to ponder if to ask him about what I heard him and Nick talking about earlier. They both didn't know I could hear them back then, what if I asked him and it seemed like I was an eavesdropper.

Don't ask him, just forget it.....I heard my inner self tell me.

You know what, you should just ask him rather than thinking about it for the rest of today.....my inner self told me again.

I was still thinking when I felt his hand graze against mine, I looked up at him to meets his smile. He took my hand after mistakenly touching it just now, interlocking his fingers with mine, maybe I should ask him, he wouldn't think of me as an eavesdropper or anything. I was going to ask him now, I took a deep breath before smiling back at him.

"Uche?" I called him.

"Hmmn."

"Earlier...." I looked back down before deciding to continue."Earlier when you and Nick were talking...." I licked my lips, a little nervous for some reason."

"Yeah?" He stopped walking and gave me his full attention.

"Why did Nick say you can't like me?" I asked and saw his smile turn dry, like I just reminded him of something he didn't want to think about.

"You heard that?" He said after some seconds of silence.

"I didn't mean to?" I defended."Nick doesn't know you like me, does he?"

He shook his head. That was surprisingly honest from him.

"Oh." I said amidst the awkward silence that came after."Why not?"

"I'm not allowed to like you." I heard him again.

"What?"

"I'm not allowed to like you, Julie." He repeated.

"I heard you the first time, that was just me expressing surprise." Why and how isn't he allowed to like me?!

******

Heyy, it's your author geni. Please note that everything written here is nothing but fiction.Please vote as you read, comment your thoughts and don't forget to leave a review, I am very open to constructive criticism. I'm on all socials as @genika3na.