The banking hall was choked. The air was musty and hot, even with the air condition blasting. Every few minutes, Ben enjoyed a cool breeze. It seemed everyone decided today was a good day to be at the bank. The heat coupled with the slow banking network was making people impatient and unhappy. People wanted to transact their business fast and leave. It seemed the heat outside the hall was better than the one inside. The operations manager was trying his utmost best to calm tempers, but the customers weren't just having it today.
Ben didn't really have anywhere to be after leaving the bank, so he was just patient and slightly enjoying the drama. Customers insulting each other and customers insulting the bank staff. The only thing that made him uncomfortable was the crowd and unbearable heat. He had a bottle of cold water he was sipping to help with the heat.
He was listening with interest to a conversation between 2 customers, when he heard the voice. He couldn't mistake that voice even through a loud thunder. The voice was to the ear like cotton falling on ground, soft and soothing even when it was angry. Then his nose picked up that smell. It's been ages since he smelled it but he would recognize that smell even in a perfume factory. Even if he was wrong about the voice, he wouldn't mistake that smell. That mild vanilla essence. He'd heard that voice countless times, and smelled that scent a million times. With his heart thumping loudly in his ears, he slowly turned his head in the direction of the voice.
He'd recognize that body anywhere, even from behind. He and Lily had been friends for a long time. He knew she had feelings for him. He felt something for her too but didn't want to be tamed by one when he could have the many. He just couldn't bring himself to love her the way she did him. He flaunted his numerous relationships in her face and watched as her heart broke anytime he introduced his newest conquest. She was always there for him and ready to welcome him with open arms and a tight smile. He felt on top of the world with his looks and funds from his parents when he was younger.
His friend, David, convinced him to try it with Lily. Though he knew was only going to break her heart, he sought for a relationship with her. He would be lying if he said he didn't regret treating her badly. She was a good woman. She encouraged him to invest what little money he had left from the funds from his parents. She was too mature for a life with him at that time. He wanted to experience the world, enjoy what he could. His motto was "the future will look out for itself". Look at him now, cashing out the $100 his friend, David had sent him. He lives on what family and friends handout to him these days.
Nobody told him being promiscuous would make him broke. All the rich men he new had multiple girlfriends. He had one too many girlfriends and she took everything from him. He reported her to the police but she was never caught. It seemed like she just vanished. His friend David even joked that it was a "maame water" (evil marine spirit) that had come to punish him for all the hearts he'd broken. In the last year, he had lost his parents and everything he owned.
A tear tried escaping from his right eye but he was quick to hold it in. He couldn't be a baby now, not after so many years of being manly in her presence. He realised she didn't have a ring on her finger as she approached him. His mind just went back to where he was and he realised that the bank had become relatively quiet all of a sudden. He looked around and every eye was on he and Lily. The chemistry between them was so strong that the customers had noticed it too...