A click from the bedroom door startled him. Julius buried the illicit phone under his covers as Orisa’s head came around the door. Sunday was her day off. She was dressed in a Nigeria soccer shirt that had been passed down from one of the twins and grey leggings, sweaty from a session on the cross trainer in the downstairs gym.

‘May I step in?’ Orisa asked. But it wasn’t a question.

Julius moved his long leg out of the way as Orisa settled on the edge of his double bed. Her post-workout glow was surprisingly pungent and her well-defined shoulders and biceps reminded Julius that his petite cousin often did free weights with the bodyguards.

‘Where did you go yesterday?’ Orisa asked.

Julius’s fingers dug into the mattress. But he tried to stay cool.

‘I was here,’ he said, doing his best to sound unflustered.

Orisa shook her head. ‘The guard ran to me when he saw you leave through the gate wearing an army cap.’

‘He …’ Julius stuttered, his chest feeling tight. ‘I …’

‘Don’t choke yourself. I covered your lanky butt before he made a call to your mother.’

‘Really?’ Julius gasped with relief. ‘What did you say?’

‘I said you were visiting a school friend who lives a couple of houses up the road.’

Orisa had been running the household since the twins were born. She was part of the family, but his mother would surely fire her for such blatant disobedience.

‘I owe you,’ Julius said, bowing his head as Gabe ran down the hallway outside.

‘You owe me an explanation,’ Orisa said firmly.

‘You must have figured out where I went.’

Orisa nodded. ‘Duke. The one your mother expressly forbade you to see?’

Julius nodded.

A sympathetic smile broke on Orisa’s face. ‘The heart wants what the heart wants.’

Julius took a couple of seconds to unpick this. He’d grown up with Orisa but had rarely considered her life beyond the kitchen. She dressed traditionally when she worked or attended church, but in her free time Orisa was tomboyish, wearing jeans and the twins’ outgrown football shirts. And when visiting relatives asked Orisa when she was planning to marry, her pat answer was I need a husband like I need a hole in the back of my head … Until he met Duke, Julius had felt like the only gay person in the world. Now he wondered if he might not be the only gay person in his house …

But while Julius’s feelings for Orisa warmed, Orisa narrowed her eyes and grasped his wrist tightly.

‘I covered for you yesterday because I don’t wish to see you bounced to military school. But you must be clear: it was a one-off.’