Chapter 28
28
MALCOLM
I just got to Kolb’s place. If we don’t go too late, can I come over?
I send the message off as I skip up the front porch steps, ready to spend the night with my friends and catch up after two weeks off. We took the first week off of the year because New Year’s landed on our normal game day, then Conrad had some sort of client thing for work last week. We hounded him relentlessly for being the one to cancel D and D night seeing as how he’s always on us—well, me—about being here on time and with a smile on our face.
Fucking prick.
God I love him.
My hand reaches for the door but as I go to turn the doorknob, a small, elderly woman whom I’ve never met nor seen before opens the door and startles me.
“Hello, come on in. Please take your shoes off.” She waves a hand towards the inside of the house where there are other sets of shoes neatly lined up along the wall. By the looks of things, I’m the last to arrive.
“Thank you,” I reply slowly, punctuating each word as I say them, wondering who the stranger is. She looks like she could be Kolbi’s aunt, or grandmother, but I’ve met the family he has here in Charleston and I don’t remember her. Once I slide my shoes off, I hurry down the hallway and into the dining space where we play so I can ask about her before she comes in behind me. When I make it to the end of the hall, I find Kolbi and Hank setting up the table and Conrad cracking open a beer in the kitchen. Bailey and Magnolia are standing around the counter, staring at a fresh plate of what look like brownies.
“‘Sup, Malcolm,” Hank calls out with a smile.
“Hey, brother, glad you could make it,” Kolbi adds, pulling his chair in behind him and taking a seat at the table.
“Uhh, Kolbi, who’s the little old lady that just opened your front door and asked me to take off my shoes?” I turn to look behind me and she’s hanging up the jacket I tossed on the staircase like I normally do when I come over. “Now she’s hanging up my jacket. Dude, did you get a housekeeper?”
Before he can reply, Magnolia nearly bounces around the kitchen island and looks behind me, beaming ear to ear.
“No, silly, that’s Ms. Ruthie.” She says it as if I’m supposed to know who that is but before I can even reply, she takes a few steps behind me and gives the old woman a hug. “Ms. Ruthie raised me growing up, and over Christmas she decided to come and live with Kolbi and me. She has her own space in the guesthouse now.”
I watch as the woman’s short and stout frame walks over to the counter where the tray of brownies sits and lifts it from the marble countertop. She then passes Bailey who has a cheek full of the sweet treat, gives her a cordial nod, and heads towards me before holding the tray out to me as an offering. “I baked these for your ‘game night.’ Please be mindful, they contain nuts. If you’re allergic, I’m happy to make a fresh batch for you.”
“Uhhh,” I sputter before taking a brownie from the tray. “I’m good with nuts, thanks.”
“Honestly, nuts make everything better,” Conrad hums as he takes a bite of his own brownie.
“Ms. Ruthie, how many times do I have to tell you that you don’t have to work anymore or take care of things? You’re supposed to be relaxing, remember? Let me take care of things around here.” When Magnolia tries to take the ceramic tray from her hands, Ms. Ruthie does a surprisingly agile spin move for a woman her age to deflect her.
“Oh hush, sugar. This is my job. This is what I do. Go on now and spend time with your guests, don’t be rude, and remember your manners.” She chastises Magnolia who just smiles happily back at her, not minding it in the slightest. When Ms. Ruthie disappears into the pantry, I look at Kolbi with a perplexed expression.
“I can’t believe it either, brother.” He shrugs.
“Sit down, Malcolm, we need to get started,” Conrad barks and I reply by flipping him the bird before taking my own seat at the table.
In the excitement of meeting Kolbi’s new housemate, I forgot about the text I’d sent to Ophelia and pull my phone out of my back pocket to check to see if she has texted me back. Ever since she shared her story with me last weekend, we’d started to text each other daily. It’s as if the veil had been lifted between us and we can finally see one another clearly—and I can’t get enough of what I see.
Every new day I spend talking to her, I learn something new about her—what she likes, her sense of humor, and her favorite things. I’ve started a note in my phone of the things she mentions so that I can read them and remember them for good. I never want to forget a single thing about her. She lights up my life in a way I never thought possible and I’ll do anything to keep her light close.
I guess some people will say we’re dating now, but that word hasn’t been tossed around yet. I know how she feels about dating and relationships, and now that I understand why she feels the way she does, I’m not going to push it. I’m going to follow Marshall’s suggestion and let her come to me whenever she is ready. I’ll wait for her for hundreds of years if she needs me to.
“No phones at the table.” Conrad sighs with an eye roll, already exasperated by my presence after only a few minutes.
