The memory was too sharp to be a dream.
Amara's back was pressed against the cool wall, her breath caught in her throat. Strong hands slid up her waist, calloused fingers exploring the curve of her hips as though they already owned her. The taste of red wine lingered on her lips, warm and heavy, before another taste replaced it; a kiss; hungry and claiming. She gasped as her body melted into his, her nails clutching at a shirt she barely recognized but her senses refused to let go.
"Tunde..." The name had left her lips in a whisper. Not once, but over and over, as if her body knew what her mind struggled to piece together.
The flash of heat pulsed through her again; the slow press of his chest against hers, the teasing brush of lips at her throat, the way her body had answered instinctively. And then it dissolved like smoke, slipping through her grasp until all she could hold onto was the echo of his name.
Her eyes flew open.
Amara was in her apartment, wrapped in the haze of dawn's light filtering through half-closed curtains. Lagos had already started to hum beyond her window; cars, voices, the rhythm of a city that never gave anyone enough time to breathe. She sat up, clutching the sheets to her chest, her heart still hammering as though she had been kissed in truth, not just in memory.
"A bad dream?"
The voice frightened her to the core. She turned, and there he was.
KELECHI
He leaned against the doorframe of her small bedroom, arms crossed, his smile carved in that careless way that made it difficult to tell whether he was teasing or challenging her. His eyes swept over her, sharp and curious, as if he had caught her in something she shouldn't have been doing.
She swallowed hard. "What are you doing here, Kelechi?"
"You left your door unlocked last night. Dangerous habit in this city," he said, walking in as if he owned the place. "I thought I should check on you. Guess I caught you in the middle of something."
Her face heated, and she wrapped the sheets tighter. "You shouldn't just walk into people's houses, Kelechi."
He chuckled low in his throat, and the sound prickled across her skin. "Maybe. But I'm not people. I'm your friend." He bent closer, his voice dropping to a murmur that brushed the side of her neck. "Or something more, if you want."
The air shifted. She could still feel Tunde's phantom touch on her skin, but now Kelechi was standing too close, the faint scent of cologne and sweat stirring something reckless inside her. His hand brushed hers where she gripped the bedsheet, lingering just long enough to make her body tense.
"You look like you saw a ghost," he whispered, eyes searching her face.
She bit her lip, fighting the shiver that ran through her. "Maybe I did."
The space between them tightened. He sat on the edge of her bed without asking, the mattress dipping under his weight. Amara froze, every part of her screaming to tell him to leave, yet her body burned with an awareness that betrayed her.
Kelechi leaned in, close enough that she could feel his breath, close enough that her heart forgot its rhythm. "You keep fighting me," he said softly, his thumb brushing her hand. "But one day you'll stop."
Amara turned her face away, but the movement brought his lips dangerously near her jaw. She gasped when his hand grazed the bare curve of her shoulder, firm and deliberate. The memory of Tunde's kiss flared inside her, colliding with the reality of Kelechi's presence now.
Before she could gather the strength to push him away, he tilted her chin, pressing his lips to hers.
It wasn't like the kiss in her flashback. This one was different; sharper, filled with confidence and provocation, as if Kelechi wanted to prove something, to claim what he thought belonged to him. Amara's body responded in confusion, her chest rising against his as her fingers twitched against the sheet. The heat curled in her stomach, betrayal mixing with desire.
She pushed lightly at his chest, but he pulled back on his own, a crooked smile tugging his lips. "See?" he murmured. "You didn't stop me fast enough."
Her pulse thundered. "That was a mistake."
"Or maybe the start of something you've been too afraid to admit."
He rose slowly, his gaze dragging over her one last time before he walked to the door. "Lock your door next time," he said with a smirk. "Or don't. Your choice."
The door shut behind him, leaving silence heavy in the room.
Amara fell back against the pillows, breathless. She touched her lips, still tingling from the kiss. But even as the taste of Kelechi lingered, the ghost of Tunde's kiss from her dream burned deeper.
One was real. The other... she couldn't deny.
And for the first time, Amara realized she was standing on the edge of something she wasn't ready for; something that could tear her apart.