The taste of Kelechi's kiss lingered long after he left her room.
Amara lay sprawled against her pillows, sheets tangled around her legs, heart still beating too fast. She dragged her fingertips across her lips as though she could wipe him off, but her body betrayed her. It wanted to remember. Every inch of her skin was awake, trembling, replaying the heat of that kiss she had not expected; a kiss she should have pushed away sooner.
Yet beneath it all, the other name haunted her.
TUNDE
Her chest tightened as the flashback resurfaced, vivid as ever. Tunde's lips on hers, his hands firm against her waist, the husky way he had whispered her name. It was as if her subconscious had betrayed her with the truth her heart wasn't ready to face. She hadn't seen him in so long, yet her body remembered him better than her mind ever could.
Amara pressed her palms into her eyes, groaning softly. "What are you doing to yourself?" she whispered.
The rain outside had quieted, replaced by the hum of Lagos traffic beginning to stir in the early morning. Honks, voices, vendors setting up shop; life went on as usual, oblivious to the chaos spinning in her chest. She rose from bed, wrapping herself in a thin wrapper before stepping into the small sitting room.
Her phone buzzed on the table.
"1 New Message"
Her throat went dry when she saw the name.
TUNDE
It was a simple text: "Are you awake?"
Amara froze, her heart thundering so loudly she feared the neighbors might hear it. For a moment she stared at the screen, afraid to answer, afraid of what it might mean if she did.
But her fingers typed before her mind could stop them. YES
Three dots blinked. Then: "Can I see you?"
She dropped the phone as though it had burned her. Her hands shook when she picked it up again. Her reply was delayed, cautious. Why?
No answer. Then, finally: Because I can't stop thinking about you.
Her knees nearly gave way, and she sank onto the couch, staring at the words like they might vanish if she blinked.
TUNDE. The man she hadn't seen in years. The brother who had disappeared from her life without explanation, leaving silence in place of the fire they had once shared. Now he was back, tugging on strings that had never really snapped.
And only hours ago, she had kissed Kelechi.
Her stomach churned. "This is madness," she muttered, tossing the phone aside. She should ignore him. She should focus on anything else.
But her phone buzzed again. "I'll be at Chicken Republic by noon. If you come, you come. If you don't, I'll understand."
No pressure. No demands. Just a meeting place.
Amara pressed her palms to her cheeks, trying to breathe through the storm raging inside her. The temptation was suffocating.
By noon she was at Chicken Republic
Her legs had carried her there before her mind could catch up. She sat at a corner table by the window, nerves on fire as she slipped the drink she didn't even want. The restaurant buzzed with gists and the constant noise from the kiddies corner for ice-cream, but all of it blurred around her. She couldn't stop glancing at the door, every time expecting him.
And then he came.
Tunde walked in like the air shifted to make space for him. He was taller than she remembered, shoulders broader, his once-babyish face now sharpened by years into something striking, dangerous. The same storm-gray eyes she had dreamed of met hers across the room, and in that moment the restaurant faded away.
Her chest clenched. Her lips parted without sound.
He smiled; not wide, but soft, familiar. Like he knew her heartbeat already.
When he reached her table, she forgot how to breathe.
"Amara," he said, her name rolling off his tongue like a prayer.
Her throat tightened. "Tunde."
He sat across from her, his presence overwhelming. The silence between them wasn't awkward. It was charged, like sparks leaping from frayed wires. She tried to look away but his gaze held her still, steady, pulling her in.
"You look..." He paused, eyes sweeping over her face as if searching for the right word. "...different. But the same."
She laughed nervously, sipping her coffee just to have something to do. "And you look like trouble."
His lips curved. "Maybe I am."
The banter was light, but underneath it lay everything unsaid. The memory of what they had almost been. The truth of what they had never stopped being.
Her fingers trembled as she set her cup down. "Why now, Tunde? Why come back?"
His eyes darkened, his voice low. "Because staying away was worse than leaving."
Her breath caught. The restaurant around them blurred into background noise. His words sank into her chest like an anchor, dangerous and undeniable.
She should have left it there. She should have stood up, walked away, and never looked back. But when his hand brushed hers across the table, something inside her cracked.
Heat shot through her arm, traveling straight to the part of her that remembered; his touch, his kiss, and his claim. She didn't move her hand away. She couldn't.
The air between them grew heavier, pulling her in until she could barely think. His thumb traced her knuckles, a simple touch that felt more intimate than anything she had felt in years.
Her body betrayed her again, leaning toward him, lips parting as though waiting for his.
"Amara," he whispered, his breath warm against her ear.
She shivered. Every bone in her body screamed for him.
And then
"KELECHI?"
The voice cut like a knife, pulling her back into reality. Her head jerked up.
Standing at the restaurant door was Kelechi, his eyes locked on them, his face a mixture of shock and fire.
Time froze.
Amara's heart stopped, trapped between past and present.
The brothers. Both of them. And she was caught in the middle.