She was a late bloomer.
The sudden revelation was the only thing going through his mind as he sat there in the kitchen counter and watched her chop vegetables. He was fighting with a number of emotions he couldn’t exactly place. In the midst of all the confusion that reigned supreme in his head right now, he was aghast to realize that the one emotion he had been trying so hard to identify was lust.
Yes, she was a late bloomer. He remembered the first time he had seen her. That was nine years ago and she had only been fourteen years then. Fourteen! He had never understood why that image was always logged in his mind. Her, a tiny scared girl in tortoise shell spectacles and oversized uniform lost in all the commotion of form ones joining high school. She looked genuinely scared and after a few seconds he got to understand why. She was alone. In her right hand was a huge metallic box that all form ones were expected to carry with their items in it and on the other were other assortment of required items. She looked overburdened.
He had been in a foul mood that morning, having just broken up with his fiancé of five years. The witch had sucked him dry and left him for a more finally stable man. If he was honest to himself, financially stable was an understatement. The man was filthy rich. It wasn’t the fact that she had left him that had been unbearable but rather the manner in which she had done so. He had come home from work one day and noticed immediately that the house looked different before it hit him that it was devoid of any of Isabella’s items. She stopped picking or returning any of his calls and never gave an explanation of why she had left. He tried desperately to contact her; to at least get to know what it was that had irked her that much to the extent of her fleeing without notice. He had just been recruited by the government to work as a high school teacher, teaching sciences. He was immensely proud of his first car, a small passo. Six months later he ran into her with her new man at the mall. He had never seen her that happy, laughing and tagging at the man’s arm like a small girl. The way she looked up at her new man with a lot of love stabbed at his heart like hot coals. Isabella had NEVER looked at him like that. When they got close enough she had glanced at him and he thought he saw a bit of recoiling from her but she recovered quickly and continued chatting to her man as if everything was normal. She had behaved as if she had never laid her eyes on him before. Like he was a total stranger. Robb had stood still and watched as they got into their BMW. He was immobilized for a long time before he finally went towards his passo. At that minute, he understood the true meaning of the term worthless, for he felt it so deeply. That night for the first time in his life, he let tears flow freely. He cried for what they had. And for what could have been, for he knew that he had dodged a bullet. For the first time too, he had a trouble free sleep.
So it would be understandable that on that morning he was in an extremely foul mood and playing guide to a confused “mono” was the last thing in his mind. But something about the tiny girl endeared him to her and before he could stop himself he was approaching her. Being the teacher in duty, he was among the people supervising the admission process.
“Hallo decimal,” his mouth said before he could think.
“Hallo sir,” she said in a small voice as she strained to look up at him. Even with her old fashioned glasses on, he realized she was still straining with her eyes. His heart flew out to her.
“My name is Leonida sir, not decimal.”
He struggled to hide the smile that was forming on his lips, realizing that she hadn’t understood the joke. Robb had called her decimal because she looked so tiny and lost among the thronging crowd.
“Have you been admitted yet?”
“No sir,” she said dutifully.
“Where is your parent or guardian?” Robb asked concernedly.
“I am an orphan.” She had said slowly, trying to prevent the tears that were threatening to flow. “My grandmother died last month and I don’t have any other close family. My church paid for my fees. Our pastor was to accompany me today but then he got sick yesterday and is now admitted in hospital. I couldn’t wait and I knew I had to come no matter what.”
“Ohh” Robb managed to say. It was illegal to admit a form one student without their being accompanied by a parent or guardian but Robb found himself breaking the rules for her. He acted as her guardian. Over the course of the term he found himself regularly checking up on her and being like a parent to her. The nick name decimal stuck. He had taken over her education when she was in form two after her church said they couldn’t cater for her education anymore. His support for her had been steadfast. During the holidays she came to live in his house, in her own room.
Leonida had passed her final exams with high grades. Not that it was a surprise to anyone. She got a scholarship to a university in the UK. Robb’s support for her never wavered. She was back for the holidays, four years after she left for the UK.
She was a late bloomer.
She wasn’t a kid anymore. He looked at her in astonishment, feeling his arousal get to abnormal heights. The woman in front of him was very different from the girl who had left four years ago. Four years…..is that what four years could do to a woman? Even thinking of her as a woman filled him with shame and guilt. This was wrong….this wasn’t how he was supposed to think of decimal. His decimal, the one human being he loved more than anything in this world. His love for her was unquestionable….but lust….lust was a whole new ball game.
“Robb?” he was brought back to the present with her looking at him curisiosly. He realized she had asked him a question.
“Sorry, what?” he asked sheepishly.
“I asked you what you think of the latest teachers strike.” Before he could answer she went back to her incessant chatting and it occurred to him she could also be as nervous as he was. He studied her.
She had grown into a beautiful woman, extremely so. He was sure her breasts had doubled in size and her thighs looked so…..so womanly. He swallowed hard. Her butt looked rounder and firm and he could tell she had been working out.
“Pass me the salt,” she said with a smile on her face. He turned to get the salt and when he got back to position she was there in front of him with an expression he had never seen on her before.
“Robb,” she begun softly and said nothing else.
“Decimal, my decimal…” his voice trailed off. The emotion in it surprised them both.
He was sited with her standing in front of him. Gingerly, she wound her arms around his waist, squinting to look at him behind her glasses. The look reminded him of the first day he had met her nine years ago as a small girl. She got closer to him, making sure to rub her boobs on his chest. The blood in his loins soared.
“Decimal-“he begun but was cut short by a finger to his mouth.
“For how long are we going to keep denying the feelings we have for each other? I love you so much Robb. And I know you do too.”
Robb swallowed and said nothing.
“I have always loved you.”
“But I am fifteen years older than you,” Robb said dizzily.
“Even better. That way, you know I will take care of you when you are old and without anyone to do so.” She was pulling his leg, he knew.
He looked up with a surprised expression. “What are you saying decimal?”
“Does it matter Robb? All I know is fate put us together.” she took his head in her hands and kissed him on the lips softly.
Robb pulled apart, feeling any decency in him disappear.
“Make love to me Robb,” she said in a tiny voice full of feeling. “I’ve waited so long for this day.”
His heart ached for her. How could he say no, when she asked him like that?
