The One Who Holds Me (Sovereign Love #4)

2. Alex

2

ALEX

THEN

“ W hat game are you playing, man?” Kwame’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts and I peel my gaze away from the one girl who has stolen my attention all evening. Given the amount of chatter that always happens after our Wednesday night Ignite Christian fellowship large group meeting, you’d think I would find something else to distract me, but no. Only one girl knows how to keep all my senses engaged.

“Huh?” I frown at my best friend as my jumbled thoughts beg my brain to remember what he was talking about before I started daydreaming.

“How long are you going to keep playing this staring game?”

“What staring game?” I slurp the last of my diet coke and let out a quiet burp before continuing. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, come on, bro.” Kwame rolls his eyes and angles his body toward me. “When are you going to tell Olanna you like her?”

“Shhh!” I press my finger against my lips. “You don’t have to be so loud.” I turn my head slowly to look at her across the room, my breath hitching at the possibility that she might have heard Kwame. But to my relief, Olanna is still immersed in her conversation with Danielle, one of her roommates and close friends. Thank God for the loud worship music in the background.

“Well?” I lift my head to find Kwame still staring at me, his arms crossed against his chest and his head tilted to one side as he waits for my response.

“It’s not that simple. You know she’s way out of my league.” I pick up a bag of chips from the snacks table and tear it open, the chili flavor hitting my nostrils and watering my mouth.

“No, I don’t know.” Kwame shakes his head as I fill my mouth with chips. “That’s something you’ve convinced yourself to believe. How can you like a girl for over a year without telling her? You’re torturing yourself.”

I snort and cover my mouth to stop the chips from flying out. “Bro, you want to know what torture is? That’ll be me telling her I like her and getting a flat out rejection. Dude, I’ll have to spend the rest of college avoiding her on campus. That awkwardness is what you call torture.”

“But why are you so sure she’ll reject you?” Kwame asks before dipping his hands into my bag of chips and bringing a handful to his mouth. “She might like you, you know?”

I tip my head back as if Kwame’s words were a bomb that exploded in my face. “Come on, bro. Look at her.” I whip my head around so hard I’m surprised I don’t get a whiplash. But it doesn’t matter because now my attention is back on her—Olanna Madu.

Everything about her captivates me. Among her friends, she always stands out. Her soft-spoken voice is like a sweet melody to my ears. Earlier during the meeting, she stood up to share what she had learned from the Bible study and I didn’t want her to stop talking.

I love the way her beautiful shoulder-length dreadlocks frame her face. They were perfect before when they were black, but they’re even more perfect now that she has dyed them burgundy. Her eyes are the perfect shade of brown and they sparkle every time she smiles.

Her small nose ring sparkles every time she moves her head, and it draws my attention to her. When you top it off with how kind and friendly she is to everyone around her, you get the perfect combo to get any guy’s attention. She has certainly had my full attention from day one. She’s so beautiful.

“Alex Yaw Obeng.” Kwame’s annoying laughter drags me out of cloud nine and I kiss my teeth before rolling my eyes at him. “Look at you. Should I get you a napkin? Because I think I see a drool…right…here.” He points at the corners of my mouth as another fit of laughter erupts from his.

Even though I know he’s teasing me, I still touch the corners of my mouth to check I wasn’t actually drooling. Instead of wiping anything, I end up getting crumbs on my mouth and beard. “Aww, man.” I turn away and grab a paper towel before frantically wiping my mouth and my hands. After sending a death glare in Kwame’s direction, I wait for him to quiet down from his laughing fit.

“Listen.” I lean forward and take on a serious tone. “Girls like Olanna never say yes to just any random guy.” I shrug. “She probably already has a boyfriend.”

“Okay, you and I both know that’s a cop-out.” Kwame wags a finger at me. “If she had a boyfriend, we would’ve heard about him. Danielle is close to India and you know India tells me everything. There’s no boyfriend, so just ask her out.”

I open my mouth to protest, but I can’t think of any more excuses. Olanna is close friends with Danielle and India. India and Kwame have been dating since freshman year and they are pretty close, so if India says there’s no boyfriend, I believe her. That doesn’t mean things will work out in my favor, though.

“By the way, where is India today?”

Kwame groans at my pathetic attempt to change the subject. “She had a migraine, so she’s resting, but I’m not letting you off the hook.” Kwame stands and pulls me up with him. “Bro, you’ve spent the last two years trippin’ over this girl, so you’re going to talk to her. Right now.”

“Whoa. Calm down, bro. Are you for real?”

“Nah yeah, I am for real. It’s a new year, and you promised you would do one thing that scares you this year, didn’t you?” He places both hands on his hips and widens his eyes at me.

I want to lie that I never made that resolution, but my best friend knows me too well. “Do I have to do it now, though? We can pick a better time when she’s not with her friends?”

“Bro, you and I know there’ll never be a better time.” He turns me around and pats my shoulders before pushing me gently forward. “Lead with her hair. Tell her how beautiful she looks and how well the new color suits her. When you’ve broken the ice, ask her to do something with you.”

“What do I ask her to do with me?” My voice drops to a whisper.

“I don’t know, a concert, a movie, bowling, lunch? Anything, bro.”

“Okay, but you know I’m not a smooth talker like you. I can’t do this.”

