Thank You For Reading Busted!

Hi guys and girls.

First of all I want to thank you so much for reading Busted and allowing yourselves to get lost in this story. Like I said, I wrote Busted in high school and most of the characters in this book were inspired by real people whom I went to high school with.

I had a lot of fun rewriting Busted but what I loved the most was the support you showed me. I know that there were times when I would leave you hanging for weeks, it killed me too. Trust me.

However this is how Busted ends. There is going to be a sequel which you can expect five/six months from now. The Slut’s Truth resumes in March and you can expect more drama from there as well. However, you do want to wait for the Busted sequel because it is just going to be amazing, we’ll be meeting new characters and falling in love with some of them like most of you did with Lincoln, KG, Sihle, Gavin and the others.

Thank you so much for your support. It is because of you that I wake up and write every day, even if it’s for free.

“If you work hard on your job, you make a living. If you work hard on yourself, you can make a fortune” – Jim Rohn.

Don’t stop believing!

I LOVE YOU

See you soon!  

Busted! - Chapter 15.5: Busted!

So it was official, my life with Lincoln had definitely been busted. For some odd reason, KG made it feel like everything would be okay and I was starting to believe in love again. KG was nothing but supportive and he never judged anything I felt or when I felt it, he simply accepted that Lincoln would have a space in my heart for the longest time of my life but he never stopped believing that one day I would love him just as much he loved me and I was beginning to, this guy saw my flaws in high definition but he still decided to stick with me through everything. Had it been anyone else, they would have probably walked out on me long ago but KG didn’t.

I remember that it was 8:21 in the morning when I received calls from Kelebogile. KG and I had made love the previous night and my phone was somehow lost in the mess that we created when we threw our clothes around. It kept on ringing and when I found it and saw that it was Kelebogile. I just rolled my eyes and ignored it until I realized that she was calling for the 25th time. When she called again I answered. “Hello. Yes I’m good thanks. What’s that?...What?... You’re joking right?... Are you serious?” I immediately hung up and woke KG up.

“Babe! Babe! Wake up, we have to leave!” I said as I woke KG up. “What’s going on?” he murmured. I took a deep breath as I was trying to calm myself down trying my best not to panic. “Kelebogile just called, Lincoln overdosed!”

Busted! - Chapter 15.4: Lincoln’s Wedding Day

Having returned drunk as hell from Lincoln’s bachelor party, we all woke up that morning with massive hangovers. Thobile was the only one who stayed home whilst Zama, Sihle and Gavin joined Kelebogile for her bachelorette party. Gavin wasn’t happy that he had to go be with the girls but Kelebogile didn’t have that much support so it was a favour from his side.

We had to be at the ceremony by 7am because the boys were Lincoln’s groomsmen. Sihle, Gavin and I were the only ones not involved at Lincoln’s wedding. Thobile woke up and made us a concoction that would cure our hangovers instantly and it did! I think it did that because it sent us running to the bathroom whilst she had fun laughing at us whilst video recording everything. We were literally like zombies until we had that concoction.

We then prepared ourselves and then drove to Lincoln’s wedding. On our arrival, there was a choir singing, people were dancing and some were running around. In a nutshell, a lot was happening. At the gate we were welcomed by Lincoln’s father and Anthony. “Are you ready?” KG whispered in my ear. “Let’s get them babe!” I said as I walked fiercely towards them. They both had even bigger smiles when they saw me, probably looking at me going “we’ve won”. They expected me to shake their hands like everyone else but I just looked at their hands, smiled in their faces and said “Hello… I don’t think you’ve ever asked. My name is Earl!” and I strutted into that church with attitude, KG then grabbed me by the waist. “Really babe? Really? How can I not love you?” he said as he laughed. I just blushed and we held hands. He then kissed me on the cheek and went to go join the other groomsmen whilst Sihle, Gavin and I entered the church.

For a moment there everything stopped. “Calm down, we’re just a trio of gays” I whispered. Surprisingly, Thebe and Gabriel were also at the wedding and they had reserved seats for us. We joined them and had a gay moment whilst the church looked at us like we were insane. I felt alive!

So the wedding began and we watched as the groomsmen walked in. I remember looking at KG with a smile on my face. He looked gorgeous. I was smitten, he struggled to find me in the crowd but when he did he winked at me and blew me a kiss. I wanted to faint! That was so adorable; Sihle and Gabriel kept fanning me with their hands. Malcolm walked past and also winked at Sihle and drew a heart shape with his index fingers. Gabriel and I turned around and started fanning Sihle with our hands. Some members of the church kept looking at us asking themselves what was going on, we didn’t care! Finally Lincoln walked in and he looked a tad bit sad. I could just see that he was faking a smile. His mother also didn’t look as happy as everyone else but maybe that was just my imagination showing me what I wanted to see.

The bridesmaids came in after Lincoln and we were cheering them as if it was some fashion show. The boys in the front were laughing; even Lincoln’s mother had a little chuckle. She then moved from the front where she was sitting and did the unthinkable when she came to sit in our row. “I couldn’t help it!” she said as she laughed. She was a young mother that seemingly had tons of gay friends. We made space for her and she sat down. Lincoln’s father wasn’t pleased at all. “Oh he’ll be strong” she said slowly as she flicked her weave and we all burst out laughing again, this time a bit too loud because it had started to quiet down. “No guys stop it!” she whispered but she couldn’t stop herself from laughing, so much that she was gasping for air.

Finally the pianist helped us out by playing the bride song; we got up and looked at the door. She walked in and she was stunning. I didn’t like her personally but Lincoln’s father outdid himself with that one. Kelebogile looked like a princess… however I didn’t see a baby bump. Confused I turned to Sihle and asked him where the baby was. “That’s what I wanted to tell you, she was never pregnant!” Sihle whispered. “Wow!” I said as I paused and everything started to happen in slow motion. She faked her pregnancy just so that she could get her way with Lincoln. I felt like asking the mother if she knew about this but seemingly not so I just composed myself and also remembered that as much as she was enjoying the gays, she was still an elder.

Finally the service began and I just couldn’t wait for it to be over. I was already missing KG and from where we were sitting I couldn’t see him. The priest went on and on and started addressing Lincoln directly telling him to choose his friends wisely. He was obviously referring to us. A snore sounded from our row, when I looked on my right it was Sihle. He had passed out. I poked him. Gavin struggled to hold in his laugh, Lincoln’s mother included. The priest then looked at our direction and asked if everything was fine. I was so embarrassed I felt like hiding. Lincoln’s mother muttered “No”. And we had to hold in our laugh again. The priest then paused and shook his head. Lincoln gave his mother a cut eye but we learnt what it was that was making her behave that way. In her clutch bag, she had a small bottle of dry gin. She then passed it on to Sihle and said it would wake him up.

Thebe, Gabriel, Gavin, Sihle, Lincoln’s mother and I were having the time of our lives at someone else’s wedding. Every time they prayed, we would take sips and that church prayed a lot. The fun ended when the next thing we heard was “Lincoln, do you take Kelebogile to be your lawfully wedded wife?” etc. There was a long pause. Lincoln looked at his dad, then he looked at his mother, then his brother, then me, and by then he had already wasted a lot of time. The housemates avoided eye contact with him. “YES!” he replied. “I do”. There was a universal sigh of relief. I just started crying and I think it’s because I was a bit intoxicated.

