The Beard

"You are late," Her voice came out raspy, like she had smoked too many cigarettes in her lifetime which constantly caused two reactions of her presence by her other people. One, they were filled with complete disgust of how carelessly she lived her life and two, with amazement at how gravelly but softly she managed to make it come out.

It was maddening. Angel had never smoked a day in her life (not that she did not wish to but she had delicate health) and she did not quite enjoy their attention for something like that, though in truth there were many aspects of her life that caused a lot of attention.

Timi, the man walking to her with a soft smile on his face and his coat on his arm let out a soft chuckle as he slid into the seat opposite her, crossing his legs so he could flash her one of his heart rendering infamous smiles as he said, "Or perhaps, you come too early."

Angel stared and that was one thing about her that many people feared. Her stare. Aside from her dark, ever glimmering skin that smelled of coconut milk and cocoa mixed together by God himself, her eyes looked like that of a snake. Slim and in slits, and the fact her iris looked pitchblack did not help matters. Whenever she kept her face blank, she looked like she was making it clear to every person who gazed upon her that she was a million times better than them.

And then she smiled, like right now, and the world made sense again. "Of course." Moving into the back of her seat, she crossed her legs and placed her hand on her knees, a soft smile still on her lips as she said calmly, "Order."

Instantly, her demand was carried out. Timi waved over a waiter who was eager to get to them, which was natural, they were a well-known couple who enjoyed frequenting high-scale restaurants and giving their reviews. And they mattered. A lot.

"What would you like?" As always, Timi looked at her for her opinions, because he knew for certain that he would never be able to read what she wanted or desired while she on the other hand read him like a book she had received at the age of five. Plus, this dynamic was simple. Give her control so there was peace in the relationship.

The thought almost made her laugh. As if he knew how to give anything.

"I haven't eaten a local dish in so long. Travelling a lot can do that to you." She said this while staring at her phone. The waiter knew not to give her the menu; She already was aware of everything on it, and waited for her to speak again. This took a solid forty five minutes before she looked back up at him and said, her tone coming out cold, "I'd like fufu and afang, please. Get my fiancé something he'll enjoy."

Timi’s smile faltered ever so slightly, but only someone as observant as Angel would have noticed. He knew better than to interrupt her when she was in this mood. It was a game they played, one where the stakes were unclear but always present. The waiter nodded, scribbling down her order with reverent precision.

"And for you, sir?" the waiter asked, his voice carrying a note of trepidation.

Timi leaned back in his chair, his eyes momentarily flicking to Angel. Had he done something? Well, of course, he had. Angel enjoyed picking his meals for him. In fact, he had not eaten and waited, hoping she would guess what it was he craved and now, she had somehow thrown the ability to pick to him. It was disconcerting but he knew better than to show that as he replied, "The jollof rice with grilled chicken, extra spicy."

The waiter nodded and left, the tension easing just slightly in the air. Angel returned her attention to her phone, scrolling through her messages with an expression that could be described as disinterest, though anyone who knew her well would recognize the sharp focus behind those eyes.

Timi cleared his throat, breaking the silence that had settled between them. "How was the trip?"

Angel’s gaze remained on her phone as she responded, "Long. Tedious. But productive."Then she looked up, catching his eye with a slight mischievous glint in hers. "You didn’t miss me, did you?"

It was a challenge, not a question, and Timi knew better than to lie. He returned her stare, his own smile still in place. "Not as much as I should have," he replied, matching her tone.

This meant; I did. Terribly.

For a moment, neither of them spoke, the unspoken words hanging heavily between them. Then, Angel’s lips curved into a smile—a real one this time, soft and genuine. "Good," she said quietly. "We wouldn’t want you to get too attached."

Timi’s laughter was low and brief, and he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "You know me too well."

Their food arrived almost immediately and Angel, as always, was the first to begin eating. They had brought in a fork and knife for her to take the swallow with but she had sent a glare in return, causing them to go back and forth instantly as they returned with a bowl of water, their head bowed in subservience as they apologized numerous times before turning to leave.

Timi watched, not daring to say a single word as he knew better than upsetting her more, if she was that is, and when they were alone, stared at her as she took off her rings and accessories to wash her hand, his heart thumping a little as he realized that one was missing. "Where is your engagement ring?'

Without skipping a beat, she asked, "Where is yours?"

Here. Here with me. Always with me. But he did not say anything. In fact, he knew whatever response he gave put him in a deeper hole than he already was. So he nodded and took his attention to his food. He tried to chew, and swallow, but that did not work well and how could it?

The thing with Angel was every moment with her stayed charged with tension and anticipation. At the beginning, this would break him many times but he always came back, always returned to the addictive taste of her unpredictability, of her madness, of her silence as well though now things were different. Things were fragile and she… She was prone to having terrifying mood swings when they were in that manner.

