The One Who Holds Me (Sovereign Love #4)

6. Alex

6

ALEX

THEN

I f I had known it would be this easy to make Olanna laugh, I would’ve asked her to go out with me the first day I set my eyes on her. I can’t get enough of her perfect brown eyes and I could get lost in them without caring much about finding my way back.

I’ve looked forward to this moment for so long that it now feels like a dream that’s too good to be true. But I know it’s not a dream because every time she leans in close to me, the scent of her tropical perfume wafts into my nostrils, alerting me to the realness of her presence.

I know it’s not a dream because every time she laughs at my jokes, the happiness in her voice is so contagious it makes me laugh too, even though I don’t think my jokes are funny. If this was a dream, I wouldn’t be able to feel her warmth when she holds my hand. I can’t believe at one point in my life all I could do was wonder what it would be like to be this close to her. God has answered my prayer ten thousand times over.

“This one looks interesting.” Olanna tugs on my arm while pointing at a painting on the wall. Our first stop today is the art gallery. We both have never been to one before, but since we’re still on the A section of our A-Z date ideas list, we thought this would be a cool thing to explore together.

The gallery has white walls all around, which makes the paintings, photographs and sculptures stand out more. We initially started our tour with a group, but as time passed, we lagged, trying to figure out the meaning behind the art ourselves instead of listening to the tour guide. It has been more fun that way, if I do say so myself.

“I love the pastel colored squares,” Olanna says, still looking at the painting.

“Yeah, the colors might look random, but…” I take a step back and tilt my head. “Maybe the artist was intentional about the position of each color to convey a specific message?”

She takes a step back too and tilts her head, her locs grazing my shoulder. “Hmm. Nah, the position of the colors looks quite random to me.” She giggles. “But the pattern is very pretty. I think I have a rug with a similar pattern, actually.”

“Really?” I smile and rub my beard before lowering my voice. “Do you think you can bring your rug so we can swap it and sell this original piece for millions of dollars?”

She gasps and swats my arm. “Alex Obeng.”

“Ouch.” I rub my arm as we both laugh out loud.

“Are you trying to recruit me for a heist operation?” She leans in and rests her hand on my chest.

“Well, am I convincing you?” I wink at her, waiting for her giggles to settle.

“You are, but I have to warn you. Mr. Chijioke Madu will be waiting on the other side to send you to jail for being a bad influence on me.”

I shrug. “I’ll go to jail for you any day, girl.”

“ Ugh , there you go again with your cheesy lines.” She rolls her eyes and walks ahead of me, and I follow closely behind her.

Come on Alex, come up with something less cheesy now, will you?

“I think this is the last one.” Olanna points at the black-and-white photograph of a woman and a child playing in an open field. “This was more fun than I thought it’d be,” Olanna says after we agree the artist was probably trying to capture the love between a mother and her son.

I take her hand in mine as we make our way toward the exit, meandering our way through the crowd of people who are all fascinated by the artwork. “Do you think it was fun because of the artwork or the company?”

She flips her loc strands over her shoulder and smiles. “I’d say both…but most especially the company.”

“I’m very relieved to hear that, because I feel the same way.” We step out of the art gallery and take a left turn, making our way to the next stop for today—the ferry ride. I thought we’d go down the A-Z list in a chronological order, but where’s the fun in that?

Some things you’re sure to find on the streets of Manhattan are the yellow cabs, newsstands, and power-walking pedestrians. While many people might not be a fan of the busy way of life in the city, it’s this fast pace that reminds me to slow down and focus on God. I can’t imagine myself living away from this buzz. But I was born and raised in New York, so you can’t blame me.

“It’s so cool that the ferry ride is free,” Olanna says when we’re on the subway.

“Yeah, and I can’t believe you’ve never been on it.”

“I can’t believe you’ve been on it twelve times. Don’t you ever get bored with the scenery?”

“Mmm hmm.” I shake my head. “When you see the view for yourself, you’ll understand why.”

Half an hour later, we get out of the subway and make our way to the Whitehall terminal just in time for the next departure. The iconic orange ferry shuttles people back and forth from Manhattan to Staten Island and I can’t wait for Olanna’s reaction when she has a closer look at the Statue of Liberty.

“This is my favorite spot.” I point to a space at the metal barriers when we arrive on the top deck. People are already filling up the empty spaces along the barrier, while others are sitting in the chairs behind us.

When the ferry starts moving, the sun’s rays reflect on the ripples of the water below and God has smiled on us today by blessing us with blue skies at the end of January. Olanna shivers as a gust of wind travels past, so I stand behind her and wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her close to my body.

“Better?” I ask and she leans her head back and rests it on my shoulder.

“Much better,” she responds, and we soak in the skyline's view in silence.

While watching the sun set in the distance, I grab the opportunity to find out more about her family. “So, are you and your dad close?”

She nods. “Yes. He and my older brother, Manny, are very protective of me. As the only girl and my father’s princess, they could literally break bones on my behalf.” She laughs.

“Wow, so I have a lot of work to do to get on their good side, then?”

She shrugs before turning to look at me. “Well, not really. You’re a good guy, and it wouldn’t take long for them to see why I like you.”

“Hmm…so you like me now, huh?” I grin.