The service came to an end and Lincoln and Kelebogile were married. We went to the reception where we continued to get sloshed. Lincoln’s dad had a firm hold on Lincoln’s mother because he was convinced that she was causing chaos. She would keep looking at us and roll her eyes, or act out vomiting. We had the time of our lives, when it was time to go, we went to her and we all took a picture with her. She was great. She then asked KG if we were an item, I looked at KG and waited for his reply. He clenched his teeth, looking so cute. “From today onwards, we are!” I replied with a smile before giving her a kiss goodbye.

Busted! - Chapter 15.3: Four Months Later

It had been quite some time since I spoke to Lincoln. He was forced to quit his job at 3Complex because his father was convinced that he wouldn’t make a full recovery if he kept on seeing me. His wedding was two weeks away and it still felt like a bullet to the heart. KG and I were much closer and we agreed to keep things as neutral as possible between us. From a spectator’s point of view we were just ready to get married but in reality we were far from that. KG was there for me when I had to deal with the whole commotion that was Lincoln’s situation and I was there for him when his father’s death seemed to make certain feelings resurface. We kissed, we made love but we both didn’t want to accept that we were in a relationship. In fact, we called it a ‘Frielationship’ and it was just fine that way. KG went back to school to finish his event planning course and was just waiting for his qualification so that he could kick start his career. I was really proud of him.

Kelebogile kept on making appearances at the house just to flaunt her engagement ring, it was very beautiful and it looked expensive so it was quite obvious that Lincoln’s father was the one who paid for it. He was literally paying for everything when it came to the wedding, just so that his son could be ‘straight’.

Morithi and I finally made peace and he had also returned to the Gigolo’s Castle. We decided that we were going to open a restaurant together because he approached me with an amazing business plan and asked me to be his partner. I always knew Morithi had brains. The inspiration behind his business was his kids with Thobile. Yes, Morithi was going to raise Thobile’s twins regardless of whether they were his or Nigel’s. Morithi and Thobile got back together and they were just readying themselves for the birth of the twins.

Nigel and Zama also got back together and they too were readying themselves for the birth of the twins. It does sound weird if you ask me but everyone in the Gigolo’s castle was special in their own way. Thobile’s kids would be the most spoiled children that ever lived because literally everyone was waiting for their birth. It was very special and beautiful.

Malcolm and Sihle were also opening a salon just down the road from the house where Malcolm would be in charge whilst Sihle was at work. On Malcolm’s birthday, Sihle bought him a brand new sports car. I wish I was that lucky. They too had overcome all the drama they had and they seemed to be moving forward harmoniously.

Gavin was still on the hunt for someone to call his own but that didn’t stop him from breaking innocent hearts. He had cut down on the drinking and was starting to look even more handsome than he initially was. I guess alcohol really does something to your looks… even though we don’t realize it at that time. He sold his house and permanently moved into the Gigolo’s Castle. I laugh when I look at how we did things in reverse, instead of branching out and doing things on our own, we were just going back to the communal life, but that’s because it’s the only thing we knew and loved. Gavin, Sihle and I were just getting richer as 3Complex kept on growing and reaching international standards. Although it was an honour and it was our biggest goal, it motivated us to work even harder and get richer and buy more sports cars whilst living in a commune.

I was happy, KG was happy, we were all just happy because things were falling into place. It seemed like everyone decided to grow up at the same time but nobody wanted to let go of the other and the Gigolo’s Castle would prove to be our last home. There was a lot of moving around going on because we were all preparing ourselves for Lincoln’s wedding. That was still an issue for me but I was genuinely happy for him.

Busted! - Chapter 15.2: That's Just The Way It Is

I finally decided that I was just going to live through everything that was happening. It felt like I sucked at this love game and no matter how hard I tried to stay in a relationship, it just wouldn’t work. It seemed like all I did was attract or cause drama and it had gotten to a point where I just felt like quitting this whole thing altogether. Kelebogile was probably very happy wherever she was because she was finally getting the man that we both loved and she was only getting away with him because she was a girl and I was a guy. Life isn’t fair but sometimes you just have to take whatever is thrown at you and run with it but not from it. I held on and faced my demons.

I woke up and started packing all of Lincoln’s belongings as his father had requested to KG. KG agreed to go and drop them off because I just wasn’t going to go there to face that man again. I had never experienced so much hate from a family and it was really hard for me to come to terms with it. Lincoln’s mother was a beautiful understanding woman but she was married to a beast and at the same time was a mother to another beast, Anthony. It was quite obvious that Lincoln took after his mother. I on the other hand reached a point where I figured I had to move out of the Gigolo’s Castle and start a brand new life on my own. I didn’t know how I was going to manage but I had to grow up.

I wanted so badly to see Lincoln’s reaction when he was told that he would be marrying Kelebogile whether he approved or not. I think that would be enough to drive me back into a coma. I guess I’ve always known that life was unfair especially because my father rejected me twice but I never stopped loving him as a father, I simply had to accept that he didn’t want me in his life and forgive him for the things he said so that I could live a happy life. It does however seem like when you’re gay, things just get exacerbated. If only people knew and understood the people whom we truly are, how much love we have in our hearts and how we are forced to be positive about life because of all the prejudice we face from those who just carry hate towards us for no apparent reason. We just want to live a good life like everyone else and sometimes we all wish we could wake up in Homophobia-free world where everyone would love who they want to love without the fear of being judged.

People seem to think that they can run away from who they are by getting married heterosexually but if you’re born gay, you will die gay and you can run but for how long? Being gay is not disgusting it’s just different. I cannot imagine a world where everyone were to be straight, it would just be boring and there’d probably be an even larger population by now which would have been a disaster because governments are failing to cope with the current population. Being gay is exciting, we bring diversity, we bring life and we are certainly oozing with spunk.

Anyway I decided that I wasn’t going to sit around and feel sorry for myself. I had to just accept that I’ve lost the love game and move on, that’s just it!  

Busted! - Chapter 15.1: Let It Flow

On Monday morning I woke up feeling happy and excited because I was finally going to see Lincoln since the last time I saw him at the back of an ambulance van.

I woke up, took a shower and prepared to go to the hospital in Johannesburg where he had arrived the previous night. KG was fast asleep and I wanted to leave him behind because I don’t like waking people up, especially because he looked very peaceful. As soon as I grabbed my car keys he woke up and caught me in the act. “So you were trying to leave me behind you sly fox” he said. I just laughed because I didn’t know what else to do or say.

I then went downstairs where I prepared myself some breakfast and patiently waited for KG. He then came downstairs looking mighty fine. Just when I thought we were ready to leave, KG asked me to patiently wait for him as he didn’t like the shirt that he was wearing. I rolled my eyes and did just that. When it was time to leave, my mood changed, I went from being excited to dreading going to the hospital. I felt like telling KG that I wanted to take a nap and maybe leave for the hospital an hour later. All of a sudden I didn’t want to go to the hospital but when I thought about who was at the hospital, I gathered courage and drove there.

In the car, KG started talking about how bad his hair looked and how his mother wasn’t shocked when he came out etc. He was literally changing from being a closeted boy to being openly gay and I loved that, coupled with the fact that he had a great sense of humor. I just kept laughing at everything he said, I hardly said a word because it was HIS moment.

