"Sarah loves to dance. It's something she does with passion" Lola explained. "It is her dream to become a famous dancer. A good thing about my mother is she supports our dream as long as it is not illegal. At the moment, Sarah's taking a part time dance class and owns a channel on YouTube for anything that has to do with dance. Any kind of dance" She looked at Joshua who walked by her side. She has removed her heels and held them in her hand. She loved the feel of the grains of soft sand against her feet. "Dance is Sarah's gift. It's like she's born to dance"

"You have nine siblings" Joshua began to speak. "How do you cope with them all? I have two and they can be so frustrating"

"Siblings are always frustrating but they are still the best because they are family. What will life be without them?" she slithered her hand over his upper arm. "Sister Shola wanted to read journalism"

The chaotic lace of water bowled unto the shore. Along with it came a chilling wind. Lola shivered in her rompers. The beach was still bubbling. It seemed like there was some late night party going on and there was light that enabled them to see.

"Why is she a lawyer?"

"Daddy forced her. Sister Shola is still the coolest of us all. She is the nicest, a second mother to us. Daddy wanted her to study law in Harvard. He deceived everyone in other to take her out of the country, made her write the exam and came back to Nigeria without her. Mummy was mad" she stopped. Joshua looked at her, his hands in his pocket. "Brother Makinde is a self-made millionaire. The money he used to begin his business was lent from daddy. He has returned it after he made it. Brother Makinde was not the man you see today. He used to be a drug addict" Joshua lifted his eyebrow. Lola moved and they continued their walk.

"He seem too clean to have been one"

"That's why when you said you were a heavy drinker and smoker at the age of fourteen. I understood. He did not begin very early like you but he was a drug addict"

They were at the beach. Lola had told Joshua to drive there. The beach was her favourite spot for relaxation. She enjoyed watching the waves. When they had parked at the beach, she told him to take pictures of her with her phone. A message came in from Sarah on WhatsApp that she should watch her latest dance video. That brought up the conversation about her siblings.

"Brother Makinde had to be taken to rehab"

"I did not go to a rehab" Joshua spoke. "I stopped willingly" he sighed.

A situation that occurred willed him to stop and give up his life as a cultist. That year had been terrible. Some incidents made him who he was today.

"It took him a year and more before he got well. When he came back, he lent money from daddy. Daddy did not trust him anymore. He had lost his trust for Brother Makinde" That was another problem in her parents' marriage. Because of her father's refusal to lend Makinde money, her mother was not pleased and took it out on her father. "Brother Makinde had to prove to daddy that he had changed before daddy lent him the money. He is twenty eight years old. How old are you?"

"Thirty" Joshua replied. Lola eyes grew huge. He grinned at the reaction.

"What?" She screeched, her hand falling from Joshua's arm. "What? What? What? Oh my" The look of bewilderment was something that made him nearly laugh. "You....you" She pointed a shaking finger at him. "Are six years older than me?"

Joshua chuckled. "You don't know my age?" he leaned in to say on her face.

"I never cared to ask" Lola felt heat creep up her cheeks. "Oh God! Thirty!"

"What if I was younger than you?"

"I knew you would not be" she said with certainty.

"I could have been twenty three" He teased.

Lola huffed and crossed her arm over her chest. "You do not seem like one. You do not look younger than twenty eight but I assumed you to be twenty seven, age mates with Lolu"

Joshua went rigid at the name. She was really close to Lolu. She talks every day with Lolu. No day passes without a conversation on phone with him. Jealousy had always welded its way into his heart causing every part of him to grow bitter from it. "Lolu was not at your brother's party tonight"

"He has a night shift at the hospital" Joshua nodded in reply. Lola eyes lingered on his face. "I notice you and Lolu do not click. Why?"

"Nothing" Joshua shrugged and continued to walk. "It is not everyone you click with"

"No" she shook her head. "That's not it. You guys seem to have a cold war between you"

"When did you start assuming such thing?"

"I noticed"

"Well, you are wrong. You were talking about your siblings" Lola huffed again. She gave him a look.

