07/06/2026
There was this colleague who just joined our company. Since she was new, I decided to help her settle in. Partly because I wanted her to feel comfortable, and partly because when I first joined, nobody really helped me, so I knew exactly how that felt.
After a few months, we became very close. She had my kind of humor, so we laughed a lot, joked around, gossiped about colleagues, and even complained about our bosses together.
It didn’t take long for feelings to start developing.
I began liking her more and more. The more I got to know her, the more I realized we had a lot in common. We were both single, and things seemed to be heading somewhere.
One day, I asked if she’d like for us to hang out outside work.
“Of course,” she replied. “I’d love that.”
I smiled.
“Okay. I’ll find time.”
The following weekend, she messaged me.
She said she’d never been to Lekki Conservation Centre and wanted to visit. She also wanted to go to the beach afterward.
Omo, I was happy eh, so I immediately agreed.
That day, I ordered a ride. The fare was almost the price of a GIG trip from Lagos to Abuja, but I didn’t care. Love is blind!
I got to her place, picked her up, and we headed to the conservation centre.
We had fun, took pictures, laughed, and enjoyed the experience. Afterward, I ordered another ride to a beach in Victoria Island.
I paid for the tickets, bought food and drinks, and we settled in.
A few minutes later, she received a phone call.
When she ended it, she turned to me.
“Please, one of my friends wants to join us.”
I said, “Okay, it’s fine. She’s free. The more, the merrier.”
Then she asked if I could also pay the friend’s gate fee.
I hesitated briefly but agreed.
We walked to the gate.
That’s when I discovered the friend was a guy.
I was confused but kept quiet. I paid, and he joined us. Almost immediately, he started drinking from my drink like we were guys and eating my food shamelessly. Before long, the two of them were spending more time together than she was spending with me.
At some point, I found myself alone while they strolled hand-in-hand along the beach, kicking sand, laughing, and playing near the water.
An hour later, I decided to talk to her, so I pulled her aside and tried to hold her hand.
The way she snatched her hand away, you’d think I had Ebola. Then she quickly looked around to see whether the guy had noticed.
I was more confused than she looked. Then she smiled nervously and said, “Kings… um… why are you holding my hand?”
I laughed awkwardly. “Because I missed you. I just wanted us to spend some time together.”
She said, “Miss me ke? Wait, do you think that we’re on a date? Because I’m sorry, but we’re just colleagues. I don’t want my friend to have the wrong idea.”
Omo… I was stunned.
I didn’t say anything. I just apologized for my confusion and allowed her to go back to her friend.
Later, she came again and said she wanted to ride a horse. I said she was free to do whatever she wanted.
She went and climbed the horse happily. Moments later, the guy climbed onto the horse behind her, and the two of them rode away while the trainer guided them.
When they returned, she jumped down, ran towards me, and asked me to pay.
I said, “Pay for what?”
She said the horse ride wasn’t free, and I told her I knew, but why was she telling me?
She acted confused and asked why I was talking like that. But she told me she wanted to ride a horse.
I said, “Yes, you told me. So what?”
She said she didn’t bring any money because why would she? After all, I asked her out.
I told her I didn’t ask her out; she did. So she should have brought money. After all, I’d been paying for everything since.
She laughed a sarcastic laugh, like I must be joking.
The guy smiled nervously and said it was fine, he’d pay. He went out, made some calls, and after about 30 minutes, he finally managed to pay.
After he paid, my ride that I had ordered arrived, and I got up to leave. She looked shocked and asked where I was going.
I said, “Home.”
She said, “But I didn’t even tell her we’re leaving.”
I said, “We are not leaving. I’m leaving. You can stay with your friend.”
It was then she told me that she and the guy were just meeting for the first time. They had actually met online, and this was their first physical meeting. She asked me to wait a little so we could go back together because the guy lived on the Island.
I refused and said she could stay with her date and leave whenever she was ready, but I was leaving right then.
Then she said okay, I should send her transport fare because she didn’t come with any money.
At that point, I didn’t reply. I just entered the car and left.
She sent me some very insulting messages and called me broke and stingy. So I calculated how much we spent, from the ride to Lekki and the beach, to the food, drinks, and tickets, including her date’s own. Then I split it in half and sent my account number.
To my surprise and excitement, she sent the money later that night and blocked me.
Good riddance.
Now she’s telling everybody at work that because I asked her out and she refused, I told her to pay all the money I spent on the date I took her on, and she’s forwarding my chats and her receipts to them.
Now everybody is calling me stingy and wicked, but I don’t care.
I’m just happy that at least I recovered half of my money, and walked away with my self-respect intact.
That’s all that matters to me!
The End
Ajebo Writer
©️ AjeboWriter Kingdavid