We finally got to the hospital and there I was jolly with a Teddy Bear and a ‘Get Well Soon’ card for the love of my life. The lady at reception told us where to go and when we arrived in his ward, we found his mother, his father and the brother who beat him up. I just froze at the door. I didn’t know whether I should go in or run away. Anthony saw me and came straight up to me, violently pushing me out of the ward. I composed myself because at the rate that he was going and the anger I had bottled up because of him, I was going to murder him. KG managed to get him away from me. The dad clearly figured out who I was judging from Anthony’s actions. “I’m guessing this is him?” said Lincoln’s father as he pointed at me. Anthony gave him a nod. “Get the f@*k out of this ward!” Lincoln’s father said. He clearly didn’t know that he was dealing with a Taurus, and we are known to be the most stubborn people on this planet. I stood there unmoved, unbothered and straight-faced. The mother tried to calm the father down but he was just not having it. “Is this your friend KG?” asked the father. “Yes… he is” KG replied. “Do me a favour and get him out of here before I do something that I will later on regret” said the father. KG tried to talk me into leaving but I snubbed him. I was not going anywhere. The mother then asked the father to allow me to at least talk to or see Lincoln. “NO! This boy is trying to destroy my family by turning my son gay. Lincoln is still sedated for now, but you must know that when he recovers, he’s getting married to the love of his life… Kelebogile!” said the father. I just shrugged and gave him a cut eye. “But you cannot make decisions for Lincoln, he’s not even in the right state of mind to be hearing such!” the mother said. The father just wasn’t taking it, he then sent Anthony to go call security on me. I dropped whatever it was that I had come to give Lincoln and walked out before being humiliated. We left the building and I told KG to drive.

I was so infuriated that I felt like I was just going to run an innocent person over just to feel better. KG hardly said a thing to me because he could see that I was hurt. I sat on the passenger’s seat looking out the window trying to avoid any eye contact with KG. When we arrived at the house, I ran up to my room, covered myself with a pillow and cried until I fell asleep. So that was it! Lincoln was getting married and I just had to find a way to cope because I’m gay and I don’t have feelings.

Busted! - Chapter 14.5: So Where To?

I hated myself so much for landing Lincoln in hospital especially in the state that he was in. I was so tired but every time I tried to close my eyes so that I could fall asleep, I just kept seeing Lincoln covered in blood and I would just cry. I think it was only then that I decided to absorb everything that had just happened.

My mother kept on calling me to check if everything was fine with Lincoln. I barely answered her calls. For some reason I was angry at her too because if it wasn’t for her, I’d probably still be with Thebe in Cape Town and Lincoln wouldn’t have been attacked.

I sat in that hotel room dwelling on the plans that Lincoln and I had made. We had planned to move in together and start another business but that wasn’t going to happen because Lincoln definitely wasn’t going to come back to me once he made a recovery, all that was left was for me was to make peace with that. It was at around 10pm when I heard a knock on my door. I thought it was room service or Sihle so I ignored it. The person knocking on my door was just not getting the message so I went to the door to go tell them that I just wanted to be alone. When I opened, it was KG! Before I could even ask him what he was doing in Cape Town, he dropped his bag and hugged me. Everything from that point on started to feel warm. I felt safe. I knew that I wasn’t alone and I was at peace. I shed a few tears and held on tightly to KG. He came at the most perfect time.

KG was supposed to be at home mourning the loss of his father but he took the first plane out when he heard that Lincoln was in a bad state. “I’m really sorry Earl, I truly am. Sihle told me everything; I went to see Lincoln before I came here. How are you holding up?” asked KG. “I don’t know… I really don’t know” I said in reply. He then started reiterating the fact that he loved me. “Why KG? Why? Do you want to die? Do you want to be beaten up because your ‘love’ me? Lincoln is in hospital right now because he LOVED me. Do you want the same thing to happen to you?” I sadly asked. He looked at me and hugged me before trying to kiss me. I stepped back. “I’m not trying to take advantage of you, I just can’t control the way I feel right now” he said. I just stood there looking at him, silently. “Thank you… for being here” I said as I went back to the bedroom.

The next day, which was a Sunday we all prepared ourselves to head back to Johannesburg. Lincoln was going to be flown into Johannesburg on the very same night. As soon as we arrived in Johannesburg, KG asked that I drop him off at his mother’s place, which I did. His mother was so happy to see me and having heard everything that happened, she reassured me that she would never judge me or anyone else who feels the need to be in love with someone of the same sex. I then looked at KG and he smiled… and then it hit me, KG had told his mother about his sexual orientation. I felt an instant relief, an overwhelming feeling where everything in that house just became lighter. “You two just need to be there for one another, things happen, but whatever it is, never let it get the best of your friendship” KG’s mother added. I was happy… I really was. KG then decided that he was going to leave with me and make his return to the Gigolo’s Castle as well.

Busted! - Chapter 14.4: S.O.S

After the fight, when everything had started to die down, I realized that I had just ruined my best friend’s wedding. I could see the disappointment in his face but when I explained to him what had really happened, he found it hard to believe that there are still people out there that actually torture people for being themselves. The guests kept on asking what had happened and I was just so angry at them because not even one of them stepped up to help calm the situation. I just sat down and took everything in and when I realized that my Lincoln was lying on the floor bloody and unconscious, tears just started falling from my eyes. Gabriel brought me a glass of sugar water. The situation brought all the gays closer, we realized from then onwards that we are still fighting for our freedom and that an injury to one should be experienced by all of us. We took a stand and fought to save one of us. We were a family. The need for pretence and useless fights started to become unnecessary because we learnt that day that we were faced with a bigger challenge than we thought possible.

The ambulance made its way to the wedding and Lincoln was taken to the hospital. He cried in agony when they placed him on the stretcher. It pierced right through my heart, I felt as if they had stabbed me repeatedly. One of the paramedics asked who Earl was. When I responded he told me that Lincoln wanted me to go to the hospital with him. As I sat in the back of that van, Lincoln kept on apologizing and I told him to stop. He was dizzy and he couldn’t speak. His clothes were covered in blood. Normally blood would traumatize me, but at that moment, I couldn’t even smell it. I was stronger than I actually thought I was.

As soon as we arrived at the hospital, Lincoln was rushed to the emergency room where I was denied access. I felt so angry. I was so angry that at that particular moment I felt like taking whatever weapon I could find to destroy Anthony and his friends. How does your own brother almost beat you to death because of your sexual orientation? How does that happen? Up to this day I cannot stand homophobic people. I just look at them and ask myself if they are aware of the fact that they have a bigger struggle than we do, we have accepted ourselves and the reason why they can’t be happy with that is because they’re not happy with themselves, and we have to pay for their bullshit and their insecurities. It is just heart provoking, I cannot stand it, I will not, and I pray that I never come across such again because at this rate, I would run them over just to make life easier... for them!

Sihle, Malcolm, Thebe and Gabriel came to the hospital. The first thing they all asked me was how Lincoln was doing. I also didn’t know. I sat there for almost an hour waiting for some form of communication from anyone who bothered to tell me. I looked at Gabriel and he showed a genuine concern in Lincoln’s state of being. Being gay has to be one of the bravest things one can ever be. We obviously don’t choose it, but the way in which we embrace it is what sets us apart from the rest of the world. Gabriel was a guy that didn’t know Lincoln moments before he was moved by his state of being. Gay bashing creates a fear in us and that stops us from achieving our goals. Homophobic people know how much power we have over the world and they try to can us down so that we don’t take over. It won’t stop, they only make us stronger.

The doctor came to tell us about Lincoln’s condition. He mentioned that he had suffered serious head injuries but that he would make a full recovery. One of his ribs had been dislocated but they wouldn’t operate on him until they were really sure what happened. The doctor then asked me to stay away from the hospital a bit because that was what Lincoln requested. Lincoln had told the doctor that I was too sensitive and probably wouldn’t handle seeing him in a compromising state all the time. Gabriel offered to be the one who comes and checks on him every day and then give me feedback. He was a kind person under all the madness.

