By Yetunde Arebi

Hi!
Have you ever found yourself in a situation that you not wriggle out from without succumbing to the situation? When you fall into temptation, who do you blame, the situation or your weakness or some other forces? Some say that once you have fallen for something unwholesome, there is nothing stopping you from doing the same thing over and over again. Do you as a person agree with this?
The story you will reading today is about a middle aged man who found himself trapped in a situation he said he had little control of. He made his decision and had his moment. But was he able to retrace his steps? Find out below and Josephus, (49), Accountant, narrates his brief affair with a neighbour’s younger sister. Happy reading!

IT happened about six years ago when I used to travel all over country, marketing for the company I work for. We have this nice couple where we lived and we were very cordial with them. The husband had a younger sister who was an undergraduate at the University in Nsukka. Whenever she was on holiday, she would come and spend some time with them. She was a very nice, respectful and ever smiling girl and my wife and I used to give her money and some little stuff when she came around because e were all like family friends even though we did not come from the same town.

One day, I was scheduled to travel to Benin as usual for marketing. When she heard about my plans, she informed us that she had been making plans to go back to school too. She asked if she could follow me to Benin, then find her way to her destination. This according to her will help her save some money. She insisted that any arrangement I have was manageable by her. Having no means of persuading her to drop her plan, I allowed her to travel with me. This however turned out to be a great mistake.

We did not leave until mid morning since my work at the company I was visiting would not start until the next day. I usually love to travel a day ahead to give me enough time to rest and prepare fresh and early for the job. We stopped twice in the course of the journey. The first was at a fuel station to change a bad tyre and fill up the tank.
The second was to have a late lunch at a restaurant close to Ore. By the time we arrived at Warri, it was very late in the evening. I was worried about her safety as we could not find a decent and direct vehicle to her destination. Some of the drivers then advised us to come back early the next morning which we were later forced to accept.

That night, I took her back to my hotel and booked a room which eventually turned out to be a waste of money. She didn’t exhibit any sign of disappointment that she could not continue with her journey immediately. In fact, she was happy that she could be with me for a little while longer, at least, so she said. I found the comment a bit offline, but waved it off. She had been so restless all day but I must admit that she was good company. We discussed a lot, touching on almost all aspect of living. I had no idea she was that intelligent and interesting to be with. She spoke freely about her love affairs with her boyfriends and why she preferred one to the other. She was fresh and fun to chat with and I must confess that I found myself drawn to her over our dinner together. Before I realised it, I admitted that I do engage in extra marital affairs too from time to time. I gave her some gist about a couple of them and we laughed over it. Until that journey, I had always looked at her as a little child and not a girl or even woman that she ought to be at 20 years.

After our meal, we had a drink together then to my surprise, she brought out a packet of cigarette from her handbag. The expression on my face must have reflected my feelings as she began laughing at me, telling me she is not a baby any more neither is she as naïve or innocent as I thought her to be. She however made me promise not to tell her brother about it.

She told me she had been doing it right from her secondary school days, meaning she had been smoking for about four years at that time. I was really at a loss for words. I had just discovered another side of a young, innocent girl I had always looked upon as a shinning example for my own daughter. This girl and my daughter had a connection and it was even their relationship that brought the two families together. My daughter liked her a lot and would always spend time with her whenever she was around.

Anyway, I did not allow that to discourage me. I concluded that she was still young and would grow out of it especially after graduation or when she finds a good man. I had no idea she had more surprises in store for me before day break. We parted for our rooms after we finished our drinks and I reminding her of the need to wake up early to continue her journey. I must have fallen asleep immediately I jumped into bed because I was suddenly woken up by the loud noise from the door. Someone was bagging hard on the door. At first, I was a bit scared that something had gone wrong especially when I heard her voice at the other side of the door. I asked what the problem was and she said nothing but I should just let her in.

I looked at the time and it was almost 1.00am and she was in her night gown, the sexiest piece of rag I’d ever seen. She told me that she could not sleep alone in her room as she was frightened. So, I asked her to take the bed while I would take the double chair in the room. She would not hear of it, saying that I would be uncomfortable and that she would be guilty and unable to forgive herself. She assured me that the bed was large enough for the two of us and that I should not worry myself about her. She saw my reluctance and began laughing, asking me what thoughts were running through my head. All of a sudden, I started feeling intimidated by this little girl but I still managed to put up a brave show and call her bluff. I took one side of the bed and she the other, but no sooner had we settled down she moved closer and clung to me from the back. She began whispering some inaudible things in my ears, giggling like a mad girl. She told me she was in love with me and had been for a long time too.

She asked if I had noticed it and was merely pretending. We are no longer neighbours too, our families have moved, her brother to Lekki and we to Ogba were we have our private houses. However, it is one experience I will never forget. I bet she too will not forget me.

SHE pleaded with me to  have sex with her and that she could be discreet about it such that no one would ever know. As she spoke, she ran her hands up and down my body. I was glad I still had my clothes on but this did not really prevent me from feeling the sensation from her touch. I tried to tell her to get hold of herself and behave like the responsible girl she was supposed to be. I even tried to make her see the impossibility of a relationship between us but it all fell on deaf ears. She just would not accept no for an answer. Soon, she began crying, calling me a jerk. She said I was afraid to take her and that all I had told her about my affairs were lies, she did not believe that I was man enough to do that. At the end of the day I was forced to take her.

I did it twice as I did not enjoy the first one. Perhaps, my body was not really tuned to hers. The second one was better and her performance superb. Maybe she deliberately put a lot of effort into it just to convince me she is a big girl. Or maybe what she gave me was a tip of the iceberg as she later said. I would not know because I never gave her the opportunity to make such a thing happen between us again.

I could not sleep much through out the night as I kept thinking of what could happen if anyone knew about us.  There was no way I could continue with such a dangerous relationship and I had to let her know. I realized that the fact that I had not been able to read her correctly before now meant that she was simply unpredictable and even capable of anything.
The fact that she called me “uncle” made everything odd and I felt like a hypocrite from that moment. I tried to justify my action by concluding that she was not my sister or even relation. She was just the sister of my next door neighbour and that was all there as to it. However, even if it was true that I was not responsible for her, I was responsible to my wife and a little bit to her brother who is my friend.

I took her to the motor garage and gave her more money than I normally would have. For the first time, I realised that she was very pretty with a nice figure too. I also realised the type of game many of these young girls engage in when they are opportune to be far from home. I worried that my little girl may fall into this category of girls too. Afterall, this was a girl my daughter looked up to like a role model and close adviser. I know my daughter would not be doing it for money too just like this girl, she would be doing it for the fun of it.

She was around a couple of weeks later for about a week and I successfully avoided her. Then, she came for her holidays two months after our encounter. She would come to our house as usual and behaved as if nothing ever happened between us. She and my daughter got along so well as still do till today. But I started resenting their relationship. I tried my best to keep away from her but one day I was informed that I had a visitor at the office. It turned out to be her and we were forced to be together privately for the first time since our encounter. We had lunch together in the Staff canteen and I told her that a relationship between us could not happen. She was free to get in touch with me anytime she needed anything and I could assist. I gave her some money and she left. I could see the embarrassment and pain on her face as she walked away. I felt a huge relief.

My girl got married two years ago to a very neat young banker in a big society wedding. She is now a manager with a Telecommunication outfit. My family was well represented at the event and we also contributed towards her wardrobe.

We are no longer neighbours too, our families have moved, her brother to Lekki and we to Ogba were we have our private houses. However, it is one experience I will never forget. I bet she too will not forget me.