He was terrified. And slightly turned on.

Him choking on his food had her briefly staring at him, a move that made him more self conscious as he drank from his wine glass to send the bolus down, soft coughs now leaving his mouth as he tried to return to his meal before he looked back at her, a small stiff smile spreading on his lips. "I suppose I do not have an appetite."

Eat, he wanted her to say, and he would have. He truly would have but she didn't. Instead, she returned to her food and after finishing it, rinsed her hand in the bowl of water then wiped off her hands with the towel they had placed for her before she cleared her throat and said, "I enjoy rooftop dinners. It is my favourite. The wind, the silence, everything. It is almost as romantic as the day I asked you to marry me."

Ah, that was it. Timi swallowed, his hands clenched into fists slowly as he chuckled out nervously now. "You… You were always such a romantic really."

Angel nodded, shrugging slightly then smiled as she folded her hands. "I am, terribly, when I favour someone. I did… The candles, I think? And the entire band and going on one knee." She let out a laugh now. "Such a marvelous day it was. You looked so hot that day, did you know? I wanted to suck you off there and then, just… Drive off to a registry and get married to you that night, you know?"

He did not know but it was almost as if he was reading a script. Lie or not, Angel did not expect him to deviate from what was already written, what she had written but that wasn't the problem. He knew his part and played it excellently. The only problem was he had seen a glimpse of where this was going in her eyes and he didn't like it. "I… I know but—"

"But you said no to my proposal." It was almost as if he was watching her transform into somebody else right there and then. A manic, unstable version of a person who enjoyed perfection. She let out another laugh, one hand going over her mouth as her eyes gleamed with excitement. "My ego and pride, gone. I had feared I'd finally broken you. Made you see that I truly was not worthy of you, that I… That I would never be deserving of your loyalty and worship for the rest of my life. In fact, I was so distraught that all I could think of was running away."

He didn't know any of this though he… Though he could have guessed. Angel's vulnerability was the one thing about her that she rarely ever showed. It was why her choosing to travel out of the country that same night did not surprise him as much as he thought it would but he had been afraid as well, been absolutely petrified.

Timi had managed to do the one thing they both knew it was forbidden to do; Go against the script, and so to save and rectify whatever chances he had left to beg for her forgiveness, he wrote his own lines.

"So imagine my surprise when the man who had so coldly refused me with no reasons as to why came to the airport to see me off and in front of more than a hundred people," She chuckled here. "People who knew who we both were, went on his knees and asked me to marry him."

Of course, he remembered that moment. It had only been a week ago, a week since the first time he had seen her look so lost… And outraged. Her face had stayed plain but it was her eyes that spoke to him, those eyes that looked like she wished to cut off his tongue and legs for daring to do what he did.

At that time, he has been certain she would refuse him, certain she would punish him for his defiance but she had smiled ever so kindly and said 'yes' to him a voice that he had never heard her use before and as the crowd around them cheered, hugged him and whispered harshly into his ear, "All that innocence, only to play such a card. How utterly wretching of you, my love." Then pulled away from his grasp with a smile that made him spend the rest of their week separated from the other in trepidation and excitement.

She took her hand to her head now, letting out a sigh as the twisted look on her face vanished, leaving a now exhausted one in its wake as she rose from her chair, her hands now adjusting the fur coat over her shoulder closer as she said, "I would be travelling to Korea tomorrow. Surely, there is nothing more extravagant that you can do than the one you pulled before, yes?"

Korea? She just got back. Why… Why was she going anywhere? He rose from his seat as well, his movements clumsy and hurried as he said, "You just got back—"

"Awọn eniyan n wo, jẹ ifarahan diẹ sii." People are watching, be more presentable. But he didn't care, not at that moment, and so to calm him, she reached out for his face then pulled him for a kiss.

It was filled with the same need and desire she always kissed him with, like she was fire and he was water, and she wished to go up in smoke by him or turn him into nothing but vapour. Whatever it was, Angel always kissed him like she wished they could be lost in each other and he loved it, loved it more than anything in the world.

When she pulled away, her hand immediately went to his lips to brush away the lipstick stain she left on it as she said, looking up at him with empty, dull eyes. "Spend the night with me before I leave, hmm?"

Timi felt a jolt of mixed emotions as Angel's words hung in the air. Her kiss had left him breathless, a potent reminder of the volatile mixture of attraction and dread that their relationship stirred within him. Besides, there was only one answer to her question, one she expected. "Yes, of course."

Her lips curled now into a knowing smile, her hand softly patting his cheek as she said in a voice only both of them could hear, "Good boy."