Busted! - Chapter 14.3: The Bond

The wedding commenced and it was so beautiful. When I saw Thapelo dressed as a prince, I knew that Martha had to walk down the aisle looking like a princess. I was right, not only was she dressed as a princess, she was Snow White. The wedding theme came as a shock to the guests but because I knew what kind of a person Thapelo was, I was already expecting something over the top. Instead of placing a couple on top of their cake, they placed an apple which had been bitten. It was adorable, turns out Snow White was Thapelo and Martha’s favourite fairytale. The older guests were a bit touched by the theme especially the Christians who believed that the apple was bad! Nonetheless, the wedding was beautiful and the fact that Thapelo and Martha were so whimsical about their moment made it unforgettable. When the service was over, we headed to the venue that they had chosen to host the reception. The set-up was amazing, it was almost as if we had gotten lost in a time machine, and just in case you were wondering, there were seven dwarves! They entertained us with their singing and dancing. That wedding for me was perfect!

It was quite obvious that my group would attract a lot of attention; gay guys always steal the spotlight. I could sense that there were some uncomfortable people and some that were just eager to get to know who we were. When there were no more items on the program for the wedding, the party began and Lincoln and I decided to take a walk just so that we could check out the venue. That was probably the biggest mistake of our lives because we were then approached by Anthony, Lincoln’s brother. Lincoln was shocked to see him, I recognized his face from Lincoln’s pictures.

He was there with four of his friends and he seemingly didn’t like seeing me and Lincoln holding hands. “What the hell is going on here?” Anthony said as he roughly separated me from Lincoln. Out of shock Lincoln asked his brother what he was doing at the wedding. “Don’t ask me stupid questions, I said what the hell is going on here?” he violently asked. I was starting to freak out because I knew that this would turn into a sticky situation. I told Lincoln that we should leave but he insisted on explaining what was happening to his brother. Anthony seemed to be understanding and with a smile he slowly walked away. Just when we thought it was over, he came back and punched Lincoln in his face. Lincoln fell down and hit his head on a rock. People were starting to gather up around us but nobody was helping. I don’t know if it was because they were dressed in expensive suits or if they were just happy that there was a gay bashing happening right in front of their eyes. Sihle, Malcolm, Thebe and Gabriel ran to the scene. Anthony and his friends were starting to gang up on Lincoln and we knew we had to fight to save him. The five of us took off our blazers and the fight was on. We quickly removed Anthony and his friends away from Lincoln because they were honestly about to kill him. Fists kept flying; it was the gays versus the “straight” guys. No straight man, who knows himself well enough, would succumb to beating up a gay guy just for being gay. We showed those boys that as gay as we were, we could still kick ass! All of a sudden it made sense why anyone didn’t want to intervene; the gays were fighting like they were on steroids. When the boys realized that they were losing to a couple of gay guys, they decided to run away. The gays and I had suffered minor injuries anywhere else but on our faces, whilst the straight boys fled the scene with bruised faces. I’ll say this once and never again, don’t mess with the gays!

Busted! - Chapter 14.2: The Wedding Day

Friday night saw me, Lincoln, Sihle and Malcolm flying down to Cape Town for the wedding. Sihle knew that I wasn’t a big fan of rental cars so he was the one in charge of that. We could have went out for drinks but because we had to be up early the next day for the wedding, we decided to just check in to the hotel and get enough rest before looking our best for Thapelo’s wedding.

I woke up the next morning with a smile on my face. It literally felt like I was the one getting married. Thapelo was one of my best straight friends and I was just so excited for him. Lincoln and I were walking on cloud nine; everything was just working in perfect harmony. I woke Lincoln up so that we could take a shower…together! It took longer than it was supposed to but it set the mood for the day. We then got dressed and headed to Sihle and Malcolm’s hotel room.

They looked so beautiful in their tuxedos, it looked like they were the ones getting married, but they said the same about Lincoln and me. There was so much love in the air that day, almost as if all the people that had broken up miraculously decided to reunite that day. If I were to use one word to describe the mood that morning, I would say “Golden”. When we were all ready, we made our way to Thapelo’s wedding. Sihle was driving with Malcolm whilst Lincoln and I sat at the back.

When we got to the wedding, I bumped into my mother. I hadn’t spoken to her in a very long time. She was there with her fiancé, Thebe’s dad. Now you know why me being with Thebe was such a big deal, turns out we were about to become stepbrothers so we had to end our relationship because our parents unknowingly fell in love. In the beginning, I was angry about the situation but I think both Thebe and I loved our parents enough to give them the liberty of being together and if that wasn’t the case, I’d say we were both scared of them and what they could do to us if we chose to remain together. They did however look good together. I was just happy that after years of being a single, independent woman, my mother had finally found love and if it meant I had to sacrifice myself or something I had for her happiness, I did it with a loving heart. I introduced my mother to Lincoln and she remembered him as my high school sweetheart, the one that got away.

We then waited to be ushered to our respective tables. Each table had six chairs and since Sihle, Lincoln, Malcolm and I occupied four, we knew that there was a couple that would join us at the table. We sat there talking about how awkward it would be if they grouped us with a straight homophobic couple but we were laughing about it. The couple finally came; it was Thebe and his new partner… Gabriel! When I saw Gabriel, I whispered to Lincoln that he was the guy Malcolm had an affair with. Thebe greeted everyone at the table before introducing his partner to me. “I know him, we happen to go to the same salon. Well… Gabriel… I’m sure you know Malcolm?” I asked Gabriel. “What are you doing with this dude?” Malcolm asked Gabriel in reference to Thebe. “Well I could ask you the same!” replied Gabriel. Malcolm then stopped and gave Thebe a good stare. “I know you from somewhere…” Malcolm said to Thebe. Thebe just shied away but it was quite evident that they did indeed know each other. “So you’re the Gabriel that was sleeping with my man?” Sihle asked Gabriel. “Is that what you call him? A man?” Gabriel said as he laughed. “Guys, can we all just sit down and have our drinks? This can be sorted out later”. I pleaded.

Obviously Thapelo is the one that was responsible for this set up. He just made sure that all the gays were sitting at one table, which if you ask me, was a bad idea. The set up was so awkward. You had Sihle who was adamant on marking his territory to get a reaction from Gabriel, Malcolm who kept on studying Thebe, Thebe who kept on trying to show me that he was better off and Lincoln who was striving to keep me entertained just to show Thebe that I’m happier with him. It was stupid and awkward.

Busted! - Chapter 14.1: Appear!

The next day I woke up in the afternoon because I was really tired. Lincoln was acting weird because of our argument the previous night and I didn’t want to entertain him. I wanted to go see a movie so I went to ask Sihle if he wanted to come with but he said he was spending some quality time with Malcolm. Nigel said he was tired and that he’d rather sleep so I called Gavin and asked that we meet in Sandton.

A few minutes after preparing myself to meet with Gavin, I took a boring drive to Sandton. The neighbourhood was so quiet. Everyone was just minding their own businesses that day. I got to Sandton and met up with Gavin and together we went to go check out a movie before heading to the bar for drinks.

After the movie as we were on our way to the bar, we approached Menzi and he was with Zodwa and his child. Gavin tried to convince me to turn around and we go the other way but I simply told him that it was okay. When I saw Menzi at KG’s dad’s funeral I knew that he was okay since his disappearing act and I made peace with the fact that as much as he made a return, he clearly didn’t want me in his life because he never even bothered to tell me that he was back. He simply discarded me. I greeted him and Zodwa and we continued walking as if nothing ever happened. “How do you do it?” Gavin asked. “Do what friend?” I asked. “How do you remain so calm when approaching a situation like this?” he asked. “Meditation! Lots and lots of meditation boo!” I replied.

