Chapter 2 - Chapter 2: Their Little Secret

CHAPTER 2: THEIR LITTLE SECRET

Kea did not sleep much after that. She lay in her room behind the gate at her aunt's house in Brixton, staring at the shadows made by passing headlights and replaying the weight of Sizwe's hands through her top. By morning she had told herself it had been grief, whisky and bad timing. By the time she dressed for Bonga on Friday, she knew she was lying.

She chose a long red top that skimmed her hips, a denim mini skirt, flat sandals and no panties. The choice made her nervous enough to laugh at herself in the Uber. Nineteen, she thought, and behaving like she had never been trusted alone in a room with a man. But the thought of Sizwe seeing what she had chosen not to wear sent a low pulse through her all the way to Dainfern.

The afternoon went on as usual. Bonga ate macaroni while explaining a fight at school. He fell asleep during a cartoon with his maths book open beside him. Kea sat on the sofa and listened for Sizwe's car.

He came home early. He did not kiss her. He did not mention Wednesday. He poured two drinks, handed her one and put a comedy on DSTV as if the house had never changed at all.

"Can you get the remote?" he asked after a while. "This show is terrible."

Kea crossed the room slowly. She let the remote slide off the TV cabinet and bent to pick it up, aware of the cool air against her bare skin beneath the skirt. Her cheeks burned. She heard Sizwe stand behind her.

"You are enjoying this, neh?"

She looked back over her shoulder. "I dropped the remote."

"And you forgot something when you got dressed."