Living Dangerously - Part 2

*Two hours ago*

It was a few minutes to midnight when Juliet reached the door of her brother’s residence.

She'd meticulously planned her surprise. She knew he was careful to remember and buy gifts for everyone else's birthday except his and each year she took it upon herself to create one surprising package or another. Cos, she said to herself, if she didn't, who will?

He was the only surviving family member she had. They'd lost the rest of their family when an untethered container toppled over and fell, crushing both parents and twin-sister siblings underneath. Since then, they'd kept each other going, her brother supporting her through university with proceeds from his security agency consultancy.

Last year, she'd pranked him successfully with a birthday cake waiting at the end of the prank. This year, she was going to wake him up to the sight of a cake-carrying eyo masquerade. Merely thinking of what his reaction will be gave her the trips.

“Oh, this will be so much fun,” she said to herself as she set the box containing the cake by the floor mat. She turned on the Torch app on her smartphone and using that light source, produced the spare keys to the house OB had given her in case she needed to use his place at any time.

As quietly as possible, she unlocked the door. She knew well her brother's acute hearing could pick sounds even in his sleep so, she measured her movements. The rug in the sitting room muffled her footfalls and made her movement across go inaudibly. When she got to the bedroom door, she began to think it was all a bad idea. What if he had someone sleeping over? He hadn’t mentioned any recent love interests but there was no telling. What if something went wrong? What if...

“Shhhhh!” she shushed herself. “Stop it!” It was going to work out just as planned. She'd come this far, made it from hers to his place and there was no time now, right in front of her brother's bedroom to begin to second-guess her birthday surprise for him. No. Not today.

As she set her phone and the box on the floor, there was a little sliding sound as the base of the cake inside shifted slightly. She froze, held her breath and closed her eyes. She stayed like that for a while listening for motion within the bedroom. Hearing nothing, she heaved a deep sigh. She opened the box, took the cake out by the base and removed the costume she'd folded neatly under and stood up.

In less than a minute, she was set. Lifting the cake, she tip-toed into her brother's room. She took a deep breath, bended slightly at the knees and sprang on the bed with a loud, “Happy Birthdaaaaaaaaaaay”.

To her deepest dismay, there was no OB.

Her mien dropped. She felt deflated. All the elaborate preparation was all for nought. She placed the cake on the bed and took off the costume. She sat there wondering where he may have gone. So late?

“Maybe, there's a lover in his life after all,” she mused to herself. “Hmm...” she murmured thoughtfully, “gentleman will have some storytelling for me when he returns.” she was saying as she looked around the house while walking to the kitchen. She was unconsciously looking for any telltale signs of some feminine touch in the house.

Realising that she was still using her phone for light, she made to switch on the light in the corridor between the dining room and the bedroom when she heard the distinct sounds of a key being inserted into the front door lock. She quickly moved into the kitchen to hide there.

To be continued...