The One Who Holds Me (Sovereign Love #4)

4. Olanna

4

OLANNA

THEN

A frustrated sigh escapes my lips for the umpteenth time as I stare at the display of clothes on my bed. I was so sure I wanted to wear the white off-the-shoulder top, but now the purple halter neck looks more appealing. Don’t even get me started on the gorgeous, black one-shoulder blouse. Ugh, why is this so hard?

For someone who has never had a problem choosing an outfit, this is beyond me. It’s just Alex. Alex, who I see at our large group meetings every Wednesday night and who I sometimes hang out with on campus, mainly because of India. I’ve never cared about how he perceives me, so why has everything changed?

I pause as the answers come flooding into my brain. Of course, he’s no longer just Alex from large group meetings. He is now Alex Obeng, the guy who likes me. My stomach twists into knots and I take deep breaths before lowering myself onto the bed. Lord Jesus, please help me.

“I’m back.” My bedroom door swings open as Danielle strolls in with her backpack slung over her shoulder. Is she the answer to my prayer?

Danielle, India, and I met at Ignite in freshman year, and we became inseparable. We got an apartment together in sophomore year and we’ve been living together since then. India majors in education, Danielle in marketing, and I in business management. Our difference in majors has never affected our bond and we’ve been supporting and encouraging each other since the beginning.

Danielle stops in the middle of the room and takes in the surroundings before raising her brows at me. “You haven’t chosen an outfit yet?”

I drop my shoulders and cover my face with my hands. “No, I’m so confused. I don’t know what to wear and…and…”

“Okay, okay, okay. Calm down. Danielle to the rescue.” She places her backpack on my bed and rushes to my side. “Do you know where he’s taking you?”

I shake my head slowly. “He just called to say he’ll pick me up at six. I should’ve asked him where we’re going or whether I should dress casual or smart, but my brain wasn’t working properly because of all the stupid butterfly feelings in my stomach.”

“Aww, you’re so cute.” Danielle chuckles and flips her curly blonde hair to the side. “I don’t blame you, though. If a cute guy asks me out too, I think I would react in exactly the same way.”

There’s a soft knock on my door and India pokes her head in. “Did someone send for reinforcements?” She enters the room showcasing the bag of chocolate cake balls she bought.

“Oh, God bless you for that.” Danielle grabs the bag from India’s hand and starts tearing through it.

“So…have you picked your outfit yet?” India asks, placing both hands on her curvy hips.

“Nope,” Danielle says before stuffing her mouth with two white chocolate balls. The girl has such a sweet tooth.

“Well, what are you waiting for? You have to start trying them on. Alex will be here in...” She taps her phone screen. “Three hours, seven minutes and twenty-three seconds, and he will not find us slacking, so come on.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” I grab the black one-shoulder blouse and start putting it on. India has always been the organized one in the group. Danielle can be too, but she gets easily distracted by everything—like a bag of chocolate balls. India hates time wasting, and she’s always prompt. I owe my ability to make it to eight AM classes to her.

“You want one?” Danielle offers me a peanut-butter-covered chocolate ball and I shake my head, drawing a gasp from both girls.

“Is everything okay? That’s your favorite snack.” India takes a few steps toward me, concern etched in her features.

“Yeah, she’s just nervous about the date, that’s all,” Danielle responds on my behalf.

“Really?” India raises her brows. “Why?” she asks, fixing the bangs of her teeny weeny afro.

I shrug. “It’s my first date and this whole situation came to me as a surprise. What if I mess it up?”

“Trust me, honey. You won’t mess it up.” India turns me around to look at my full-length mirror. She tilts her head and says, “This looks cute, but maybe not for a first date? What do you think?”

I nod. “Yeah, I prefer color.”

Danielle nods too, in between bites.

“Girl, if you finish those chocolate balls, I promise you, we’ll fight.” India squints at Danielle, who lowers the bag on the bed and scoots forward to sit on the edge of the bed.

“Why are you so sure I won’t mess it up?” I ask India as I take off the black top.

“Because Alex likes you too much to change his mind,” India responds casually, as if this information was general knowledge.

“Really? How do you know this?”

“Because Kwame told me everything,” India responds. “Alex has liked you since freshman year. Kwame says he thinks highly of you and always thought you were way out of his league. That’s why he was scared to ask you out. Last week at the large group meeting, Kwame literally had to force him to speak to you. I wish I didn’t have a stupid migraine that day because I would have loved to see the whole thing go down.”

Why does he think I’m out of his league? It’s only me. Olanna Madu. “How long have you known that Alex likes me?”

India shrugs and lowers her head. “Since Kwame told me a year ago.”

I gasp. “A year?”

“Yes, but…” India raises a hand. “You know I don’t like meddling. I didn’t think it was my place to tell you. I hoped and prayed Alex would come to his senses and tell you about it, so thank God for Kwame.” India and Danielle giggle.

“My sister once told me about a guy at her workplace who liked her for five years, but he didn’t tell her until she handed in her notice,” Danielle says.

“Really? What did she say?” I ask.

“She didn’t have a boyfriend at the time, so she agreed to go on a date with him and they’ve been married now for two years,” Danielle responds.