“Come on, if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here, would I?” She raises her brows at me as if to say that was a ridiculous question.

“That’s true. What about your mom? Is she protective of you, too?” I ask and the smile fades from Olanna’s face as sadness replaces the sparkle in her eyes.

“My mom died in a car accident when she visited my home country, Nigeria, two years ago.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry.” I take her hand in mine.

“It’s okay.” She exhales, and then her smile returns. “It still hurts, but I’m choosing to look on the bright side. Grief has strengthened my relationship with my brother and my dad. Manny is working hard to take over our family’s healthcare marketing company when my dad retires. The plan is for me to work with them too, after I graduate.”

“I’m glad you’re counting your blessings.” I plant a kiss on her hand. “I’m here to cheer you on every step of the way.”

“I appreciate that, Alex,” she says. “Enough about me. What about you? I know about your parents, but do you have any siblings?”

I lean against the metal bar so I can protect her from the wind blowing into her hair. “No. I’m the only child of my parents. I was born in Ghana, but my parents moved to New York when I was only a baby, so I don’t remember anything about Ghana. My parents promised me a vacation trip to Ghana after college graduation, so I can get the chance to connect to my African roots. I’m really looking forward to it.”

“Yeah…good for you.” She drops her gaze from my face. “I wish I could relate to your enthusiasm,” she whispers.

“What was that?”

She lifts her head again and shakes it. “Hmm? Oh, never mind. I’m happy for you. Look.” She points in the distance as the view of the Statue of Liberty gets bigger and then she whips out her phone to take photos. I want to press in a little further, because I can’t shake the feeling there’s something bothering her. But I choose to hold my peace for now. If it’s something difficult for her to talk about, then I don’t want to ruin this beautiful moment with my questions.

I take a few photos of her for her social media platforms and after finding the one she is happy with, she takes a few of me too. Then we take some selfies together with the Statue of Liberty as our backdrop before spending the rest of our time talking and, most importantly, laughing.

“I see what you mean,” she says when we’re staring at the view again. “It’s very beautiful.”

The time passes by with the blink of an eye and soon, we’re back at Whitehall terminal where we started. We stop by a taco truck to buy dinner before getting the subway back to campus.

“I had an amazing time today, Alex,” Olanna says as we hold hands, walking to her apartment, which is ten minutes away from campus. “Thank you for showing me what I’m missing in New York. It’s amazing how much you can still discover about a city you’ve been studying in for two years.”

“Yeah, that’s why you have me.” We stand face to face at her front door when my nerves take over me. As I try to pick the right words out of the jumbled thoughts in my brain, Olanna’s charming smile and sparkling gaze calm me down.

When I think about godly marriage examples, I think about my mom and dad and how much they love each other. I want to share that kind of love with someone someday. But if I want to have a marriage like Mom and Dad, it has to start from somewhere—this very moment.

“Olanna…” I squeeze both her hands and stare into her eyes. “I don’t know about you, but these last few weeks have intensified feelings I’ve never felt for anyone before.” I take a deep breath and continue. “These feelings didn’t start when I asked you out on a date. I’ve liked you for the last two years.”

“Yeah, India told me about that.” She smiles. “She said Kwame told her.”

“Of course he did,” I mutter under my breath before smiling back at her. “Look, Olanna, I don’t know what love is supposed to feel like or what people mean when they say they are falling in love with someone. But I know I care deeply about you and I want the best for you. I’m not sure what God holds for our future, but I would love for you to be in it. So if you think these feelings sound like love…then maybe…maybe I love you.”

“Aww, Alex.” Her gaze softens as she looks at me and there’s something about the emotion in her eyes that makes me believe she understands what I’m saying. “I’ll be honest and say that before you asked me out two weeks ago, I never saw myself being in a relationship with you. But after finding out that you’ve liked me for so long, a veil has been lifted from my eyes and I can now see qualities about you I truly admire.

“I love how close you are with your parents, how much you love your culture, how caring you are, and how you treat me like a princess. I would love to meet your parents one day, so I can tell them they did a good job raising you.”

“I’m sure they’ll love to meet you too.” I laugh and she takes a step closer before continuing.

“We’ve only been dating for two weeks, but it feels like we’ve been together for much longer. I love talking to you every night and reading your text messages when I wake up every morning. I’m always excited to have lunch with you and whenever I’m on my way to see you after class, my heart does this weird dance in my chest, like it’s going to explode if I don’t hug you or hold your hand. The thought of being around you always makes me feel so happy, and I love going on all these adventures with you.”

My smile broadens at her words and my heart does the little dance she just described. I lean forward until our faces are only inches apart before saying, “So I have feelings for you and you have feelings for me?”

She nods slowly as I bring my hand up to her neck and lean in closer.

“Olanna?”

“Yes?” She licks her lips and looks me in the eye.

“Can I kiss you?”

She nods and parts her lips before wrapping her arms around me and pulling me close. Her soft lips meet mine and I’m not sure how long the kiss goes on for, but I savor every second of her tropical scent, kissing her slowly, softly and tenderly until we naturally break away.

We both smile at each other before hugging again. “Can I safely say that you’re my girlfriend now?” I whisper in her ear, and she chuckles.

“Yes, I think it’s safe to call me that,” she responds before leaning in and kissing me again.