Heart Fire.
Chapter Eleven: Welcome temptation.
PK’s P.O.V:
He prayed that night.
He paced his apartment until the night air felt like it was watching him think. Solape was not the usual woman people would expect him to pick. She had a mouth like a razor and a personality like a live wire. She would rather speak than be silent and he didn’t even know if the word meek was in her dictionary.
Are you asking people for approval or you are asking me?
“Ok. Yeah. Nice one. Now you speak, Holy Spirit” He said aloud
He heard nothing in response, but he felt a certain peace.
He called Tega.
“She fits you, if you ask me” Tega had said plainly. “When I saw her today, I was like wow! This woman is going to slow roast my friend over an open flame.”
“Guy, I don’t remember when last a woman had spoken to me with such energy… and honesty,” Korede replied. “Maybe my mother.”
“And it was refreshing.” Tega said
“Yes.” Korede took a breath. “I like her. A lot. I don’t want to say the other word until I get to know her better, but I am dangerously close.”
“Yeah?” Tega asked.
“Yeah” Korede responded.
“Then stop acting like clarity is going to fall from heaven fully formed. You already know enough.”
He did.
So he prayed one last time…not for certainty, but for courage.
Then he picked up his phone.
He was about to call when he saw the time, 12:30am… lol, Nope.
Time for bed.
He’d call in the morning.
Solape’s P.O.V (Mini):
She was in her kitchen, hair wrapped, apron on, stirring something that smelled like comfort and competence, when her phone rang.
PK.
Her heart did the small, traitorous skip it had been doing lately.
She wiped her hands and answered.
“Hello?”
His voice came steady. Calm. No hesitation.
“Hi, Solape.”
Something about the way he said her name. No rush, No apology…made her straighten instinctively.
“I want to take you out,” he continued. “On a date. Properly.”
She blinked.
Not hang out. Not let’s talk.
Out.
“I want to take you out,” he repeated, gentle but unmistakably clear. “When can I pick you up? Are you free tonight?”
There it was. Finally.
She leaned against the counter, smiling despite herself.
“…Wow.”
He smiled too. She could hear it.
“So?” he asked softly.
“Yes I am,” she said. “Okay.”
POV: PK
He arrived early.
Not because he was anxious—because he didn’t like the idea of her stepping out and not seeing him already there. So he leaned against the hood of his car, jacket open, hands loose at his sides, letting the evening settle.
Then she stepped out.
And he had to consciously still himself.
The dress moved when she did. Not dramatically. Naturally. Like confidence didn’t need permission. This was not quiet confidence. This was a woman who knew she deserved the attention she drew and wasn’t apologetic about it.
He liked that.
When her eyes met his and she smiled, something warm pressed against his ribs.
He opened the door.
She slid into the passenger seat and their fingers brushed—just briefly.
Neither of them pulled away.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi,” he replied, meeting her eyes fully. “You are beautiful.”
He meant it simply. He didn’t soften it. He didn’t dress it up.
She paused—just a beat longer than expected—then said, “Thank you.”
That pause stayed with him as he drove.
He chose the place carefully. Quiet. Thoughtful. A room that didn’t rush you or demand performance. Somewhere you could hear yourself—and the person across from you.
She looked around as they sat.
“This place is serene and comfortable at the same time.”
He nodded. “I wanted somewhere we could talk. And enjoy good food.”
“You’re very intentional,” she said.
“I try to be,” he replied. “It’s safer.”
“For who?” she asked, smiling.
“For everyone,” he said. And he meant it.
They ordered. Water first. Always.
When she folded her napkin, he noticed the way she did it neatly, like order mattered even in small things.
“So,” she said, “what made you decide… now?”
He didn’t evade it.
“Because the ambiguity was unfair,” he said. “To you. And to me.”
She studied him. He let her.
“And,” he added with a faint smirk, “the way we were going—you were generating so much fire, I was bound to get burnt if we didn’t define this.”
She laughed.
He held her eyes as the laughter faded so she understood he wasn’t joking.
She nodded. “Fair. And I don’t want to be the one to tempt PK.”
“Korede.”
The correction came gently, instinctively.
She paused. Looked at him. Something shifted in the space between them.
“…Korede,” she repeated, testing it.
He felt it land somewhere deeper than expected.
“Well,” he said slowly, “this temptation is welcome.”
Her eyebrow lifted. Just one.
“Oh?”
He leaned in just enough—not to close the distance, but to make it felt.
“In time,” he added, quieter, “it won’t be temptation anymore.”
Her mouth opened. Closed.
“It’ll be right,” he finished.
The reaction came before words. He caught it—the stillness, the way her breath changed.
“Aha,” he said with a slow smile. “There she is. Speechless Solape. I remember her from the first night.”
“Wow,” she said. “You’re flirting, Pastor Korede Adeniyi.”
