CHAPTER 2: THE MORNING AFTER

James chuckled and nodded in agreement. "Your elder brother always said that facing your fears is the key to confidence." I nodded in agreement. "That's true." As we drew near, we realized that the traffic was too congested, so we took a detour onto a side road, which significantly reduced our travel time. We eventually arrived at the hotel, where our host had rented a spacious suite to ensure our comfort. He showed me my own room and I quickly unpacked my belongings After freshening up, I returned to the lounge and enjoyed a delicious meal provided by the hotel. Later, we went downstairs and got into his car to explore the town and pick up some supplies. It was nighttime by then, and the area around the hotel was filled with prostitutes. Our host suggested that we spend the night with one of them, but I declined, stating that I don't engage in that kind of activity, especially not the ones on the streets. He seemed to find this amusing, but I didn't find it funny at all. He then suggested that I listen to music in the other room while he entertained himself with a prostitute. I declined again, and he drove towards a group of women who were standing on the side of the road. As we approached, he rolled down his window, and the women walked towards us. “Good evening customer.” One big-breasted pro greeted as she approached us. “Good evening. How much do you charge for the night?” He asked. “It depends. Are you following me to my house, or we are going to your hotel?” “My hotel, of course.” “Okay, is it for both of you, or is it for you alone?” “Just me.” “Okay, it’s twenty dollars.” She spoke. “Okay, that is no problem. Please, get into the car.” He said. We were now back in the hotel, and James and the girl were already into business. After about two hours, he came to my room to check up on me and found me heavily drunk. “John” “Yes sah.” “So, you insist on staying like this? Don’t you feel bored?” “I don’t. I have my wine.” “Alright, let us go share the girl. We can add her money.” He proposed, laughing. “God forbids!!” I replied, strongly. In spite of my drunken state, I still had the decency to say no. “Alright, I know what to do. There is this girl whose number I took yesterday. I went to her place to buy some snacks. She was giving me greenlight, so I took her number and promised to call her later. I can call her if you want.” “That will be better.” “Should I?” “Yes.” About an hour after arriving at the hotel, everything went as expected. The next morning, before I could even fully wake up, she had already left. Later that evening, James and I drove to the airport, where he boarded his flight and departed. I then returned the car to the hotel, checked out, and drove to his sister's place to drop off the car. After that, I took a bus home. Upon arriving home, I realized that I had made a great mistake by not getting the girl's contact information. I couldn't even recall her face or whether I had used a condom during our encounter. It was all a blur. To make matters worse, James had discarded his SIM card before boarding his flight, so I couldn't even ask him for the girl's number. Feeling disappointed and frustrated, I decided to reach out to James to inquire if he still had the girl's contact information. However, I didn't hold out much hope that he would still have it, given that he had already left the country I was unable to reach James for an extended period of time, but I understood that he had just moved to a new country and was still in the process of setting up his communication. When he finally got in touch with me, I was pleased and we exchanged friendly greetings. However, the conversation quickly turned to the matter at hand: the girl's phone number. James revealed that he had given his SIM card to his younger sister before leaving, and he was unable to find the number in his phone's contacts. I suggested that he check his phone's contacts and offered to connect him with his younger sister, but he declined, finding the suggestion amusing. He promised to look through his contacts and get back to me soon. A few minutes later, he called back with good news: he had found the number. I was thrilled and eagerly awaited the number, but James' response was unexpected. He began to tease me, asking why I wanted the number so badly and implying that the lady had given me a lesson that day. I was taken aback by his sudden change in tone, but I remained polite and respectful. To my relief, he eventually sent me the number. I quickly dialed it and waited anxiously for a response. The lady picked up the call immediately, and I was overjoyed to have finally reached her. “Hello, who is this ¹?” “Oh, I am sorry to bother you.” I apologized. “I am the guy you spent the night with last week at Dreamland Guesthouse.” “Yes, I remember. So, what is the big deal? Are you in Douala again? Do you want more of my services?” She asked in a serious tone. “ Not actually. Just that you left very unceremoniously. I just thought I should call and find out how you were doing.” “Thank you very much. Please, I have to go now. I have an important client to attend to. I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but please, next time you call me, it should be for business. Do you understand?” “Really? But I thought you were…” She cut the call. I was terribly vexed. Why would she cut the call like that? That was very rude of her. In fact, she was very rude. What kind of girl was that? So, because she was a girl, she wouldn’t attend to calls that had nothing to do with her indecent line of business? Was she the only one who was a prostitute? Prostitution has been going on since the beginning of time. In fact, it is one of the oldest professions on this planet, second only to begging.