We sat down to have drinks and before we left the mall, we went to go shop for a gift for Thapelo’s wedding. Thebe had only sent me two paired invitations and I gave one to Sihle so that he could go with Malcolm. Gavin wasn’t interested in going to a “straight” wedding because he was tired of them.

On my way home I passed a beautiful house that was on sale in Rosebank. It really caught my eye so I decided to pull over and view it. Coincidentally it was being sold by 3Complex Properties. It was stunning. I can’t even describe what it looked like but it was just stunning. It had a beautiful open plan kitchen and a huge walk-in closet. I had always wanted a house that had a perfect version of those two things so I immediately called Kabelo from the Property department and told him to remove the house off of the market. I know it was a spontaneous decision, but if you were to walk in to that house… you’d never want to leave!

I drove back home and when I got there, I found Kelebogile. I greeted her and went straight up to my bedroom because I wanted to avoid any further conversation with her. She and Lincoln seemed to have been talking about something very serious. Sihle came to my room to tell me that Kelebogile had come to say hi to him. I didn’t believe that, I knew exactly why Kelebogile was there and it wasn’t because of Sihle. She was becoming a nuisance. “There’s something I need to tell you but you have to promise not to tell anyone.” Sihle said. “Okay, shoot!” I said. Lincoln then came into the room and decided to lie next to me. Sihle got the message and left without telling me what he wanted to tell me.

“So you and this girlfriend of yours, can’t you guys meet somewhere else?” I asked Lincoln. “She wasn’t here to see me; she was here to see Sihle. You can go ask her if you like” he said. “Lincoln… I’m so tired of all of this. I think we need some time out, just to be by ourselves and think about where we're headed. I’m really tired. This is not what I signed up for!” I said to him. “So you’re leaving me?” he asked. “For now…” I replied. He went ballistic and as soon as that happened, I totally muted him. I hardly heard anything that he said because I knew that whatever he was saying was coming out of anger and it would probably hurt. “You just need to clarify things Lincoln. Is it me or her?” I asked him as I grabbed my keys and an overnight bag.

I checked into the hotel and as soon as I was done with that, I switched off all my phones and fell asleep.

The next day saw Lincoln and Sihle showing up together at the hotel. “He just wouldn’t let me go! I had to bring him here” Sihle said. “It’s okay, could you kindly excuse us friend” I asked and Sihle left. Lincoln sat down and poured his heart out. For the first time I actually saw Lincoln for who he really was. He was a man that couldn’t believe that he was in love with another man. And this wasn’t just an ordinary love, he loved just one guy and that’s the only guy he would love in his entire lifetime otherwise he’d fall in love with women. Lincoln wanted to do anything it took to make me happy and he knew that he wasn’t ready but he was more than willing to try until he bled…

Busted! - Chapter 13.5: Saturday - The Funeral

The day of the funeral finally came and I was feeling nervous about seeing all the other ex housemates. I was also very nervous because it was going to be the first time I saw KG since the huge fight. Although I had promised to see him before his father’s funeral, I kept on postponing because I was actually not ready. Things between Lincoln and I were starting to look up again and that’s only because I had made peace with the fact that Kelebogile will forever be a factor in his life no matter how hard I tried to fight it. That was the best decision I had ever made for myself because her presence in Lincoln’s life had gotten to a point where it just didn’t bother me anymore. I took a shower and prepared for the funeral and then I woke Lincoln up so that he could do the same. That had become our routine. When we were done we headed downstairs to have breakfast, it was Lincoln and I, Sihle and Mike, and Nigel whom had returned to the house during the week. We all drove in Sihle’s car to the funeral.

As we were arriving, Lincoln looked at me and said “Do you think you can do this?”. “I have to, for The Big Guy!” I replied and then we got out of the car. KG was waiting to welcome us at the gate. I went straight up to him and gave him a hug. “So… how are you feeling?” I asked. “I really don’t know. I can’t find a single word to describe the way I’m feeling” he said. “I understand. This too right?” I said. “Yeah… this too.” he sadly replied. We then went inside the tent where we found everyone else.

The service commenced after a few minutes and a few tears were shed during that. It was hard to believe that we were saying goodbye to KG’s father. Lerato was there with her new boyfriend and KG wasn’t even fazed by them. Zama also came together with Thobile and Kelebogile. Morithi came with Gavin, I don’t even know how that happened. The service ended and we headed to the cemetery where we’d lay The Big Guy to rest. It was sad but it brought all the housemates together again. A lot may have happened: betrayal, deceit and drama but in the end we were still a family. We had a group hug and cried together with KG before heading back to the house for the after service. KG was a bit drained so I led him to his bedroom where I let him rest a bit before facing people. On my way out of the house, I bumped into Menzi!

“Menzi?! What are you doing here?” I asked in shock. He asked me the same question and at that point I was getting confused. “It’s KG’s father’s funeral.” I replied. He was astonished and I still couldn’t understand exactly what was happening. “KG’s dad? Nelson? This guy was KG’s dad too?” he asked. “What do you mean by ‘too’?” I asked. “Well my mother told me the truth about my real father after finding out he passed away, so I came here with Mandla because she wanted us to pay our last respects!” Menzi said. I gasped for air. Menzi and Mandla are twins by the way.  “You mean you and Mandla are KG’s brothers?” I asked. “Well that’s what it all boils down to! I didn’t even want to come here, I was forced to come! I've never even met this guy and then all of a sudden he dies and I must come running here like some sick psycho!” added Menzi. I didn’t know what to say. I just sat down because I was starting to feel light headed. I tried to make sense of the whole situation, if KG was older than Menzi and Mandla then it meant that KG’s father had an affair with Menzi’s mother. Lincoln came to fetch me inside because he was under the impression that wherever I was, I was sitting with KG. We then went outside and then KG’s mother came to excuse herself. She called an immediate family meeting between herself, KG, Menzi and Mandla. I think the news about Menzi had already gotten to her and when she had the will printed out she did indeed learn that Menzi and Mandla were added on the will. So as much as he didn’t spend time with them, he clearly was still in contact with the mother because he seemed to know a lot about them.

Later on when all that had been sorted out and the truth was out, we decided to leave. The rest of KG’s family was still fighting the whole idea behind Menzi and Mandla making them look like they were some sort of con artists. KG’s mother on the other hand knew the truth and she couldn’t handle it by herself so KG had to step in and try to quiet things down. When we arrived at the house, I went straight up to my bedroom because I wanted to rest. Lincoln followed me and started attacking me. “You stood there with KG like you two were some kind of lovebirds. Do you know how humiliating that felt for me?” he asked. I was so shocked by that statement that I didn’t even have a comeback. I just looked at him asking myself if he was hearing the stuff that he was saying. “Lincoln, KG just lost his father. Of course it’s my duty to care about that as his FRIEND!” I retaliated. “Oh and what about Menzi? Is he also your friend now?” he asked. At that point I wasn’t sure how to feel but it became quite evident to me that Lincoln was insecure. “Lincoln, baby, you’re seriously overreacting. I could have easily blown a fuse when I saw you with Kelebogile but I’ve come to accept that you are mine and you should probably do the same… for your own sake”. I said. He took a deep breath and nodded. I guess that was him telling me “You’re right!”

Busted! - Chapter 13.4: Just Like That!