“Fuck you, Connie,” I say nonchalantly, unlocking my phone and opening my messages.
“That’s the rule, no phones at the table ,” he presses again.
“Actually, it’s ‘no phones while we’re playing,’ and technically, we aren’t playing yet,” Hank corrects and I grin at him from across the table and blow him a kiss. He and Kolbi laugh as Conrad sulks in his chair next to me.
Little Fox:
I have an early day tomorrow but if you’re done before eleven I won’t say no if you just show up on my doorstep
I feel the corner of my lips pull back as I type my response.
“I never thought I’d live to see the day,” Kolbi proclaims with an air of arrogance to his voice. My eyes shoot to him and he’s looking at me with a shit-eating grin on his face.
“It’s happened,” Hank muses, reaching for Kolbi’s hand and holding it in his. They beam at me with pride and look like two parents who have watched their child take their first steps.
“Rest in peace, my dude,” Conrad deadpans, slapping a hard hand down on my shoulder.
“What the fuck are you idiots talking about?” I chastise, looking around the table.
“It’s the look.”
“It’s happened.”
“And I’m officially the last man standing,” Conrad finishes.
I feel all the muscles in my face go slack as I realize what they’re talking about.
The look.
The look we’ve seen Hank have because of Bailey and the same look we get anytime Magnolia is within eyesight of Kolbi. The look of a man who is so totally pussy whipped.
And they saw it on me.
Fuck.
“So how are things with Ophelia?” Kolbi asks and I want to slap the pompous look right off his face.
“Yeah, last time her name came up around this table, you were awfully shifty about it. Care to share anything more with the class?”
“I just can’t believe you and Ophelia ,” Conrad drags her name out and says it as if it tastes bad in his mouth. I’m about to ask him what the fuck his problem is when Bailey’s voice calls out from the living room where she and Magnolia are watching a movie.
“Did I just hear my best friend’s name in there?” she shouts.
“Yes, hermosa? * , you did,” Hank calls back. Suddenly, the sounds of hurried footsteps near the table and she’s standing behind Hank’s chair, staring at me with a wide smile painted across her face.
“Why are we talking about Ophie?” She raises her brows at me and waits expectantly.
“Because your husband brought her up,” I sneer, not willing to give her anything more than what she has already managed to get out of me.
“And why would that be?” she hums back, her Southern drawl getting thicker with each word. “Wouldn’t happen to be because you and her are dating, is it?”
“Who said anything about dating?” I cock my head to one side and look at her inquisitively, which seems to annoy her. “I don’t date, and from what I remember about your friend, she doesn’t either.”
“Well you could both ‘not date’ together, can’t you?” she huffs.
“The dating game normally requires two people to play, blondie. And I’m not one to force someone into a game they don’t want to play.”
“But you want to play?” Kolbi asks, leaning over the table and resting his chin on his hand.
“What are we playing?” Magnolia asks, coming in from the living room as well. Jesus Christ, here we go.
“Malcolm and Ophie are playing the dating game,” Bailey quips, filling her in quickly.
“Ohhhh, I love this idea! Then she can come to game night and hangout with us too,” Magnolia sings.
Kolbi looks up at her and pulls one of her hands over his shoulder. “Flower, you can have any one of your friends over whenever you want. They don’t need to be dating one of us to spend time here.”
“I know, Jack. But it’s kind of like a club, this Wednesday night game time. The girlfriends club, even though Hank and Bailey are married,” she replies.
“They won’t be the only ones here soon,” I hear my best friend murmur and I give him a look, letting him know I heard what he said.
“My head hurts from trying to keep up with all of you.” Conrad sighs and brings his fingers to his temple, massaging it gently.
“We should just focus on the game, for Connie’s sake.” I push my lips together and give him a patronizing look as I shake him on the shoulder with one hand.
“Fuck you,” he sneers, shoving my hand off of him.
“This conversation isn’t over, Malcolm,” Bailey snaps from behind Hank’s chair. I can tell she wants more information, but she won’t be getting it from me.
“There was never a conversation to start with, Bailey ,” I playfully snap back. She might scare Conrad but she doesn’t scare me. Hank does though, just a little.
“Alright, boys, let’s get this game started. Enjoy your movie,” Kolbi hums, looking up at Magnolia who leans down to give him a kiss. Hank and Bailey exchange the same and the girls head back to the couch in the other room.
“I believe it’s my start this week,” I say, grabbing the die from the center of the table and giving it a shake. “Oh, and just so everyone knows, I’m leaving at ten thirty. I have somewhere I need to be by eleven.”
* ? hermosa