Sunkissed

 

He was the first person she talked to on campus, they met on the first day. Two confused souls, in a land far from the known. They did not give their meeting a deep thought. She wanted to know where mattresses were being issued. It was getting late and this side of the Sahara was a bit chilly. Actually cold compared to the mountain slopes they both hailed from. Though they did not know they were from the same area, it was obvious to both of them that none of them had experienced this kind of weather before this day. He was a gentle man, this dude, he handed her his jacket and introduced himself. His name is Duke and he had a killer smile.

In unknown territories, your only friend is always your best friend before time and tides throw more wonderful people at your feet. This however depends on whether you stay on the shore line, for waves know boundaries. The two did not love the shoreline so much, they wanted to be solitary beings, they spent the next two hours together, sited outside on the basket ball pitch, sharing a snugly blanket and sipping on coffee to beat the cold. This was such a good way to say "hello Campus". They watched the sun set into the hills far away, it slowly blushed as it hid its face into the Chyulu Hills and left its beautiful rays  caressing the hilltops and the land. This was undoubtedly beautiful, they would not resist a selfie in this natural backdrop.

He had a dream about her that night. This damsel was sure a beauty. He had found a good thing. He decided not to fall in love though, campus is a rich environment, there must be hundreds of other beautiful girls. In campus, the classes were never that serious, it was a good easy life, he realized. The girls, were also very pretty. Duke just realized how much it pays to work hard in high school. Campus is a little heaven. These girls were like fast food; so appealing, so irresistible and available at every corner.It would take the hand of the Lord to resist all these temptations.

Ohh how good it is to pass your exams, Duke thought again. Sunset was always a sight to behold, and what is nature watch if you have no one special to share it with? For the first three months in this little heaven, Duke always watched sunset with his best friend, a treasured soul. It was not always sunny, but the moment always took their breath away.

Picture by; Aramisfirefly

She looked forward to evenings with baited breadth. She loved how the sun kissed the hills and imagined just how Duke's dark skin would taste on her lips under the sun. It would probably melt like dark chocolate. The orange sun rays warmed her back, his hands tightly wrapped round her waist. She imagined how strong his grip would be if they kissed. He had such strong muscles. His hugs ware always warm. It was the furthest they had ever traveled down this friendship road. As she sat there, she felt his right hand grasp her left, and firmly squeezed it, like he meant to say something with so much weight. Something stronger than friendship.

With his left hand, he held her chin up and looked deep into her eyes, he had decided to make this evening special. Tears welled up in her eyes, was what she had always wished for about to happen? Her face turned pink, like it was sun kissed. Her heart was racing and her palms were sweaty. Under the rays of the sun, Duke was the hottest guy alive, at that very moment, she was spell bound.

Her phone rung, it was her mother, she had missed another call from her earlier, so she had to take this one. " Hi mum" she said frantically. After exchanging pleasantries, her mother told her that she was coming to visit her the next day and they were coming with her aunt Njeri. She had not met Aunt Njeri in years!! This was good news, " ooh wow" she said. "Yes" said the mum, "We are actually coming to introduce you to your cousin Njuguna" she added. " Which Njuguna?" she asked. " He is in your campus too. We thought its not good to introduce you two on phone. You only met when you were little kids. His name is Duke Njuguna, do you know students from the Law Faculty?" Asked the mum.