“Aww, that’s a cute love story.” India places both hands on her chest. “Olanna, that could be your story, too.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” I put on the purple halter neck top and turn to face the mirror. “I’m glad Alex didn’t wait five years. I might be nervous, but I have to admit I’m also excited. He seems like a nice guy. Right?” I turn to face the girls and they both nod.

“He’s very sweet, and it seems like he genuinely loves God,” India adds.

“Yeah, and don’t forget about the fact that he’s very good-looking.” Danielle giggles.

“Yeah, and very funny. I like guys who are funny.” A warm sensation explodes in my abdomen and spreads down my feet before curling my toes. “This is nice,” I say, smoothing the purple top.

“Yeah, I like it.” The girls agree, but by the time I try on the white off-shoulder top, we all agree by the way our eyes sparkle that it’s the one to go for.

“Now, about your hair,” India says, “do you want to wear the locs down, do a half up, half down, or bangs and a bun?”

I tilt my head and tap my chin with my finger. “I never do bangs, so let’s go for that and give the boy an element of surprise, shall we?”

“Yeah, baby.” India grins and in less than an hour, I’m all dressed, hair and makeup done and ready to go.

India clicks her fingers as I turn around to show them my complete look. “If Alex doesn’t gawk when he sees you, then sis, he ain’t the one.”

“Amen to that,” Danielle adds, and we all burst out laughing.

When the doorbell rings at six PM on the dot, Danielle and India have to pin me to the sofa in the living room, so I don’t go flying to the front door.

“Relax, honey. You don’t want him thinking you’ve been desperately waiting for six PM, do you?” India says.

“But I have been waiting desperately for six PM to come around.” My voice comes out more high-pitched than I’d like.

“Yeah, true, but he doesn’t need to know that.” India winks at me before walking to the door and leaving me with Danielle, who squeezes my hand.

India disappears round the corner and the door clicks open shortly after. “Hey, Alex.” India’s voice fades to the background and all I can hear is the deep husk of Alex’s voice, which sets off the butterflies in my stomach again.

“Sure, come on in,” India says and the door closes.

Danielle and I stand and she pulls me close to her as if she’s trying to stop me from running away. I’m still grateful for her supportive hand squeeze because it stops me from squealing when Alex walks round the corner looking all handsome in his white sweater and black jeans.

“Wow.” He stops in his tracks when his gaze lands on me and in the intensity of that moment, I don’t realize when Danielle lets go of my hand and she and India go back to sit on the sofa. Alex steps closer and holds my hand, the warmth of his grasp sending tingling sensations through my body.

“You look great,” he says and heat flashes up my cheeks.

My words elude me, so I just stare at him, smiling like a fool, until India clears her throat and wakes me up from my reverie.

“Thank you.” I finally respond and avert my gaze, trying to hide my embarrassment.

“Well, she’s all yours,” India says, linking arms with Danielle.

“Enjoy.” Danielle waves at us as we close the door.

Outside in the cold, Alex places one hand on the small of my back and opens the car door for me. Ooh Alex, the gentleman. We love to see it.

Not long into our car ride, the nerves take over me and while Alex focuses on his driving, saliva dries out from my mouth. I resist the urge to pull down the car mirror to check that my bangs are still in the right place or that my lipstick is not smudged. Calm down, Olanna. You look great.

I take a deep breath in and close my eyes for a few seconds. That’s when the calming beats of the worship music gets to my ears. “Ooh, I love this song,” I say out loud, expelling the silence.

“You do?” A wide grin spreads across his face. “Me too.” He turns up the volume and we sing the lyrics out loud, waving our hands in the air and Alex occasionally doing beatboxing interludes, which makes me chuckle.

“Do you beatbox to worship songs at church, too?”

“Not out loud, or I’ll probably get death glares.”

“No doubt.” We both laugh and for the rest of the fifteen minute drive away from campus, our conversation flows so effortlessly that I’m disappointed when the ride ends.

“Here we are,” Alex says as he pulls into a parking lot.

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever been in this part of the city.”

“Really? I’ve been here a few times with Kwame and some other boys from Ignite.”

“Cool. So where are we?”

He lets out a sharp exhale before speaking. “Okay, before I tell you, I have a confession to make.”

My heart sinks at the word confession , but I shake away any negative thoughts, trying to pry their way into my mind. “Okay? What is it?”

He fiddles with the car keys before angling his body toward me. “I’ve never been on a date before.”

“Aww.” I lean forward. “Me neither, so we’re good.”

He smiles and relaxes his shoulders. “That takes some of the pressure off.” He nods. “I wasn’t expecting you to say yes to me last week, so I freaked out a little because I had no idea what sort of things you like to do. I went on the internet and printed out an A-Z list of fun date ideas.” He pulls out the folded piece of paper from his pocket. “For today, I thought we’d start with number one on that list,” he says, pointing to the sign in the building in front of us.

I crane my neck and squint my eyes to read the letters on the sign and when realization dawns on me, I gasp. “We’re at the arcade center?” I turn to him with a wide grin on my face.

“Yeah. Do you like it?”