"Trying to change the topic right?" Joshua opened his mouth to speak. "Don't worry. I will play along" she sat down on the sand. When he had not done the same thing, Lola looked at him. "Sit" she pats the space beside her. He did as he was told. "Brother Makinde began his business and three years later, he got a big deal. He was able to pay daddy back. He is married to Sister Amarachi who my mother does not like because she is igbo. Sister Toke has no future ambition, never had and will never have. She went to school for fun. When she came back from abroad, mommy asked her what she wanted to do but she said she does not have anything to do. You know how dramatic Nigerian mothers can be"

"Mommy had said ye Toke! O ti pa mi! (You have killed me). Ki lo wa lo se ni school! (What did you do in school?). So I have been wasting school fees all these years. Whether you want it or not, you will work! She was true to her words. She seized Sister Toke's credits cards, collected her car and found a job for her. Three months later, Sister Toke got fired. Mommy said, whether you want it or not, the juju you are using to get fired and complains from work will not work. She found another job for sister Toke. Two weeks later, Sister Toke quit. Her excuse was the oga (boss) was too strict. Don't do this! Do that! I hate this! Another job, the same outcome and another job, the same outcome. So mommy had to give up. Daddy had no problem with it but mommy did. At the end, Sister Toke won. She is a more lavish spender than I am and also saucy but not arrogant. Now, she is a wife and a mother of a very cute boy. She blessed me with another nephew" She grinned.

The breeze swept her hair. She used a hand to push away the curtain of red curls from her face. Folding her legs underneath her, she gave Joshua her full attention.

"Miracle is the womanizer. One girl today, another tomorrow"

"It's normal among guys"

"So you are saying you also do it"

"No, I used to" She felt his words dive a sharp pain through her heart.

"So you are a womanizer"

"You don't call us womanizer. I am not a womanizer and never was a womanizer. It is just that we guys want to have fun"

"And changing girls like clothes is the only way you can have fun?" Her voice turned cold. The thought of another woman with him made her chest squeeze.

"Even though I don't want them Lola, women will always come to me"

"So you are telling me right now that despite you are married to me, women still disturb you"

"Yes. They go as far as throwing themselves at me"

Lola throat turned dry. She tried to swallow her saliva just to end up choking on it. A strangled cough left her lips. Joshua reached for her but she raised a hand to halt him.

"I am fine" she squeaked.

Joshua chuckled a bit. "You are not"

"I am. There was a day" she can't explain how she feels but she knows that the thought of women throwing themselves at him made her feel more constriction in her chest. She disliked that idea. It made her tremble a bit. "Miracle took a girl out. You know he got the money so girls keep coming. Nowadays, guys are nothing without money because only few girls will look at you if you do not have money at least little cash. Most ladies are searching for men with the cash, a man who is capable of taking care of them"

"Even you?"

"Yes. I am not ready to suffer with any guy. By the way I can't because I am rich and only rich men will come for me. Miracle took this girl out without knowing that one of those girls he had dumped was tailing him with her girls. The girl tailing him was from Mushin, grew up in the ghetto but knew what was trending. He took his new girl to an exquisite boutique here in Lagos. That was how his old girl stomped in with her girls" Lola laughed. "They beat shit out of Miracle and his new girl. He ran away forgetting his car and came home with torn clothes" Lola laughed at the memory.

"That Mushin girl beat him?" Joshua who was trying to hold in his laughter chuckled a bit.

"She gave him a swollen eye and a big bite with her teeth that left a scar"

"Oh my God! Your brother..." Joshua bursted into laughter. Lola laughed along with him until they both had water dripping from their eyes.

"When he showed us the picture of the girl, she was fat, thick. He said she sat on him. I was surprised he had no broken bone"

They laughed harder again.

"Tenny and Kenny are identical but different. Tenny is the proud, saucy twin and an extrovert. Kenny is different. The introvert but more of a talkative and friendly. Tenny loves to dress up. She does that every day. Her nine hundred thousand plus followers came from it. Most of them are teenagers because those are who her style are for at the moment. Makeup, hair, clothes. She loves them like me but seem a little obsessed with them. She's a model and an ambassador to some brands. Kenny does not know what she wants to be at the moment. Still hopeless. She's hoping to be a makeup artist though. When I say makeup, I do not mean beautifying the face alone. It is not what I am have on my face at the moment. There is more to it. Did you watch walking dead?" Joshua nodded his head.

