I’m warm, too warm. My eyes flick open and I realise why I’m so hot. I’m in Blessing’s arms. We fell asleep talking. He looks younger when he’s sleeping. His lips are parted slightly. He whimpers softly and opens his eyes.

“Morning,” I say, embarrassed to be in his arms. He rolls onto his back so that I can sit up.

“Morning,” he replies. His voice is thicker than usual. “Did you sleep OK?”

“Yes, thank you. And I’m sorry that I got all mushy last night.” I climb off the bed and open the curtain, feeling thankful that we slept in our clothes.

“No need to apologise for missing your boyfriend. I envy you,” he says, tucking his hands behind his head.

I crease my brow.

“I haven’t felt like that about anyone in a long while,” he explains. “I realised that I’ve started to forget how it feels.”

“Well you might want it to stay like that, because from where I’m sitting it’s not so great,” I say, soaking in the sun streaming through the window.

Blessing looks thoughtful for a moment then shakes his head. “No, feeling nothing is much worse.” He rolls off the bed, grabs the bag we packed and heads to the bathroom. “I’m going to shower.”

So feeling nothing is much worse? I don’t know about that. I am in perpetual pain, sometimes so overwhelming that I can’t breathe.

I don’t know how long it’s going to feel this way, but what’s more scary is that I don’t know how it’s going to feel after this stage pass. I don’t ever want to forget Mark and what he meant to me, but I also don’t want his memory to cripple me. He made me happy and strong. That’s how I want to feel when I think of him.

I have to get to the bottom of what happened, find justice for him and retain Oak Land for good before I think of starting to heal.

Blessing emerges from the bathroom smelling of shampoo and shower gel. “What are we going to do today?” I ask him. I don’t particularly like the idea of spending the whole day cooped up in a motel room with a bad T.V reception.

“We aren’t going to do anything. I, however, am going to do some breaking and entering while you stay here.” His face is serious.

“There is no way you’re leaving me behind, Mr Sharp Suit,” I snap.

“It’s dangerous and you’re still recovering, remember?” he says gently.

I scowl at him. “If you leave me here I will leave, and if you lock me inside I will scream the place down.”

He raises his eyebrow and smirks. “I think you’re crazy enough to do just that. Fine, we will leave tonight. Mr CEO has some gala he’s attending.” I give him the you-had-no-other-choice smile.

For the rest of the day, we have nothing else to do except talk. And boy, can Blessing talk! I have nothing on the man. He wants to know everything about me, from the very first word I spoke to what I want to do with my life. Of course, for now my immediate plans are about finding out what happened to Mark. I don’t know what I want to do with my life, because all my future plans revolved around him.

I can’t help but notice that Blessing seems uncomfortable whenever I talk about Mark. I cannot decrypt as to why. Maybe it’s because we almost kissed yesterday, or because Mark died thinking he was the enemy. He denies it when I confront him about it. He does, however, confess to thinking I was a rogue student who likes trouble when he first met me. Of course, I am offended by the notion. Who could ever mistake me for a crazy person?

It’s mid-afternoon when his phone rings. He picks up and frowns after a glance at the caller ID. “Yes,” he says, his eyes pinning to where I am. They are both a warning and something else I cannot ascertain. I focus on my breathing, as I cannot make myself break away from his stare.

He’s so commanding. I’m not sure if he’s doing it deliberately or if it’s the person at the other end of the line that’s making him so tense. I can barely make out what he’s talking about. His answers are short and measured, but it’s not hard to tell that he wants to get off the phone quickly. Finally, he hangs up and runs his hands through his hair.

“Something wrong?” I manage with a low voice.

“No, nothing I can’t handle.” He’s mad again, and the fun open day we were having is out the window.

I try another tactic. “Where you doing that deliberately?”

His head whips back to me. “Doing what?” he asks, sounding half unsure and half smug.

“Staring at me like that?” I murmur. Now I’m not sure why I brought this subject up.

“I stare at you all the time,” he says, stifling a smile.

“You know what I mean.” My voice breaks, betraying me.

“What if I was?” he challenges, walking up to me until he’s two feet in front of me.

“What were you trying to say?” I counter.

“That you should be quiet.” His smirk grows a size. “And I’m happy to report that you got the message.”

I reach out to smack him but he intercepts my hand mid-air, glaring at me again. He pulls me upright with my hand and, like a puppet, I oblige. Now we’re face-to-face, locking gaze.

“You’re not at all the rogue I thought you were,” he says, his other hand snaking to my waist.

“What am I then?” I say, clutching his upper arms.

“A beautiful and brave woman.” He inclines his head to the side, lowering his lips to mine. They are warm and soft, encouraging mine to respond.

I kiss him back, for a good solid minute, before we both pull away. I smile and sit back on the bed because I feel weak in my knees.

***

Tell us what you think: What is going to happen tonight? Will Blessing succeed in finding the evidence he needs?