“Hi Bradley,” Alice said.
I turned around and was stunned. She was heavily pregnant but the only thing I could focus on was her beauty. After five years, nothing had changed except that she was carrying a living being inside her.
“Hi Alice,” I said with a shy smile.
Before she could say another word, William approached and placed one of his hands around her waist.
“Hey Bradley,” He said as he stretched out his hand to greet me.
“Hi William,” I responded while shaking his hand.
“Babe my parents are here. We should go greet them before you give your speech,” He said to Alice.
She looked at me apologetically before nodding at William and leaving with him. As I watched them walk away together, I felt like my heart had shattered into pieces.
Alice and I had grown up together. My parents and hers had been friends for years which automatically made Alice’s brother Brandon, my best friend. Throughout primary and high school I thought about Alice as my little sister.
Since she didn’t have many friends, occasionally we would all hang out together. Once we finished high school, Alice got a scholarship to a university in the UK. The first few weeks we talked every day as she settled but as time went by, our schedules made it harder to communicate. Eventually, we stopped talking. However, I still followed her on social media just to see what she was up to.
Four years later, she came back for her graduation party that her parents hosted at their place. At the party, she showed up with William who she had started dating in the UK. The two had met during one of their classes and managed to move from friends to “lovers”. At the time I didn’t care about their relationship. Although, I couldn’t help but notice how mature and beautiful, she looked.
We didn’t get the chance to talk that day since everyone wanted her attention. All I could do was watch her from afar and admire how she interacted with people.
“Who are you looking at?” Brandon asked as he brought me a drink.
“Nobody,” I lied.
“Alice wants us to spend a day next Saturday together since she’s travelling back on Sunday,” He said.
“That sounds great!” I replied.
“Yeah, but I have plans with Rachel that day,” He said.
“We can always plan when she gets back,” I responded.
“You guys can still go without me,” He said.
“Okay,” I replied.
The following Saturday I spent the day with Alice. We went hiking and bike riding at Karura. I wasn’t a fan of physical activities, but I didn’t care. Spending time talking to her was enlightening. I had known her for so many years, but I felt like I was meeting her for the first time.
By the end of the day, I wished I could spend more time with her, but I knew she had to go. The next few weeks I couldn’t stop thinking about Alice. Even though I knew she was someone else’s girlfriend I missed her presence. This urge pushed me to text her and slowly we ended up talking daily.
The more I talked to her the more I yearned for her. She sparked something in me that I had never felt before. However, because I respected her relationship, I decided to keep things friendly between us.
Seven months later she came back to visit her parents. This time she had planned to stay for two months. The problem was I knew I couldn’t spend time with her because of Lydia. Once I realized that Alice could never be mine, I decided to move on. After countless blind dates I bumped into Lydia at a seminar, and we hit it off. She embodied everything I wanted in a woman.
The only problem was, she was very insecure due to her past relationships. To reassure her of my feelings I decided to stay away from women, and it seemed to work. So, when Alice landed in Kenya, as much as I wanted to see her, I knew it would cause issues. After a week, her parents hosted a brunch and invited a couple of people including my parents.
I had planned to go alone so I could catch up with Alice. Unfortunately, Lydia heard about the get-together from Brandon and decided to tag along. During the brunch, I tried my best to contain the urge to speak to Alice. Since she was busy talking to other people, she didn’t seem to notice me. This disappointed me a little, but I decided to let things slide.
For the rest of the function, I spent time with Lydia and occasionally Brandon. At 6 pm I decided to head home so I dropped Lydia at her place and then left. Later that night I thought about Alice until I drifted off to sleep.
When I woke up the following day, I realized that the only way to protect my relationship was to keep my distance. This worked for a few days until Brandon and I got an invitation to our high school reunion. The first thing that crossed my mind was how I would finally get the chance to talk to Alice alone. On the other hand, I had to remind myself of the decision I had made weeks back.
So, I decided it was best not to go. The only problem was I had underestimated Brandon and his ability to manipulate me. The three of us ended up going together. During the car ride, I couldn’t focus on anything other than Alice’s dress.
She was dressed in a red dress that hugged her body so well I could see her curves. To add to that the dress had a long slit that revealed her left thigh. I turned my head and faced outside until we got to the Airbnb where the party was being held.
Brandon and I roamed around saying hi to our old friends which made it easier to avoid Alice. After some time though he ended up leaving me to go play a drinking game. I on the other hand decided to stay sober for the rest of the night. Luckily the mixologist was serving mocktails, so I grabbed one and found a secluded place to chill.