“Oh, wait, look…you’re already doing it.”

“Okay, but you gotta stay right behind me, bro. Promise?”

“ Gotchu .”

A tingling sensation settles on my fingers and toes as we near the group of girls in the corner of the room. I scratch the back of my neck with my sweaty palms before rubbing them on my jeans.

Olanna is talking to the other girls, which means if I want to get her attention, I’ll need to alert everyone else involved in that conversation. Come on, Alex. You have nothing to lose except your dignity if she rejects you in front of her friends.

I take a step forward and open my mouth to speak when Olanna lifts her head and locks eyes with me.

“Hey, Alex,” she says with that perfect smile of hers, which always mesmerizes me.

“Hey.” I send her a wave, ignoring the other four pairs of eyes looking at me. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” I ask before turning to Kwame for reassurance, but shock hits me right in the face when I spot him across the room speaking to the large group leader at the snacks table.

Narrowing my eyes at him, I shake my head and accept my fate. I can’t believe he left me alone on the battlefield when this was his idea.

“Me?” Olanna’s voice pulls my gaze back to her as she points a finger to her chest, her eyebrows raised.

“Yeah, if that’s okay?” If she says no, then that would be it. I’ll just lock myself up in my room and never come out again. Ever.

“Erm…sure.” She hands her drink to Danielle, who shrugs and nods for her to go ahead. The other girls immediately fall back into their conversation as Olanna and I walk away from the group.

Rubbing my palms together, I glance at Kwame, who averts his gaze and holds back a laugh. Traitor. I bite back the word and turn around to face Olanna, her tropical scent wrapping me up in a new world. Olanna’s world. This is it. This is the moment. “So…how have you been?”

“I’ve been good.” Her response comes so easily, it helps calm my nerves. “Did you enjoy the session today?”

“Yes, large group meetings have been the highlight of my week since freshman year.” I nod, silently praying that the sweat forming under my arms doesn’t seep through my t-shirt. “I love what God is doing here. It’s beautiful to witness the strong friendships and relationships we’re building.”

“Yeah, all my close friends are from Ignite fellowship, so I totally get what you mean.” She places her hands in the back pocket of her jeans.

“You have a lovely voice, by the way. I heard you singing earlier during the worship session and you sounded great.”

“Aww, thank you. You’re so sweet.” Her grin spreads across her face and I almost want to pat myself on the back for bringing that smile out of her.

Good one, Alex. Oh, the hair. Don’t forget the hair. “I also noticed you got a new hair color over the Christmas break. Burgundy looks great on you.”

“Really?” She gives me a broad smile this time and twirls one of her loc strands. “That’s great to hear, because I wasn’t sure how to feel about it at first.”

“Well, if I were you, I wouldn’t change a thing because it’s perfect.” You’re perfect for me. That’s all I needed to return to my daydream again, because the painful few seconds of silence that follow speak for themselves.

“Erm, Alex? Was there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?” It’s her voice that pulls me out this time.

Okay, here we go. “Ermm...yeah,” I clear my throat before it all comes spewing out of me. “Olanna, I’m sorry if this comes across as awkward, because you and I only see each other once or twice a week. We hang out here on campus with our mutual friends, and we laugh and sing and pray together during these large group meetings, but we’ve never had a one-to-one conversation lasting this long because why would we?” A nervous laugh escapes my lips followed by an understandable confused expression on Olanna’s face.

“Okay, I guess what I’m trying to say is that…I’d like to get to know you better and I wondered whether you would like to hang out with me sometime. We could watch a movie, go bowling, or do whatever you want, really?” I shrug and close my mouth with one hand to stop the spilling before I dig a hole for myself.

At first, she gives me a blank stare and I don’t blame her. She’s probably getting a headache trying to figure out what I’m saying. I knew this wasn’t a good idea. I hate you, Kwame.

“Wow, are you asking me out on a date?” The fact that a warm smile accompanies her question gives me the boldness to be daring.

“It depends. If I say yes, then will you say yes?” I drag out my words and squint at her, trying to lighten the mood.

She chuckles and tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear before glancing at her group of friends and then turning back to me.

Okay, here we go. You have nothing to lose. Rejection is not the end. Rejection is not the…

“Sure, I’d love to.”

Shock wounds through my entire body as her words leave me so stunned, I start questioning whether I’m having auditory hallucinations. “I’m sorry, what?”

More chuckles escape her lips again. A sweet, sweet melody to my ears. “I said, ‘sure, I’d love to.’ It’d be nice to get to know you better too, Alex. You seem like a nice guy.”

She thinks I’m nice? “For real?” It’s taking the grace of God not to burst with excitement right now because what just happened? “Great. I’ll text you.” I’m about to leap for joy like the lame beggar the disciples Peter and John healed at the Beautiful Gate, when Olanna’s voice stops me.

“Wait, don’t you need my number?” Her chuckles intensify when I send her a sheepish smile.

“Of course I do,” I say before we swap phones and save our numbers. The minutes that follow feel like an out-of-body experience because when Olanna returns to her friends and I walk back over to Kwame, I no longer feel like killing him for betraying me.

He must have noticed the joy in my eyes because, without even saying a word, he pulls me into the hallway and we both jump for joy, followed by chest bumps and fist pumps all the way.