He laughed out loud. “The full government name.”
“Yes o,” she said, holding his gaze. “Just a reminder of your call.”
He didn’t blink.
“Wow,” she said finally. “You are dangerous.”
He smiled. “I’ve been told.”
“Good,” she replied. “Just don’t forget…”
She leaned in slightly.
“I bite back.”
The silence that followed was comfortable. Earned.
“Tell me about your parents,” she said.
He smiled without thinking.
“My mother is the quintessential Yoruba mother,” he said. “Loud prayers. Big laugh. Big opinions.”
She laughed. “Oh, I like her already.”
“My father balances her,” he continued. “Quiet. Observant. You’d think he pastored before he spoke.”
“They’re both in ministry?”
“Yes.”
“That explains you,” she said softly.
He raised a brow. “In what way?”
“You’re calm,” she said. “But there’s something… brimming underneath.”
He watched her for a long moment.
“Your turn,” he said gently.
She exhaled.
“My mother died when I was twelve.”
He nodded. Stayed still.
“I live with my father,” she continued. “I take care of him. Not because he can’t—but because grief rearranges people.”
“I understand that,” he said quietly.
“Church wasn’t always kind after she died,” she added. “People thought my strength was rebellion.”
His jaw tightened.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “That shouldn’t have happened.”
“It did,” she replied. “But it shaped me.”
Their hands touched. Accidentally. Or maybe not.
He didn’t move his away.
“I don’t see your fire as a problem,” he said quietly.
She laughed softly. “You say that now.”
“I’m serious.”
She looked at him—really looked.
“So am I,” she said.
He took a breath.
“I date with the intention to marry,” he said. Calm. Grounded. No performance.
She laughed lightly. “Wow. Aren’t you cute?”
He held her eyes.
The laughter faded. Understanding settled.
“I don’t know everything yet,” she said. “About you. About this.”
“I don’t expect you to,” he replied. “I just want to know you. Without confusion.”
She nodded. “I want that too. Let’s… see.”
He reached for her hand fully then.
She let him.
Their fingers settled naturally, his thumb brushing her knuckles without thinking.
Conversation flowed easily after that—faith, not as doctrine but survival; dreams; fear; the kind of truths you only offer when the room feels safe.
Time softened.
At some point, he intertwined his fingers with hers completely.
Neither commented on it.
When dessert came, she leaned back, eyes bright.
“So,” she said casually. Too casually.
“So?” he replied.
“So are we… dating now?”
He set his fork down.
“Solape,” he said carefully, “I find you beautiful—inside and out. I want to get to know you and see what we can build together. Would you go on that journey with me?”
She smiled. Full. Unrestrained.
“Yes.”
When he dropped her off later, neither of them rushed.
They stood close by the car, the night air cool against his skin, the quiet stretched thin between them. Close enough to feel each other’s presence fully. Not touching too much. Touching enough.
“Thank you,” she said, voice softer now. “For a great night… and for being clear.”
He smiled. Not wide. Just honest.
“Thank you for being you.”
Their hands lingered longer than necessary before letting go. He noticed it—noticed how neither of them hurried the separation, like they both understood that ending things gently mattered as much as beginning them well.
She turned toward her door.
He didn’t move.
She took a few steps, then paused, as if considering something. For a moment, he thought she might look back immediately.
She didn’t.
So he waited.
He stood there, hands in his pockets, watching the door, content in the stillness. No anxiety. No second-guessing. Just the quiet certainty that he had done right by the moment.
When she finally turned, their eyes met.
He was still there.
Still watching.
Not like someone hoping.
Like someone who had decided.
She smiled at him then—small, private—and went inside.
He stayed where he was for a few seconds longer, letting the night settle around him, before turning back to his car.
For the first time in a long while, the warmth in his chest wasn’t loud or unsettling.
It was steady.
It felt right.
Solape’s P.O.V:
Solape kicked off her shoes the moment the door closed behind her.
She stood there for a second, back against the door, smiling at absolutely nothing.
Then she remembered herself. The girls!!!
Her phone was already in her hand.
The group chat, Order, Peace, and Solape.🔥
She typed.
Solape:
Guys!!!
Three dots appeared almost immediately.
Miriam:
Oh God! NJ literally had to seize my phone to prevent me from calling you! Talk now!
NJ:
Finally! Give us the gist
Solape smiled, climbed onto her bed, and typed again.
Solape:
I just got back from the date.
Miriam:
GIST US OH!!!!
NJ:
WHAT IS WITH THE SUSPENSE?
Solape laughed out loud.
Solape:
Why are you shouting?
NJ:
You know what? I am calling you now!
Her phone rang before she could reply.
Solape answered the video call, still smiling.
NJ’s face filled the screen first, scarf halfway off, eyes bright. Miriam appeared beside her a second later, wrapped in a blanket, already grinning.
