The tips of her ear were beginning to hurt from the cold and she didn’t know how much longer it would take for the locksmith to arrive, so it made sense for her to accept the offer before she started to suffer from frostbite. Frostbite is damage to the skin caused by freezing temperatures and prolonged exposure to cold during winter. Frostbite can happen once temperatures get below zero degrees Celsius. It commonly affects the toes, fingers, ears and nose. Symptoms start with affected areas feeling cold, sore and painful and can progress to feeling pins and needles and finally numbness. Frostbite can be extremely sensitive and can lead to permanent damage to affected parts of the body. It can be prevented by wearing warm clothing and avoiding going outdoors during extremely cold weather or limiting time spent outside if you must go out during extremely cold weather.
“I thought you were going to keep standing out there” the handsome stranger said laughing when Sugar finally entered his car, “well you can’t blame me, you could easily be a kidnapper” Sugar replied rolling her eyes, “so how do you know I’m not?” He asked, still laughing, “I don’t know that you’re not, I’m just taking my chances” Sugar responded. “Hmm! I see” he nodded, “anyways the locksmith will be here in 10 minutes,” he announced,
“great, thank you” Sugar responded looking relieved as she sat in silence.
“So you’re not even going to ask for my name?” He said, scrolling through his phone, “Oh! I didn’t think it was necessary, you didn’t ask for mine either” she replied shrugging, “hmm!” He said, nodding as he placed his phone in the phone holder, “I like your guts” he said smiling to himself, “so are you going to tell me your name?” He asked,
“Sugar” Sugar replied, “wait, you have a pet name for me already?” He laughed, “of course not” Sugar replied rolling her eyes, “so why are you calling me Sugar?” He asked, “you asked for my name and I answered” Sugar explained, “wait! That was your name?” He asked, looking puzzled, “your name is Sugar?” He questioned,
“Yes, my name is Sugar ” Sugar responded as he burst into uncontrollable laughter, “ok if you say so. Nice to meet you Sugar, I’m Salt” he said still hysterically. “Hehehe” Sugar replied, rolling her eyes, “what? Don’t look at me like that, you started it” he replied, “started what?” Sugar asked, “started the jokes.
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I was just playing along” he said, “I don’t remember cracking any jokes, you asked for my name and I told you” Sugar replied, “wait! Are you being serious?” He paused, “Your name is Sugar?” He asked looking confused, “yes, that’s my name” Sugar responded, “and thanks for making a huge joke out of it” she added looking away, “Oh! I didn’t realise, I honestly thought you were messing around “ he explained,
“I apologise. It’s a nice name” he said, “Sure, it’s so nice that you were laughing at it” Sugar replied sarcastically, “No, I’m serious, it might not be a nice name for anyone else but trust me, i think it’s perfect for you, it sort of describes you, from the little I’ve seen” he said smiling. “Nice try” Sugar replied, “oh look! The locksmith just arrived” he said pointing at a van that was decorated with the locksmith company creatives that just pulled up in front of them.
“Thank goodness” Sugar responded as they both hopped out of the car. Within minutes, her car was unlocked and her keys retrieved from the trunk. “That would be $60” the locksmith announced, “how would you like to pay?” He asked, “card” both the handsome stranger and Sugar replied at the same time, “ok, let me get my card machine” he responded going back to his van to get the card machine, “don’t worry I can handle it” Sugar told the handsome stranger, “No it’s fine, I’ll take care of it. It’s my way of saying sorry for laughing about your name” he said smiling as the locksmith returned. He quickly grabbed the card machine before Sugar could make a move and immediately tapped his card to make payment. “Here’s your receipt” the locksmith said handing him the printed receipt, “thank you” he responded as the locksmith waved goodbye and went back to his van.
“You didn’t have to, but thanks anyways” Sugar responded, “I guess it’s time to start heading home” she said opening the door to her car, “uhm! So you’re just going to leave like that? without even asking my name” Gbenga said, raising his eyebrow, “you already told me your name, it’s Salt, remember?” Sugar responded laughing, “oh! Common! i thought we had moved past that” he replied, “I’m Gbenga” he replied stretching out his hand for a handshake, “Nice to meet you Gbenga” Sugar said shaking his hand, “thanks for your help” she added, “it’s my pleasure” Gbenga responded, “Can we do lunch sometime this weekend?” He added,
“Uhm! I don’t really like the food here, it kinda sucks” Sugar responded laughing, although she meant what she said, she was also using it as an excuse to decline his offer, “in that case, you can come over to mine, I’m a great cook. I’ll make a 3-course meal. How about that?” He asked, “Uhm…” Sugar began scratching her head, thinking of another excuse, “Common, I don’t bite” Gbenga added with a smile, “can I have your phone?” He asked, taking Sugar’s phone from her, “type in your code” he said, “why?” Sugar asked looking curious, “I’m sure by now you should be convinced that I’m not a kidnapper “ he smiled as Sugar reluctantly unlocked her phone, he immediately called his number and gave himself a missed call, “now that we have each other’s numbers we can discuss details about our lunch date over the phone” he laughed, “you’re unbelievable” Sugar said shaking her head as she got into her car. He laughed and waved goodbye as she drove off. She thought he was really handsome and he had a great personality too, with a good sense of humour but she wasn’t ready to let her guard down just yet.
***
Back in Nigeria, Michael had been struggling really hard to pay back his debt, each time his salary was paid into his account the whole sum was automatically debited to pay back the loans he had taken from the banks. Chinedu had also lent him some money to pay off some people but it still wasn’t enough as he was owing a lot of other people money. He had reduced his public appearances and had stopped attending events so that he wouldn’t bump into any of the people that he was owing.
Slowly, he was becoming a shadow of himself with each passing day. Chinedu didn’t like this and decided that he needed to go out and unwind at least once in a while, so on that particular weekend, he dragged Michael out of the house for drinks. “You can’t continue to live like this” he said to him, “ok, so you’re owing half of Nigeria money, and so what?” Chinedu continued, “which of them have never owed anyone money?” He added, “look, I gatchyu” Chinedu assured, “Chances that we will bump into someone that you’re owing is slim but if we do, I will fight for you, just trust me” he said convincing Michael.
In a few minutes, he and Michael were off to the club to unwind. They had successfully partied all night without bumping into anyone that Michael knew, they both left the club feeling a little tipsy. When they reached their car, Chinedu unlocked the car and got into the driver’s seat. Just as Michael was about to get into the car, someone tapped him hard on the shoulder from behind, he turned back to see a hefty looking man staring back at him, “do i know you?” Michael asked looking frightened, the man did not respond but lifted his shirt to reveal a gun in his pocket, “follow me” he instructed, nudging Michael in the direction of a tinted black SUV parked behind them.
Find out what happens next in episode 23 #checkwithdoctoro
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