"The zombies were created due to makeup. Those movies you watch where injuries or monsters look so real. That's makeup. Makeup is not just about drawing brows and contouring the face. There is more to it. Samson and Sarah are also twins. Samson want to study music. Mofe the youngest has no future ambition. One minutes he want to be a pilot. The next he want to be a doctor. At one point, he said openly that he has no future ambition and might end up being jobless like Sister Toke but I doubt it. Daddy or mommy might end up giving him a job in their establishments"

"Your house is a market place" Joshua looked at her with soft eyes.

"It was and it still is. Tenny, Kenny and Mofe are enough to make the house noisy. If one person hide the TV remote, the other does not want the channel to be changed. They fight over plates. It's either both Tenny and I want to watch a fashion shows or Miracle want to watch football" Without thinking, Lola used a finger to draw patterns on the sand. "And me, I am the saucy arrogant one who is bad at talking and hard to please" she gazed up to meet Joshua's eyes. "I am soft inside with the heart of a woman. Romantic gestures from men gets into me but I am hard to please. Men rarely get what impresses me. I do not like flowers. I am the photographer who lived eleven years of her life in America and it was not easy staying there"

Joshua wanted to ask why it was not easy and what had happened but he held back his questions. She won't tell him.

"Your American accent is still there but not as thick as it used to be" He lifted his hand to sweep back hair from her face. He did it to have a better view of her pretty face.

"I love parties. I am outgoing" her voice grew soft. "I am not a shy person and to some extent I do not care about how people feel. That's why when I say hurtful stuffs to people, I don't feel remorseful" the first button of his shirt got her attention. She skimmed a hand over it and fondled with the button.

Silence fell in on them. The waves of the beach was the only sound that travelled around them. The wind was cold but none cared. They held one another's eyes with a silent message. Lola noticed the tattoo peeking from Joshua's shirt. The tattoo got to his neck. The black ink was that of a bird. She grazed her finger over the spot.

"How many girlfriends did you have in the past?"

"I can't count" he replied with a sigh, dropping his hand from her hair.

He turned to look at the trundling waves. She took her hand off him for the time being. Lola could not tell why she craved for his warmth badly. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and enjoy the moment of been curled up with him.

"You were the ladies' man"

"I am" he gave her a little smile.

What kind of man does she have for herself? Lola pondered. Will she have problem with him and women?

"I do not know why I could not dive my way easily into the heart of a woman when I have gotten into the heart of many"

The side of Lola lips quivered up giving a heart stopping smile. She positioned her hand on his arm, impressed by the amount of muscle in it and gave it a light squeeze. She raised her eyelids to meet his eyes when she did it.

"You don't have tons of muscles. Why?"

"Why should I have tons of muscles? Do you know how many women had fallen and are still falling in love with the little I have? You love macho guys?"

"No" the corners of her lips ticked a bit. "Too much muscle is a turn off for me"

"Oh" Joshua raised his eyebrows. "So I am your kind of guy" He smiled as he spoke.

"Well, at the moment you are a turnoff"

Lola watched the smile on his face evaporate causing her to laugh. "Really, Lola?" He scoffed. "Do you have to bruise my ego?"

"It's basically what you need" Joshua placed a hand on her face, skimmed a rough finger over her dimple then rested his hand on her cheek, his little finger below her ear, his thumb ran through a spot to rub. Lola felt relaxed. She wanted to lean into that hand and enjoy the relieve she got from the little caress.

"Did you ever have a boyfriend?"

Joshua did not miss the change in the look in her eyes. Pain came in faster than he expected. She squinted her eyes then looked away at the surfs. She changed her position, unfolded her legs under her to stretch out and rested her back against him. Lola nuzzled deeper into him. Her hot scent drifted into his nose.