The next morning at 7am, my alarm went off and I woke up to prepare for work. I had a sex dream and guess who it was with? Malcolm! As if I needed more confusion and drama at that point in my life. I went to take a shower and dressed up before waking Lincoln up to tell him to get ready for work too. I then went downstairs to prepare breakfast. There was no one at the table by that time so I just sat there by myself trying to make sense of everything that was happening in my life, especially the situation with Lincoln. Malcolm came down and greeted me before heading to the kitchen. I found myself staring at him. I just couldn’t look at Malcolm the same way anymore and it was getting a little uncomfortable for me. Sihle came rushing down, he was late, as usual. Sihle and I are different, if we have to be at the office at 9am, I’ll get there at 9am. He on the other hand wants to get there at eight. I’m not about that life. He rushed out of the house and Malcolm went running after him with his lunch. It was so cute. Sihle left and then Malcolm came back to sit with me at the table.

“Earl, you’ve barely touched your food, are you okay?” he asked. I heard everything that he was saying but I was just lost in what I saw the previous night. I started noticing his teeth and his lips and everything that I wasn’t supposed to be noticing. I couldn’t even answer his question because I was afraid I’d say something that would incriminate me. “Uhh hello!” he waved in my face. I woke up out my trance. “Sorry what was that?” I asked. “Are you okay?” he asked for the second time. “Yes! Yes! Yes… I’m … fine… I think I need to leave now!” I said as I prepared myself to leave. He sat there looking confused as to what had just happened at the table. Lincoln came down and just as he was about to sit at the table to eat, I told him we’d get breakfast on the way. We sat quietly in the car. Nobody was saying anything to the other. We got to work, I kissed him on the cheek and went to my office and he headed to the IT department where he worked.

When I got into my office, I checked my emails. I had received an email from Thebe reminding me about Thapelo’s wedding that was happening a month's time. I was excited about the wedding but I just wasn’t looking forward to seeing his new boyfriend. I checked with Clifford to see if he was done with my suit and he told me that he had finished with it a long time ago. I went to try it on and I loved it. I called Lincoln and told him to head to Clifford’s office to take measurements for his suit for the wedding. Because I hadn’t had breakfast, I was starting to get really hungry so I headed down to the canteen to get myself something to eat. I saw Kelebogile at reception and I decided to go say hi to her.

“Kelebogile! Hi.” I greeted. She just gave me a blank stare. “How are you?” I calmly asked. “We’re fine! Me and the baby!” she said with attitude. A part of me wanted to slap her right across her face but another part of me told me to be humble because I had the one thing that she couldn’t really get back… at that time. “I hope so… see you around!” I said with a smile and walked away. When I got into the canteen I saw Sihle and I told him that his friend Kelebogile was in the building. He just rolled his eyes. There really wasn’t a lot of work to be done that day because most of the projects we had started were almost finished. I called KG to find out how the arrangements for his father’s funeral were coming along and he told me that everything was going well. That day I left Lincoln at work because he had other commitments. I took a boring drive back home. I was still fazed by Kelebogile’s attitude and I was trying not to let it get to me but I was failing... dismally!  

Busted! - Chapter 13.3: Cold Shoulder

At about 2am I woke up for the fifth time because I just couldn’t fall asleep after what Lincoln had told me about him and Kelebogile. I was feeling all sorts of things, but as much as I wanted to be angry at Lincoln, I didn’t have the right to be because he wasn’t with me when he and Kelebogile conceived that baby. I’ve been rejected before by my father and I know how it is to grow up feeling like you’re not enough so I knew that whether the pregnancy was real or not, that child was innocent and he or she deserved the best kind of loving from both his/her parents. I couldn’t stop myself from crying. I guess I loved Lincoln so much that I was actually welcoming to the idea of loving his child too if it all boiled down to that. Lincoln woke up and found me crying. It was dark but I think the sniffing gave it all away.

“You’re crying…” he said. We had an argument about whether I was crying or not because I kept on telling him that I wasn’t crying and that he should go back to sleep. He got up and turned on the light so that he could see my face. When he realized that I was crying, he knelt down beside me and started apologizing. “This situation is beyond my control. If there’s anything that you think I should do, please just tell me now. I will do anything in my power to make this work. Just tell me what to do!” he requested. “Just love me. It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted from you. Just love me” I cried. He kissed me on my forehead and promised me that he would do that, no matter what it took.

Malcolm then walked in to my bedroom because he was convinced he heard sounds coming from the room. “Is everything okay in here?” he asked. You could see that he was 70% asleep and the 30% was concerned. It was a funny scene. He came in wearing undies and he had quite an interesting erection bulging from his undies. It was my first time seeing Malcolm in undies and he temporarily managed to take my mind away from what was bothering me that night. Sihle was indeed lucky. KG still took the cup but Sihle was lucky.

Busted! - Chapter 13.2: So Good To Be In Love

When the festivities of the day ended, I headed to my room to get some work done. Lincoln stayed downstairs to prepare himself a cup of coffee. He loved late night coffee. I had a lot of fun that day and I was just happy that things were feeling normal, almost as if nothing had happened. Lincoln came up to the room and he had prepared two cups of coffee. He then sat next to me on the bed and because I’m clumsy I spilled the coffee on my lap and slightly burnt my thigh. He then went downstairs to get ice so that he could nurse the burn. I sat there facing the ceiling with my eyes closed because I was in pain.

When I opened my eyes, I found Lincoln looking at me smiling. “Do you know how much I love you though?” he asked. I just blushed and told him I loved him too. He then said he had a confession to make. My heartbeat tripled. I hated confessions, especially when they came from Lincoln. I sighed and sat up straight as I prepared myself to hear whatever he had to say to me. “I don’t even know where to start, I think after I tell you this, you might want to leave me…” he said. At that point I felt like throwing my hands in the air. “Do you remember the conversation we had earlier on in your office?” he asked. I nodded. “Truth is I had just received a call from Kelebogile” he said. “Yes and?” I asked as I was running out of patience. “Baby… Kelebogile is pregnant...” Lincoln confessed.

My brain stopped working. I felt a tap of tears opening inside of me and I couldn’t hide it. I wanted to say something but I was in so much shock that I couldn’t even move my lips. It felt like someone was pulling my hair from the inside. I was speechless. At that point I even forgot where I was, I just zoned out, completely! “Babe, are you okay?” asked a concerned Lincoln. When he asked me that, I realized that I wasn’t dreaming. Everything he had told me was true.

“I’m fine!” I said as I faked a smile. “My parents know about it and they’re so excited” Lincoln added. I didn’t know what to say, in fact I don’t think I’d be lying if I said I looked like a fool. Kelebogile had found a way to keep Lincoln in her life. I really wanted to stay up and talk about it but I forced myself to shut down and slept. I told Lincoln that we’d talk about the situation some other time.

Busted! - Chapter 13.1: Breathe Again

After work, Lincoln and I headed home together and because we were so tired, we decided to sit on the couch and cuddle whilst watching TV. It felt so surreal but I was still bothered by the conversation we had earlier that day.

I had a hectic day. KG called me and we talked about everything that had happened. He apologized for his behaviour and reassured me that he will support me with whatever it is that I chose to do. KG really did love me and I didn’t think it was that serious. Truth is I never was in love with him, I just saw him as a friend… with benefits I guess. I knew though that I cared about him a lot and that he needed me.

He then told me that his father would be buried on that same weekend. I told him that I’d go see him before the funeral just to see if there’s anything I could help with. He was so grateful. He asked me to alert the other housemates about the funeral since he couldn’t get hold of all of them.