“Are you kidding? I love arcade games. My dad used to take my brother and I when we were kids and we used to be so competitive that we would fight each other.”

Alex laughs. “You won’t fight me if I win, will you?”

I tilt my head. “Well, you’ll have to beat me first though, won’t you?”

He narrows his eyes and nods. “Bring it on.” He gets out of the car and walks around it to open the door for me. Then he extends his hand and helps me out of the car. His lavender scent wraps around me as we both walk toward the building. I love it when a guy smells good.

“Hope you’re not cold?” he asks as I try to keep up with his strides.

I shake my head and wrap my jacket around me. “No, I’m okay. Thank you.”

Inside the building, nostalgia hits me as I glance at all the different games. It’s just like I remember it; several coin-operated entertainment machines, lights, colors, music, crying children, laughing, and lots of cheering.

When Alex asks what game I want to play first, I’m spoiled for choice. Starting with pinball, we move on to Pac-Man, then air hockey, basketball, and foosball.

“How does it feel to be beaten by a girl?” I gloat at Alex while we’re waiting for our order at the food hall.

He shrugs and turns to me. “I don’t mind. I’m still a winner because I’m here on a date with you. That’s my prize.”

Aww.

My mind hasn’t finished savoring his words when the server calls out our order. He declines my offer to carry one of the trays and instead leads me to a table for two and places both trays on them.

I take a seat across from him, enjoying the princess treatment I’m getting, even though part of me feels guilty that I’m letting him do all the work. But if he’s doing it with all his heart, then I won’t feel guilty about letting him be a gentleman.

“Hmm, that smells so good.” I inhale the aroma from the burger, curly fries, and chicken filets.

“It tastes even better,” Alex says after a bite into his double chicken and cheese burger.

I pick up a fry and swipe it on the blob of barbecue sauce on my plate before putting it in my mouth. “Can I ask a question?”

“Sure.” He sips on his orange juice.

“Why do you like me?” I meet his unwavering gaze and the smile that spreads across his face is so charming I can watch him smile for the rest of the evening and I’ll be satisfied.

“Because you’re beautiful, inside and out. You have a kind heart. Your friends love you.”

“Okay?” I touch the nape of my neck as a warm sensation travels up. “Keep talking,” I respond with a smile.

“I’ve been watching you for over a year now, but not in a creepy way. I’m not a stalker or anything like that. I’ve just seen the way you interact with others, how proactive you are at Ignite and how the love of Jesus radiates through you. It’s beautiful to see and I’ve found it really difficult not to be drawn to you.”

Aww. How many times can this guy make me blush in one evening? “Where did you learn these sweet talks from? Was it Kwame?”

He sits back and laughs. “My best friend is a well-known sweet talker, I’ll give him that. But actually, I learned this from my dad. From the years of watching him continuously woo my mom.”

“That’s adorable. How long have they been married?”

“Twenty-five years. But if you see the way he makes her laugh, you’d think they are high school sweethearts. My mom always tells me stories about when my dad used cheesy pickup lines to get her to marry him when they were in Ghana.”

“Really? Like which one?”

“Like calling her the jollofiest jollof rice and the sweetest plantain he has ever eaten. He also once told her that her beauty is so tantalizing that he wants to buy her a sewing machine.”

“Huh?” I snort. “Is she a fashion designer or something?”

“No. She has no interest in sewing, but apparently that’s what her beauty does to him.”

“Wow.” The laughter and cackles that follow our conversation are so intense, tears leak from the corner of my eyes. “Your dad is so hilarious. I can see where you get your sense of humor from.”

Alex gives himself a pat on the shoulder before rubbing his beard. “It’s my pleasure, Ma’am.”

At the end of our date, Alex parks in front of our apartment and disappointment weighs on my heart because the night is over. I have nothing to compare this date to, but this has set the bar really high. “I had so much fun tonight. Thank you.”

Alex walks with me to the front door and I stop him from getting too close because I know India and Danielle have their ears pressed against the door right now.

“So, did I pass the test to earn a second date?” Alex places his hands in his pockets as his gaze drops to the floor. It’s so adorable when he does that.

Of course. The words leap to the tip of my tongue, but I hold them back, so I don’t sound desperate. Instead, I tilt my head and tap my chin with my finger. “Hmm. I’ll have to think about that.”

When he lifts his head to look at me, his pleading gaze reminds me of Danielle’s puppy when he wants to play fetch.

“Just kidding.” I lean in and touch his arm. “I’d love to go on a second date with you.”

“Yes!” He lifts his fisted hands above his head.

“So, what will the next date be?”

“Don’t worry, I can pick a random one from the list for the element of surprise,” he says. “Or we can go through the list together and pick one?”

“No, I trust you and I love surprises.”

“That’s good, because I love surprising you.” He smiles and takes my hand in his. “Goodnight, Olanna.” He leans forward and closes the gap between us, and this is the moment where everything changes.

The guy standing in front of me is no longer just Alex, the guy I see every week at large group meetings, but Alex, the first guy who kissed my cheek. Oh, and did I mention the goosebumps? That’s right. Alex, the first guy who kissed my cheek and gave me goosebumps.