"Yes" she replied looking back at him. "A lot than I can count" Her voice was strong, powerful like she was trying to console herself with those words.

"I bet so. You have pretty legs" he stole a look at her legs.

That switched on a different side of her. He saw the woman who wants him in her bed. Lola lifted her back from him. She scooped her hair in her hand then released it with a pout. He had never had an urge as strong as the one he got. He wanted to pull her into him, then bring his lips down to her, make her forget everything she kept hidden and tell her things he could not express with words.

She swirled to look at him. She brought her hand to his chest. "Don't you feel hot" she voiced out in that velvety voice of hers.

Using both hands, she loosened the first button of Joshua's shirt. Did the same to the second. The tattoos on his body had her interest. She would love to run the smooth tips of her fingers across each and every one of them. Like a feline, she glided closer to him this time letting the contact between their bodies obvious.

"Be careful of what buttons you push, Orekelewa"

"I love pushing the wrong buttons" she said with a playful smile.

"I am serious"

"I love serious" she loosened another button.

"What are you doing?" he caught her hand when a sudden blast of cold slammed against the little part of his chest that was exposed. Lola fingertip brushed over the space in between his breasts. She saw the art in blank ink imprinted on his skin. Awed, she gawked at the imprint. He had the tattoo up to his left breast.

"I want to see your tattoos" she replied. Her voice did not hide her surprise. Her fingers brushed over the exposed area.

"You ask instead of loosening my shirt" he spoke like he protested but he was doing nothing to hold her back. She could hear his ragging breath and feel the rise and fall of his chest.

She gave him a smile that said it all with a mocking look in her eyes. "Honey" her voice changed, tinier and more pleasant to the ears. "Please, may I see you tattoo?" she bats her eyelashes.

Joshua's throat were too dry for him to say a word. He just enjoyed the sight of her, unable to hold back the feeling pumping through him. His muscles had gone tensed everywhere. Lola took his silence for a yes and loosened the rest of his shirt. Her eyebrows went up when she pushed away the shirt from his body. She peeled it off his left hand.

His tattoo ran from his left arm to his chest, shoulder, a little bit on his neck and travelled to his left shoulder blade. It was just on his left side. She ran her finger tip over the patterns. He had a spitting dragon on his arm. From the joint of his neck to his shoulder were birds. There was a burning rose on the left side of his chest. Like a band around his upper arm, the black ink against his caramel skin was a chain beneath the spitting dragon.

"What do they mean?" she question, still overwhelmed by what she saw. Her fingers, with the softest of touches glided through his skin, leaving pleasing feelings for him to feel, touches that burned deep into him.

She frowned when she noticed the scars on him. He had a scar below his left breast just away from his heart. There was one on his side. Lola ran her other hand through his scars. Her caress made him shiver.

"Many things. Lola please stop" he got a hold of her hand over his chest. His voice was low, thicker so his words came out like a growl. Sexy, that's all Lola could think about.

"Why?" she took her hand from his hold.

"I am serious" he sat up making her shift a bit.

He was resistant. Was he going to reject her now? He proceeded to wear his shirt but she caught his hand before he could. His eyes met hers. He saw the playfulness in them. The woman wanted him badly and he was pulling away. She does not seem like the one to give up immediately. Her hand grazed his bare shoulder leaving electric sparks to travel through his body.

"You can't take it when a gorgeous woman got her hands on you" her eyes travelled down to his stomach. "Four packs" she mused out with a little rise of her eyebrow.

"I am still working on it. It's cold Lola"

"I can give you warmth" she offered pushing her body to his.

"You are pushing too many buttons"

"I would like to push more"

"I am serious"

"Good boys do not have tattoos" she leaned closer making him bend back. She had half of her body on his, letting him feel the luscious curve of her.

Joshua tried to calm the beast that rose in him. If she tries something funny again, he might not be able to hold back.

"I was never a good boy"

"Intriguing" she licked her lower lips, gliding her hand over the side of his face.

He tugged her wrist, swept her beneath him as he rolled over and trapped her in his wide chest.

"Joshua" Lola squeaked out at the unexpected shift.