Sihle and Malcolm were returning to the house later that night. Morithi on the other hand wasn’t taking my calls and he’s the one person I really felt I needed to talk to. I just accepted that he was still angry and that when he comes back to his senses he would call me back. I spoke to Thobile as well and the only thing she could do was cry over the phone and it had me worried because she couldn’t afford to be stressed especially because she was pregnant. She also hadn’t heard from Morithi and it was just too much for her to handle. Nigel and Zama broke up for obvious reasons. Nigel called asking for permission to move back to the house the following day. I told him that I never kicked him out and that he was welcome whenever he was ready. So it was evident that the house would move from having just two people to at least five. Not even half of what we were.

Later on that night Sihle arrived with Malcolm and we went to welcome them. Malcolm gave me a long hug and whispered words of encouragement in my ear. Lincoln got a bit jealous and split us up. We just laughed at him. People were starting to mark their territories. We chilled and watched TV before deciding to play Monopoly. We had a lot of fun. It was good to see that Sihle and Malcolm were brought closer by the drama that had happened.

Busted! - Chapter 12.5: Solve It

As much as I wasn’t looking forward to seeing them, I really missed my best friends. Sihle, Gavin and I had come a long way and a big part of me just didn’t want to believe any of the stuff that had happened, and even if they did, I believed that we were so much bigger than that. Of course I didn’t know where their heads were at concerning this situation but I was pretty much ready to forgive and move on.

We got to work with Lincoln and we immediately bumped into Sihle. Lincoln just walked on by without even greeting him. I didn’t know if I should do the same or stand there and wait for him to say something. He then stopped me and we looked at each other for a long time without saying anything to each other. I was too afraid to say anything I guess. “Malcolm and I are at the Washout Hotel” he said. “Well that’s… nice!” I said as I nodded. The moment was so awkward, I stood there looking around for something to use as a scapegoat. He had papers in his hands; I asked him what they were for. Not that I cared, but I was just trying to create conversation.

“Do you really want to know or is this you creating small talk?” he asked. “Look, I really wanted to tell you about Gabriel but…” I said before he interrupted me by telling me that his case was even worse because he had slept with the one man he knew I had always loved. “Well it’s water under the bridge now, there’s nothing we can do to change what has already been done. We just have to move past this.” I said. “You’re right, I’m really sorry hey, I can’t even justify my actions. Anyway, I’ll see you later? At home?” he asked. I just smiled and nodded. “Later friend!” I said and we parted ways. The only thing that we were both left to deal with was our trust issues. I then walked to my office and found Lincoln sitting on my chair face down.

“Lincoln, are you okay?” I asked. “I’m fine, I’m just thinking about yesterday. Do you think I made a mistake by leaving Kelebogile for you?” he asked. I had no idea where he was trying to go with that question so I simply asked him if he was starting to have regrets. “Hell no babe! I’m happy with you” he said. “Then what’s the problem?” I asked. “My family. How am I going to tell them I broke up with Kelebogile? It’s just going to be a dramatic turn of events and I don’t think I’m ready for that because they will find out that I actually left Kelebogile for you, a guy” he said. I just looked at him and nodded. I was so sad.

I felt like the more that Lincoln and I moved forward, the more we went backwards instead. I couldn’t blame him for being worried about what his family would think of him. In fact I knew exactly how he was feeling. He then left my office and I just started working just so that I could get my mind off things. I told Lincoln to think long and hard about our situation, in the mean time, I was trying to teach my heart to be cautious.

Busted! - Chapter 12.4: After The Storm

The next day I woke up next to Lincoln and started reflecting on the things that had happened the previous night. Everyone in the house was moving back to their respective homes and the house was starting to feel so lonely. I tried to get out of bed that morning but Lincoln was holding me so tight that I even had a hard time breathing; I figured he thought I was also going to leave. My return to Johannesburg had ruined a very happy home. Had I just stayed in Cape Town and continued living my life there none of what happened would have. This situation however showed me the amount of power I had over certain people in the Gigolo’s Castle and it also taught me the truth about people whom I considered to be my friends.

I laid there in my bed asking myself how things would be between Sihle, Gavin and I. A part of me wanted to fire them but I couldn’t do that because they were major shareholders. I didn’t know exactly what it was that I wanted to do about the situation but I knew that a lot of happy families were destroyed because of my reunion with Lincoln. It was so quiet, in a perfect world it would have been that way because the housemates were sleeping, but the reality was that they had all left.

As much as I woke up lying next to Lincoln, nothing happened between me and him the previous night obviously because of the state the house was left in. The time for me to wake up and go face my demons, in this case Sihle and Gavin had come. I jumped out of bed and went to take a shower and prepared for work. I woke Lincoln up and he too started preparing himself for work. He tried to start a conversation with me but he saw that I was just not in the mood to speak about anything or anyone for that matter so he just backed off and did what he had to do.

Busted! - Chapter 12.3: Life Is Not So Good (Continued)

We drove back to the house and as we entered the house Lincoln grabbed my hand and held on to it for everyone to see. Kelebogile’s eyes popped out! KG’s face just changed immediately, his face was boiling. Everyone else was confused but the people that knew what was going on had already started reacting. “Lincoln… Please babe… No!” Kelebogile cried. I felt like crying with her because for some reason I knew exactly what she was feeling. “I’m sorry Kelebogile… I can’t do this anymore” said Lincoln. “Really Earl? Just like that?” KG added. “I’m sorry” I said. “I’m really starting to feel like I’m lost in my own home, what’s happening this time around?” asked Morithi. I had nothing to say. Kelebogile just screamed, almost as if she had been stabbed in the heart, KG just looked at me and walked up to his room. I knew what to expect when I agreed to Lincoln’s request but I was in love! KG came back downstairs with an overnight bag and asked Sihle to drop him off at home. Malcolm stood up and opted to leave with them because he too couldn’t handle what was happening. “I hope you rot in hell you filthy bitch!” KG said as he walked up to me as if he was ready to attack me. Lincoln blocked him in my defense.

“Don’t even touch me guy, does your Earl know that you slept with his best friend Sihle?” KG said to Lincoln. I immediately let go of Lincoln’s hand and I saw Sihle looking for a hole to hide himself. “What?!” exclaimed Malcolm. KG confirmed it and I begged him to stop whatever he was doing because I knew exactly how it was going to end. “You are such a fool Earl, you trusted me didn’t you? You trusted me enough to tell me that Malcolm was cheating on Sihle with Gabriel but you couldn’t tell him that! And then you call yourselves best friends?” KG added. At that point I was getting angry so I swore at him. Sihle then turned around and asked me how I could go on being his friend knowing that his man was unfaithful. I found him to be so hypocritical especially given the fact that he slept with the one man he knew I never stopped loving. His excuse was that I had broken up with Lincoln and I needed not react in the way that I did. I turned around and looked at Lincoln and asked him if all this was true and he said it was a mistake. “Mistake? Is that what you call me? When you are the one who came crying to me telling me how much pain Earl caused you and how you wish you never asked him out! Don’t test me Lincoln!” Sihle replied.

I didn’t know what to say in reaction to that so I just kept quiet and tried to compose myself because if I was going to say anything I would mess things up, unfortunately for me, God was in the mood for a show that day. Kelebogile who had been crying the whole time calmed down and tried to absorb everything as it was happening. Morithi and the other guys tried to intervene. KG warned them not to but they just insisted. “Morithi, if I was you, I’d be worried about the blanks that I’m shooting, those kids that Thobile is carrying are not yours buddy!” KG said. “Oh my God Earl, how could you do this to me?” Thobile cried. “I didn’t say a thing, I swear!” I replied. KG then confessed that it was Nigel who told him the truth about the pregnancy. “So you knew Earl?” Morithi sadly asked me. I felt so weak because I could see the tears in his eyes. I tried to explain myself but he just walked up to his room and I stood there looking like a fool. He then came back down and came straight to my face. “Oh, you are not exclusive to KG buddy; see your best friend Gavin? He’s been there too!” Morithi said.

