They had reached that stage of “adulting” where everyone was busy, and any chance they got to spend time together was cherished. Steve, Fridah, and Miller had been friends since their first year of university. They had seen each other grow and been there for each other during life’s happy and ugly seasons. Although they had a group chat, they hadn’t been all together for a few months. They decided to go out to celebrate.
After sharing a meal and catching up, Steve insisted on going to a club. It had been a while since he had been that eager to go clubbing. He had been the Debbie downer the last year when Miller insisted on such plans. He had claimed he was getting too old and didn’t feel the thrill of meeting new people. Miller didn’t need much convincing despite having worked late the previous night. With two people giving a nod to the plan, Fridah obliged.
A popular DJ was playing, and the club was packed. The joy in the crowd was palpable. Everyone looked so happy.
“I had forgotten how beautiful Nairobi women are,” Steve told Miller and Fridah.
“Alar! What’s going on with you? I am the one who makes such observations. Tired of looking at one woman already?” Miller teased Steve.
“I’m still a man,” Steve replied cheekily, sipping his drink.
They enjoyed the music and had more drinks. Steve then went to the counter. Fridah later joined him after dancing a bit. She found him talking suggestively to a lady. They looked as though they were seconds away from kissing if Fridah hadn’t arrived.
“Oh, come say hi to this beautiful lady,” Steve told Fridah.
“This is one of my closest friends, Fridah,” Steve told the lady he was talking to.
After the introduction, Fridah took a seat next to Steve. She asked for a drink as Steve and the lady wrapped up their conversation.
“What was up with that?” Fridah asked when the lady left.
“What? I can’t talk to pretty girls?” Steve asked.
“You know what I mean. I haven’t seen you flirting with other women since you started dating Ella,” Fridah told him.
“I don’t want to talk about my relationship. Can we just enjoy the night?” Steve tried to squash that line of conversation.
“Oh, now we absolutely have to talk about it. What’s going on?” Fridah pressed him.
“Have you ever tried celibacy in your relationship? Is it a thing all women do?” Steve asked her.
“Wow! That wasn’t one of my top three guesses of what could be the matter. Are you trying celibacy? Why?” Fridah asked him.
“She is. I’m not sure what I am doing,” he responded.
“Clearly, this wasn’t a mutual agreement. What brought on the decision on her end?” Fridah asked Steve.
“I obviously wouldn’t make such choices, but after feeling like a sexual creep in my relationship, I stopped trying. She was going through something, started soul searching, went the church way, and here we are.”
“Should I ask if you’ve cheated on her?” Fridah asked him.
“Oh well, not yet, but I don’t know how much longer I can hold out,” Steve told her.
“Have you talked about it? Is it temporary, or is she waiting till marriage?” Fridah asked.
“We have fought about it. She’s not clear about it, but she feels it’s something she needs to do,” Steve responded.
“You can’t fault her for feeling it’s something she needs to do, so what will you do?” Fridah asked him.
“That’s the million-dollar question,” said Steve.
Miller joined them, and they had a round of drinks before heading home. Fridah texted Steve the following day inquiring about his welfare. Steve thanked her for listening to him and told her he’d made a decision. He then called Ella and asked to meet up later that day. They had lunch, and then Steve addressed the elephant in the room.
“How’ve you been? We’ve been a bit disconnected lately,” said Steve.
“I’m okay. Work is fine. It’s had to stay connected when we keep fighting over the same issue,” Ella responded.
“That’s true. I’m also tired of fighting with you,” Steve told her.
“Are you saying you are okay with my decision?” Ella asked, looking hopeful.
“I respect your newfound beliefs, but I can’t be part of that,” Steve told her.
“So you will walk away from a two-year relationship because of sex? What about everything we’ve been through?” Ella asked him.
“Don’t do that,” Steve told her.
“Do what?” Ella asked.
“Make it sound like that’s all I’m about. Yes, sex is important to me, but this is about more than that. You now have a different belief system from mine. You decided to be celibate without talking to me and assumed I would agree. You made me feel like I was begging for physical intimacy. Look, I respect your decision and its reasons, but it’s not something I can do. I don’t want to cheat on you, and I don’t want to come between you and your faith,” Steve explained.
“Is it that easy to walk away?” she asked.
“No. Believe me, it hurts me that we’re here, but our wants are incompatible. I don’t see another way around this,” said Steve.
They dragged out the conversation but knew their relationship couldn’t survive.
Check out more stories
The Burden Of The Past Unexpectedly Poses A Dilemma On A Budding Love
She Had To Do What She Had To Do – Even If It Meant Breaking The Heart Of The Man She Loved
She Broke Up With Him When She Discovered She Was Sick To Avoid Future Heartbreak
Things Were Finally Going Right After The Lovebirds Got Back Together But Fate Had Other Plans