“LOOK AT HER,” Miriam yelled. “See glow!”
Solape covered her face. “Please behave.”
“No,” NJ said calmly. “Don’t hide. We need details.”
Solape dropped her hand. “Okay. Okay.”
NJ leaned forward. “Start from the beginning.”
“He picked me up on time,” Solape said, smiling at the memory. “Like… waiting outside. Door open. Very intentional.”
“He held the door open for you?” NJ asked, “Didn’t that feel cheesy?”
Solape shook her head before she answered, “No o. Not cheesy. Not trying to hard. On him, chivalry fit.”
Miriam nodded slowly. “That tracks.”
“He told me I was beautiful. Not I look beautiful. He said I was.” Her eyes lit up at the memory, “Omo, I almost fell to a puddle at his feet.”
“Hope you said thank you and not your usual deflection.” Miriam said.
“Deflect how?” Solape asked, “His voice, his eyes… my dear, I was too caught up to think of a deflection.”
“Hey God!” Miriam exclaimed
“He chose this quiet place,” Solape continued. “Not loud. Not showy. Just… thoughtful. And he kept looking at me like he was actually listening.”
NJ clutched her chest. “God when.”
“Excuse me Mrs Ladi Bello?” Miriam said, “I should be the one God-whenning o. Daddy, help your girl”
They all laughed.
“And he flirted,” Solape added casually.
Both of them screamed.
“WAIT,” Miriam said. “Flirted how?”
“So, I asked him why he decided on the date and he said I was generating so much fire, he was going to get burnt if we didn’t define it. ,” Solape said.
“My friend the temptress!” Miriam screamed.
“I’m not done o. You’ve not heard anything yet.” Solape cut in, “When I said I didn’t want to tempt him. He called me a welcome temptation and said one day, it won’t be a temptation anymore, it will be right.”
“WHAT?!” Miriam
“If you see the look he gave me, I was speechless again”
NJ smiled knowingly. “That man is not joking.”
Solape nodded. “He’s not. But he’s not stiff either. He joked. He laughed. He teased me back.”
“Solape, you know that’s almost a marriage proposal right?” Miriam said,
“See eeen… He told me he dates to marry… so…”
There was silence for a bit, until Miriam broke it.
“Omo times 3”
NJ squinted. “Did you call him PK?”
“Yeah,” Solape said. “But he said I should call him Korede. I’d still call him PK though, in church and in everywhere public”
Miriam raised an eyebrow. “Did he ask for that?”
“No he did not.” She said contemplatively, “it’s just common sense”
“Yeah, I agree,” NJ said softly. “Compartmentalization of roles.”
“O ga ju!” Solape said with a smile. “My own is make people no dey disrespect my boo because I dey call am Korede for church.”
Miriam leaned in. “Did I hear you right… Solape called a Pastor her boo! Does this mean you guys are dating? No more vibes and ghosting?”
Solape grinned. “We’re dating.”
The scream that followed was unholy. From both of them
“DATE-ING?”
“AS IN OFFICIAL?”
“AS IN BOYFRIEND?”
Solape laughed so hard she had to lie back.
“Yes! Official!”
Miriam clapped. “I’m so happy for you.”
NJ narrowed her eyes. “Did he ask you properly?”
Solape’s smile softened. “Yes.”
“How?” Miriam asked gently.
“He was clear,” Solape said. “No confusion. No pressure. Just… honest.”
NJ nodded slowly. “That’s good.”
“And how do you feel?” Miriam asked.
Solape didn’t answer immediately.
Then: “Safe.”
Both of them went quiet.
“That’s not small,” Miriam said.
“I know,” Solape replied. “It’s different.”
“Also,” Miriam said slyly, “was there… touching?”
Solape rolled her eyes. “You people are mad.”
“So yes,” NJ said calmly.
Solape laughed. “Hand-holding. Lingering looks. Heat.”
Miriam screamed again. “HEAT.”
“No kiss,” Solape added quickly.
NJ raised an eyebrow. “Yet.”
Solape smiled. “Yet.”
They talked until the night blurred—replaying moments, laughing at details, pausing when Solape went quiet in that way that meant something mattered.
When the call finally ended, Solape lay back, phone resting on her chest.
Her heart felt full.
Not dizzy.
Not confused.
Just… settled.
Author’s Note: Who else is gushing so much after reading this chapter?🥹 PK and Solape are just too cute. Our ship has sailed ooo, now we pray that storms don’t break the ship.
To Catch up: Read Chapter one here, Chapter two here, Chapter three here, Chapter Four here, and Chapter Five here, Chapter Six here, Chapter Seven here, Chapter Eight here, Chapter Nine here, and Chapter Ten here.
See you next week.❤️
Happy heart strings day to all who celebrate ✌️
"God I'm your PK, give me my Solape"
Guys, new prayer point update 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