There was an awkward silence. Nobody saw that one coming. I just slowly nodded as I took that in and Gavin didn’t know what to do with himself.  The atmosphere in the house was very tense. Everyone was angry at the next person. Morithi was angry at me and Thobile. Thobile was angry at Nigel. Nigel was angry at KG for outing him. KG was angry at the world. I was angry at my friends and Lincoln, everyone was just angry! These kinds of things happen when KG decides to open his mouth. I then saw a side to Sihle that I had never seen before when he decided to lie about me using Lincoln just so that Lincoln could be mad at me and walk out on me. That’s exactly what he did. Everyone dispersed and I was left with Sihle. “You bitch! You lied!” I said as I was readying myself to attack him. “There’s no way you can get to keep Lincoln and I lose my Malcolm. You are so weak and clearly boring in bed because I always get your men. Tshepo? Thebe? Lincoln? I’ve slept with them all” Sihle added.

I just cried. I was speechless. I couldn’t believe that Sihle would do that to me, but I just left it as it was. Everyone packed their overnight bags and they left the Gigolo’s Castle that night. I had no idea if they were coming back or leaving for good but I didn’t care to ask because I knew that I would be left alone in the end and I was welcoming to the idea. Lincoln came and sat next to me in the lounge where I sat drinking wine trying to avoid everything that was happening in the house. “I’m not leaving you this time. We are going to talk about things and sort this out, they can leave, I’m not!” said Lincoln. He then hugged me and I just succumbed like a little baby.

Busted! - Chapter 12.2: Life Is Not So Good

I woke with the mother of all hangovers. I was so confused; I think it’s only at that time that things started sinking in. I was in a relationship with KG and everything just happened overnight. The previous night Kelebogile had told me how I was making her life difficult and I didn’t even understand what she was talking about but I figured Lincoln might have just reacted in a certain way to the announcement KG had made about us. I was feeling all sorts of things, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to be with KG. I felt like everything about us was based on lies and I was just feeling sorry for him so I dated him just so that I do not hurt his already hurt feelings. I had an idea that KG would make me happy if I gave him the chance but my heart was with Lincoln and there was nothing I could do about that. I just didn’t know how to get over him. That morning I woke up and decided that I was going to just claim what belongs to me regardless of what Kelebogile or KG felt. Lincoln belonged to me and I was just not letting it go.

“Good morning” KG said as he woke up reaching for a kiss. I immediately jumped out of bed and said “Morning!” I went downstairs to brush my teeth and washed my face before waking people up and sending them home. I started cleaning but when I realized that the workload was too much, I woke the rest of the housemates up and asked for help. Everyone helped, even Thobile whom I told to stay in bed because she was pregnant. When we were done cleaning, we started cooking and chilled in our cliques.

Lincoln kept giving me the evil eye and it was starting to bother me. The rest of the housemates were still trying to figure out if they are the ones that were drunk when KG announced that we were an item. I couldn’t shake off the feeling that Lincoln was repeatedly stabbing me in his thoughts so I went up to him to talk to him about the whole situation.

“Hey, are you okay?” I asked. He just gave me a blank stare and asked me what I wanted from him. “I just want us to talk, that’s if it’s cool with you” I replied. He nodded. His reaction just made me so weak that I just felt like walking away because I was starting to feel humiliated, please note that I HATE feeling that way. When he could see that my mood was starting to deteriorate, he decided to hijack the conversation. “I just don’t know how much I have to do for you to realize that it’s you I want to be with. You just keep doing things to provoke me and it’s getting to me now. You know I love you, you know I want to be with you, you know everything but you just insist on making me look like a fool! I can’t pretend anymore…” he said. It was always about him and how I am the bad person when he was the one who was still with the girl that he left me for but the mature Earl in me told me to relax and think before I spoke. When he saw that I wasn’t saying anything, he spoke again. “I love you so much Earl, almost as if my life depends on it and every day I look at you and kick myself for letting you go” he added. He then banged his hands on the table and ran for the door. That attracted a lot of attention from everyone in the house. He ran out of the house. A few minutes later, when it started to register to me, I drove out on a quest to find him wherever he was. I couldn’t see him anywhere. I drove around the whole area and when I eventually found running him I parked ahead of him and stood in front of him to stop him. He then knelt down and grabbed my leg as he gasped for air and started crying.

“Why are you doing this to me?” he cried. “I’m so sorry Lincoln, I’m so sorry! I love you, you know that I do but you’re with someone else and I also can’t bear it anymore. It has just gotten too much for me, if we’re going to be together again, we need to leave this place and start over” I replied. I apologized to him for not paying attention to him when he needed me the most. He kissed me and I kissed him back. I really loved Lincoln and I kept on convincing myself that I didn’t but it was just getting harder for me to pretend. We got into the car because it had started raining and we talked a bit more about where we were headed. Lincoln just said that he wanted us to announce our reunion to the housemates. You can only imagine how I felt at that point. Lincoln and KG had underlying issues with each other and they were using me to prove a point to each other. “I say we tell Kelebogile and KG everything, what do you say?” asked Lincoln.  

Busted! - Chapter 12.1: All Night Long

We got home from the mall and people had already started arriving. There were a lot of new faces and some old faces that I last saw before I left for Cape Town. The atmosphere was very positive, the housemates seemed to be enjoying themselves even though the sun was still out and the party had not really began.

KG was adamant about letting people know about our “relationship”, even though I told him I wasn’t ready for one, especially with him. It seemed like the information went in one ear and came out of the other. He then called the housemates separately and led them to my room where he sat them down and announced the big news about us. I cringed. We got some blank stares. Lincoln couldn’t control his emotions, he immediately left the room and then Kelebogile followed. Everyone was in disbelief and I could feel the judgment. “You are really good at your game; you managed to drag KG out of the closet? Wow!” said Malcolm as he walked out with a smile. I just laughed.

Later on in the night, the party started pumping. The turnout was more than I had expected, so much that there was no more parking space. There were all types of people, straight ghetto girls and classy gold diggers, straight spoilt boys and closet cases; it was just a hot mess! The music was good, the food was good and the vibe was awesome. We needed it because there was a lot of tension in the house at that time. Lincoln and Kelebogile returned at about 9pm. Kelebogile walked straight up to me and told me that I was making her life difficult. I really felt nothing when she said that, all I thought was that she had to stop trying to change Lincoln because that clearly wasn’t working for her. In the mean time I was trying my utmost best to avoid KG because every time he’d come across me, he would want display some form of affection in front of everyone and that made me feel very uneasy.

In the early hours of the morning, people were starting to pass out… EVERYWHERE! Even on the stairs. I just left them as they were and headed to my room to get some sleep. KG followed me and joined me in bed. We then talked about anything and everything. We gossiped about some of the people that came to the party, where his life was headed since the death of his father, life, love and babies. He told me he wanted a child and since I couldn’t give him one, he would get someone to carry our babies. I just froze. KG was moving at a rapid speed and I was really starting to question if he wasn’t trying to fill the void he was feeling by entertaining the idea of being with me so I started becoming cautious.

We were both drunk but he was more drunk than I was so I decided not to take anything he said seriously. When I was about to pass out, KG got on top of me and literally seduced me. I did mention that KG was just perfect, so I gave in because I just couldn’t resist him. There was something about him that was so hard to turn down… literally! That night we had the best sex ever, I can’t even find any ex to compare him to when it comes to that department. That’s just how good he was.