Friday was just a horrible day for me. I had heard that my aunt was hospitalized and she was in a coma. I couldn’t digest this, well I’m not that close to her but I love her dearly. I was so down and I needed a shoulder to cry on. I decided to visit my friend Jake. Before I could go see him, my brother’s girlfriend arrived.

She looked beautiful, all stylish and glowing. She always looked good, I guess money does make you happy and beautiful. I envied her life, the life of spending a lot of cash without worries; not checking price tags and buying stuff that you don’t really need. Well, some people are much luckier than us.

She asked me to go with them to Durban. I quickly packed a few things in my back pack. I had never been to the beach before so you could measure my excitement in kilograms.

As I went out I saw a huge car, didn’t even know the name of it. Last time she came in a Polo but now she was in a new big one. This lady is loaded big time, I thought to myself. We got in the car and made our way to Durban. Excitement was running through my veins; I couldn’t wait to go to the beach.

It was a long drive to Durban but we finally got there. We had not yet booked a place to stay so we spent the first night in the car. My brother and I couldn’t sleep so we decided to go to the beach. It was so beautiful, the sound of the waves, the wind blowing my hair sideways. The sand was soft and warm…it was just majestic. I ran to the beach with my arms wide open. I felt free, cheerful, I was in cloud nine.

We stayed at the beach for a few minutes then headed back to the car because the wind was too cold and we were not wearing warm clothes. It was already morning by then, we watched people jogging, taking their dogs for walks and some running for the beach.

My brother’s girlfriend, Michelle, woke up and we went roaming around looking for a hotel, till we found Albany Hotel. It was beautiful and clean. We checked in, bathed and had breakfast, by seven thirty we were already out. The sun was up and we drove to the beach. It was packed, people were there enjoying themselves.

We got out and took a few pictures before we made it to the beach. I had the camera and the car keys so I had to stay out of the water. I took a few pictures of them enjoying themselves and after that I looked for a spot to sit. The beach was packed so I decided to walk around. Strangers wanted to take pictures with me, all of them were boys. It was awkward but I didn’t want to seem rude.

A guy approached me; he was tall, light in complexion, and very, very handsome. He looked like those guys in magazines. He came up to me and asked if I was lost. I told him I wasn’t. “Oh, I wanted to show you the way to heaven,” he said, “because angels like you don’t belong here.”

What a lame pick up line, but he tried so I just blushed and looked at him. He introduced himself as Lungelo and I introduced myself too. We took a walk around the beach and he bought me candy floss. He wanted to know more about me. He even looked so attentive, when I told him a boring story about myself he loved it,

“Where have you been all my life?” he said.

We sat down and he told me about himself. He was from Kwam’hlanga, twenty-two years old and had a little sister named Lungile, she was eighteen and was somewhere around the beach. Lungelo was a Boss model and he showed me a few pictures of himself. The pictures were awesome. He liked outdoor activities and he liked the fact that I liked the opposite.

“Opposite attracts right,” he concluded.

I felt like something was not right here. This guy, who looked like a god, was talking to me, why? I didn’t understand. I was just an ordinary girl who liked reading, writing, food, taking pictures, and watching TV. I was not some hotshot model and I obviously didn’t have a great personality. Maybe I was taking this way too seriously, so I decided not to trail away with my thoughts.

He would look at me and smile or maybe fix my hair if it happened to get in my face. Everything he did was just perfect. I guess he was the angel. We suddenly had a moment; we leaned in for a kiss and somebody cleared their throat. I looked up and standing before me was a tall beautiful girl. She looked like she was from a TV show.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

I freaked out, what was I thinking. Obviously a guy like Lungelo had a girlfriend. I stood up and Lungelo just laughed. It shocked me that he was behaving like this. But then he introduced me to his little sister, Lungile. I now saw the resemblance. She looked at me and smiled. “So are you my brother’s girlfriend?”

Wow she was blunt.

“No, I’m not.” Lungelo told her sister to take a hike. She strutted off with her weave hitting my face. She was so beautiful I could already imagine how the whole family looked like. After she was gone things were now awkward… I asked if he had a girlfriend and he said no, that I was his first girlfriend.

