Iyapo and Anele had been friend since childhood. They had served as each other's counselor and confidante throughout primary and secondary school. Later, they both went to different colleges and though they kept in touch, their contact was sporadic and sparse. Despite that however, there was always a bond between them that everyone seemed aware of, including others in their friend circle and their families.
Iyapo was called Iya or Iyah for short. He came from a Jamaican family, though he migrated to the US with his mother as a young boy. He was very bright but socially awkward in school. His friendship with Anele and her group of girlfriends became a foundation for his future social interactions. He was, the only male member of their small clique of friends.
Anele was also a bright girl, but she was very social and enjoyed socializing, sometimes to the detriment of her studies. She also came from a Jamaican family, though she was born and raised in the US. Her friendship with Iya helped her to learn to focus more on her studies which would allow her to have worry-free downtime since she no longer had to worry about her assignments since Iya made sure she got them done before they hung out with friends.
Although they were part of a close-knit clique, their bond, was always acknowledged as special, even within the clique. In fact, many people would wonder out loud, over the years, why they never dated. Anele was always popular with the boys though she was selective about who she dated. Despite this, she had had her heart broken a few times by high school. Also, because of how close they were, she thought of Iya more as a brother than anything else and always laughed when people questioned why they weren't a couple.
By high school, Iya had learned a lot from hanging out with the girls in their clique and had also become quite popular with the girls. He and Anele would spend hours talking to each other about whomever they were dating. They told each other practically everything, up to and including intimate details of their respective intimate lives, likes and dislikes. There was never any awkwardness in how they related and their love for each other was deep and abiding.
In their twenties, they both moved to different states and would go for long periods without speaking. Whenever they did speak or meet however, they just picked up where they left off in their friendship. They had both been through some serious relationships, Iya had a child, though he was no longer with the child's mother. When Anele was 31, they both visited their home state one summer and spent as much time hanging out together, as they could. Anele was in a relationship with someone that she cared for deeply but that she didn't think was working out. Iya had just ended a relationship with someone that he thought would have become his wife. He told her once again that she would have to find him a wife. Anele just laughed as usual.
One night, near the end of Anele's trip, Iya confessed that he was in love with her, and had been since high school. He spoke eloquently and passionately about his feelings. Anele was stunned speechless. She had never imagined that he was seriously attracted to her. They had both long acknowledged that they found each other attractive, but she thought of him as her hot, handsome brother-from-another. She was also upset that he never said anything because as the thought about it, she decided that they probably could have been a couple and saved each other years of heartbreak and dating the wrong people. Iya said that he didn't want to say anything before because he wanted them both to "sow their oats" before trying to be together. They left things largely unresolved at the end of that trip, though they did try kissing and a bit more - 'just to see'. Anele found him a big turn-on but had unresolved issues in her current relationship so didn't want to deal with this at the time.