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“Relax; it is going to be fine,” Nathan’s voice held a lot of amusement and I could see that he was fighting a smile as he spoke.

I wanted to punch him for telling me to relax but I knew it would only make him laugh harder. He was the one meeting my parents but I was the one freaking out and for good reason to. With my parents, you never know what to expect.

My birthday was the next day and it was also our six month anniversary so I knew Nathan had something elaborate planned but I didn’t know what it was and everyone was being tight lipped about it.

When my parents asked to see me today and asked me to bring Nathan along, I almost lost my mind.

I tried to get out of it but Nathan was excited for lack of better words .

“They already love me,” he said in an attempt to calm me down.

I still didn’t speak so he sighed and got out of the car. I watched as he walked around the car and pulled my door open but I still didn’t make an effort to move and he cocked an eyebrow.

“I will carry you out of this car,” he warned and that was when I finally sighed and got out.

He interlaced our fingers and led me towards the front door of my childhood home and knocked.

Within seconds, the door was open and my mother was standing there with a wide smile on her face.

I watched as Nathan greeted her and I couldn’t stop the smile that grew on my face as he practically prostrated.

My parents had told him that he didn’t need to do it but he never once stopped and I knew they loved that but they would never have admitted it. My mother would have, my father- not so much.

Speaking of my father, he was on his phone in front of the TV when we walked in and after greeting him too, he tapped the chair next to him. I was confused as to who he was directing but I thought it was me. I took a step forward and he turned to me with a raised brow.

“Did I call you?” he asked. “You can sit down where you want. I want him to sit down next to me.”

I held up my hands in mock surrender and took a step back so Nathan could walk past me. As he did, he shot me a discreet wink and I rolled my eyes but a small smile was playing on my lips.

“Since you don’t love me anymore, I’m going to spend time with my mother.”

“You cannot make me feel bad, Emiade. Go and meet your mother please. ”

It hurt to say it but Nathan was right. Everything was fine at the end and my parents just wanted to spend some time with us and give me a birthday gift.

When I was handed the wrapped box, I wanted to open it but my father shot me a disapproving look and told me to be patient so that was what I did.

It annoyed me to no end but I decided to hold off. It was only a matter of hours and I would be able to open it but that didn’t stop me from trying to figure out what was inside by shaking the box a few times.

We left sometime in the evening and just as I was about to cross the threshold, I caught my father’s eye and I knew he wanted to tell me something. I told Nathan to go ahead and he didn’t ask any questions, he just did. I hung back and turned to face my father.

He didn’t say much if I was being honest, he just looked me square in the eyes and said. “I like him.”

Those three words for me were like a huge relief and I couldn’t stop myself from wrapping my arms around him.

By the time I pulled away, my smile could not be stopped and even when I got into the car, Nathan shot me a confused look but all I did was shrug.

He didn’t need to know that tidbit of information.

Nathan drove me to my house and when I asked if he was going to come in, he said no because he had to do something.

Somehow I just knew that it had to do with my birthday so I let him be and I made to get out of the car, but he stopped me by wrapping his hands around my hair and giving me a hard kiss that left me completely breathless.

When he pulled back, I blinked at him, unable to form words and it was the small smirk that grew on his lips that had me walking out of the car and towards my front door.

I walked in a daze into my house and into my bedroom where I changed into loungewear and I went back into the kitchen to get a snack.

I had just decided on chips when I heard my door creak open. I turned just in time to see Olivia walking towards the kitchen with her hands over her eyes. I didn’t blame her because she somehow managed to come to my house on three different occasions when Nathan and I were in the kitchen.

She was in black leggings and an oversized sweatshirt and she had a small wrapped package in one hand. Her hair was in a messy bun and it looked like she just rolled out of bed and came straight here. Knowing her, I wouldn’t have been surprised if that was the case.

“He’s not here,” I said and she let out a sigh of relief and dropped her hands.

She placed the package on the counter. “That is for you, but it is not from me.”

“It is not that I am not happy to see you, but what are you doing here? You said you were busy.”

“I was, until your boyfriend asked me to come,” she said and it was like my confusion multiplied. “He said you would need company and that you would know when to open that.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“You tell me,” she muttered as she walked into the kitchen and took the bag of chips from my hand. “Thank you for this.”

“It wasn’t for you.”

“It is the least you can do after I was pulled out of bed on a Saturday for this. ”

I texted Nathan wondering what was going on and he just told me to be patient. That was twice in one day and I was about to snap. I told myself that if by eight, I didn’t know what he was talking about then I was going to open the gift regardless.

While we waited, Olivia and I decided to stream a movie. I allowed her to pick and it wasn’t a surprise when I ended up watching Barbie Princess Charm School. Olivia would swear that it was the best Barbie ever made. I disagreed but I wasn’t stupid enough to say it in front of her.

The movie was playing in the background while I was on my phone. I could hear Olivia quoting it word for word and that was when I saw a notification telling me that Nathan had uploaded something.

I turned on notifications for all his social media and I wasted no time in clicking on it.

The first thing I saw was the poster for the documentary.

I had seen it before, in fact, I was one of the first people to see it but it just felt different to see it out there.

As amazing as that was, it wasn’t what caught my attention.

What caught my attention was the caption he had made as he uploaded it.

It read: ‘ Adira is an enigma to most. It was a surprise that she even decided to do this with me. I don’t exactly have the best track record, but then again, neither does she.’

‘But I think we all see what we want to see. You might think my interview is a bit biased because I’m in love with her, and that’s fair. But I can’t guarantee that at the end of this, you won’t fall in love with her too.’

I read it over and over again wondering if I had read right.

Nathan and I had been very private with our relationship up until that moment.

Of course there were some speculations and people who claimed to have seen us at my show but this was as close to an admission as he would get and I was stunned that he said that online.

“I’m guessing you’ve seen it.” I heard Olivia say from beside me and I turned to her. “I didn’t know about it, I swear.”

My mind went back to the gift on the table and I practically leaped off the chair to grab it. I didn’t care that the wrapping paper was beautiful, I just ripped it open and I was shocked when I saw the book inside.

‘ Eko Ede Yoruba’ was the title and I turned it over in my hand.

I had seen the book before when my cousins from Nigeria came to visit as a child.

They used it in school to learn Yoruba but I didn’t understand why Nathan was giving it to me so I flipped it open and a note fell out of the first page.

You always wanted to learn Yoruba, now is your chance. I hired a teacher for you as one of your birthday presents. She recommended this book, I hope you enjoy it.

Nathan.

“That is something,” Olivia mused as she read over my shoulder and then she reached forward and pulled something out of one of the other pages.

It was a bookmark of the Eiffel tower and suddenly, I knew what the birthday surprise was.

Only Nathan would have gone through this much stress for my birthday and just as I saw the bookmark, I got a text from him.

Nathan: Be ready by 8.