“We are not even in a relationship and you’re already calling me your girlfriend? You can’t be serious.”

He asked if I wanted to be his girlfriend or not. It really shocked me. Maybe it was a prank, maybe there were hidden cameras somewhere. I stood up and walked away but before I could get far he ran after me and stopped me.

“I’ve been looking at you from the moment you got here. I saw you with your brother on the beach earlier this morning, you looked beautiful, free and happy. Before I became a model I was like you, I loved everything that you love. I was a complete nerd. I miss the old me, and you remind me of what I’m missing out on. If I could be around you every time I would be the luckiest guy on the beach. There are a few people like you in this world, the is only one that I want. I want you.”

I started tearing up and he gave me a nice warm hug. It felt good, like the world belonged to us. I loved his words but the part about me being a nerd ticked me off. Loving books, writing and indoor activities doesn’t make you a nerd. But I decided to let it go.

He wanted me to meet his parents. We went to where they were parked. They had come in a hummer, which intimidated me. What if they didn’t like me? His mum was so beautiful, now I saw where they got their good looks from. Lungelo introduced us and her mum hugged.

“Finally, Lungelo has a girlfriend, we all thought he was gay.” she said which made me laughed so hard. His dad came out of the car and he was white, he looked young, they all did. He shook my hand which felt very formal. His family was awesome, they looked like Hollywood stars.

They had great personalities and I felt like I didn’t belong with them; they were just too perfect. I got a call from my brother, they wanted the keys. I said my goodbyes to the family and Lungelo walked me. He took my numbers and kissed me. His lips were warm and I couldn’t feel my legs after the kiss; I couldn’t walk for a second.

“Are you okay?” I told him I couldn’t feel my legs and he wanted to carry me. Now that would get me into trouble if my brother would see us so I said no. He was still looking at me when I walked away.

We got in the car and went out for lunch, and after lunch we went shopping. Michelle bought matching outfits for herself and my brother; I was window shopping. We went to every store in the mall and it was tiring. We got back to the hotel and I went to my room. We were in separate rooms. I took a shower and wore my pyjamas and started flicking the remote. The channels sucked and I decided to read a magazine instead.

I got a WhatsApp text on my phone.

hey beautiful. I hope you had an awesome day. love Luu.

Wow ‘Luu’ was obviously Lungelo. I texted him back and we texted back and forth till late. My brother brought me dinner and they headed out to party. I got a call from Luu, he wanted to hear my voice, but I actually wanted to hear his more. We talked about everything and it was awesome. It was like we knew each other from birth. We said goodnight and I slept.

I couldn’t sleep, I kept having nightmares of me and Lungelo running away but I couldn’t see what we were running away from. I forced myself to sleep till I was woken up by Michelle in the morning. I took a bath and we went down stairs for breakfast. We went to the beach again and I was yearning to see Luu. I texted him but got no response. I tried calling him but it went straight to voicemail. I was shattered.

I was in a dull mood now so I just got myself a spot and sat alone near the beach. I didn’t know whether to look for him or what, but where would I start? I just sat there and fantasized about kissing him and it made me smile.

“I hope I’m the one who’s making you smile like that,” said a voice from behind me.

I stood up and hugged him tightly. I thought I had lost him. We spent the rest of that afternoon together, it was awesome. We talked about everything. People would look at us and smile. I had never been this happy before. Everything changed when Luu told me that they were leaving that night. I cried uncontrollably but there was nothing he could do about it.

Well, that afternoon was the last time I saw Lungelo. I went back home too and life went back to the boring way it was before. I would chat with Lungelo but he was always busy. If it wasn’t school it was photoshoots, fashion shows or auditions. He called and texted me every now and then but my heart still yearned for his touch, kiss and presence. His mum called me every day and she was planning to ask my parents if I could visit them during the festive season.

I was so excited I couldn’t wait to see Luu. The thought of losing him to some hot shot girl just makes me nauseous. I think I’m in love. I still had the necklace he gave me back in Durban and he said he still had the bracelet I gave him too. He can’t wait to see me and I can’t wait to see him too.

The End