The whole ground floor was full of people, so I went upstairs and entered one of the rooms.
“Peace at last,” I said as I took out my phone.
“Hey stranger,” I heard Alice say as she walked towards me.
“How long have you been here?” I asked.
“A short while, I usually feel uncomfortable when surrounded by a lot of people,” She replied.
I wanted to stand up and leave but I knew that would give the impression that I was avoiding her.
“Did I do something wrong?” She asked.
“Why do you ask?” I said.
“You haven’t said a word to me since I landed,” She said.
“We’ve both been busy I guess,” I said.
“Lies,” She said.
“I’m not avoiding you. Okay, I’m here now, let’s make up for lost time,” I told her hoping she would stop asking me questions.
“Okay,” She replied with a smile.
I forgot about the promise I had made to myself and decided to focus on her. We talked and laughed for a couple of hours. At midnight Brandon called and asked us to meet him downstairs so we could leave. Alice stood up and headed for the door but as she attempted to open it refused so I stood up to help her. After pulling on the doorknob countless times, I realized it was stuck so I turned to ask Alice to call Brandon.
She was standing a few feet away from me. Looking at her closely I noticed that the dress also revealed her cleavage. Although it was only a small space my mind started wandering. I got this sudden urge to kiss her but tried my best to avoid doing it.
We both maintained eye contact for a short while before she pulled me in for a kiss. I was shocked for a second but decided to go with the flow. We slowly moved towards the bed and found ourselves on top of it. After a short while she pulled back and grabbed her phone to call Brandon.
I stared at her waiting to hear those dreadful words once she finished the call. Funny enough she didn’t say them. Instead, she stood near the door and avoided eye contact.
“Can we talk about what happened?” I asked.
Before she had the chance to respond Brandon burst through the door.
“Can we go now?” He asked.
Alice nodded her head and left the room quickly.
Immediately after they dropped me off, I texted Alice to apologize for what had happened. She opened my message and left me on read. The following day I sent her another text asking if we could meet up and talk but she left me on read again.
After days of giving her space, I decided to go see her and make amends in person. As I approached her parents’ house, I saw her hugging William who was carrying a suitcase. So, to avoid causing any issues I went back home.
Sitting in my apartment alone, all I could think about was the kiss. How passionate it was and how much I wished it would have lasted longer. Although I wasn’t the kind of man to steal another man’s girlfriend in that moment I wanted to. Alice had a special effect on me. Everything about her was intriguing and there was nothing more I wanted than for her to be mine.
Thoughts of Alice consumed me for the next couple of days and the pain ended up being too much to bear. In an attempt to make myself feel better, I decided to go clubbing with Lydia. By the time we got home, I was a bit drunk. Lydia was tipsy and I knew she would get handsy with me once we got to bed.
One of the reasons I didn’t like drinking was because of how horny I would end up feeling. As usual, Lydia started touching me and as much as I didn’t want to give in my body betrayed me. Once the alcohol left my system the next day, I felt like I had betrayed Alice in some way.
The shame overwhelmed me until I ended up avoiding Lydia and eventually cut her off. Three weeks later Alice’s family decided to host a farewell party for her. My parents as usual asked me to accompany them but the thought of seeing her with William was too much to bear.
Since I couldn’t tell them what happened I told them I was sick. At 2 pm I heard a knock on the door and was shocked to find Alice smiling at me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Your parents told me you’re sick, so I brought you some soup,” She replied.
“Thanks,” I said.
“I’m ready to talk about what happened between us,” She said.
I moved aside so she could come in but just as I was about to close the door someone pushed it with force.
“I knew you were cheating on me,” Lydia said.
“What?” Alice replied.
“Lydia, I need you to leave my house,” I said.
“Who is this?” Alice asked.
“My ex-girlfriend,” I said bluntly.
“I don’t remember you dumping me,” She said.
“You two have a lot to talk about, I think I’ll just go,” Alice said as she turned to leave.
“Wait, you wanted to talk about what happened,” I said.
“Bradley, I need to tell you something important,” Lydia said.
“Whatever it is can wait. I need to talk to Alice,” I said.
“I’m pregnant,” She blurted out.
Alice left quickly and as much as I wanted to run after her there was nothing, I could say to make her come back. That was the last time I saw her until today. I loved my daughter, but I had always wondered how things would have been if I hadn’t slept with Lydia that night. I would have probably been in William’s shoes waiting for my unborn child to see the world. But instead, I was on the sidelines watching her experience this new stage in life with another man. It’s funny how one small mistake can impact the lives of so many people.
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