Chapter 37
37
KOLBI
Dungeons and Dickheads: 1 New Message
Malcolm:
So are we ever gonna talk about the fact that Kolbi is dating a tiny woman we’ve heard nothing about?
Conrad:
Yeah I was also wondering about this. Kolbi, care to share?
Hank:
I’m more concerned by the fact that she’s…well her. Of all the girls you could date, you pick her? We work for her family dude.
I ’d been waiting for them to text me and knew the armada would be coming my way eventually. I’d just taken Magnolia home after she stayed with me and was on my way into the office. Part of me was glad we were handling this over text before I saw Hank at work. I texted them back before I pulled away from the curb.
I’m sure there’s probably a ton of questions but for now I just need you guys to know that she means a lot to me. We kind of fell into what we have and have been keeping it to ourselves for reasons I’m happy to talk to you about later.
For now though, I just ask that you guys trust that I know what I’m doing and that you give her a chance. She has a lot going on and really is a good person once you get to know her. I’ll explain everything at D and D on Wednesday, okay?
Hank:
You know I’ll back you up no matter what dude. If you’re happy, I’m happy.
Conrad:
Yeah, same. Whatever makes you happy.
Malcolm:
The thing I’m most curious about personally is the size difference. I mean, you’re like a foot and half taller than she is. Does she even need to get on her knees or…?
Talk about her like that again and I’ll deck you.
Hank:
I’ll hold him down while you do.
Conrad:
And I’ll cheer you both on.
Malcolm:
Wow, you guys are no fun when you get into a relationship are you?
Just you and me then I guess, hey Connie?
Conrad:
Fuck you Malcolm.
That Wednesday, all of my friends were at my place promptly at seven o’clock. I’d told them that if they wanted to come over early and ask all their questions, they were more than happy too. I’d texted Magnolia to make sure she was okay if I filled them in on everything and since she’d given me her blessing to go ahead, I was ready to tell them everything.
Malcolm walked in first, followed closely by Conrad. Neither of them said anything as they gave me the side eye and headed towards the dining room table which I’d already laid out with our game pieces. I was about to offer them a beer when I heard the door open and Bailey’s laugh fill the front room and echo down the hallway towards us. I couldn’t help but smile at the contagiousness of her joy. She came bouncing down the hall, pulling Hank behind her as if he wasn’t moving quick enough for her speed of life.
“Hurry up, soldier, we have a mystery girl to get to know,” she hurried, shooting me a smile and raising her brows in excitement.
“I thought we were grilling him alone ?” Conrad said in a snide tone.
“I tried to tell her that—” Hank started before his fiancée cut him off.
“Oh please, you fools wouldn’t even know what questions to ask. If you want the full story on anything, you want a woman around to get the right answers. Me being here is a favor, Conrad,” she spat back towards him. These two had a brother/sister relationship that wouldn’t let up. Conrad would make a comment about something and Bailey would just throw it right back in his face. It’s why she fit in so well with all of us, she wasn’t afraid to hold her own. Hank took his seat at the table where he normally posted up and pulled Bailey down on his lap. All four pairs of eyes were on me.
I guess this is how this is happening.
“Alright, let’s hear it then, what do you wanna know?” I asked as I took the final open seat at the table.
“When did you start dating?” Hank was the first one to speak.
“Officially? New Year’s Eve. There had been a few things that happened before that but I would count our start date as New Year’s Eve.” Thinking back to that night felt like a dream that I conjured up in my mind. Pulling her out of the club. Kissing her on the sidewalk. Doing what I did to her in my bedroom upstairs .
“How did you meet?” This time it was Bailey who spoke, looking at me with wide, dreamy eyes. She had her arms looped around Hank’s neck and he was running his hand along the length of her back. The gesture so small, yet so full of love.
I chuckled before answering, recalling how Magnolia and I first met. “I almost ran her over with my skateboard. I knocked her down on accident, she was crossing the road and not paying attention. It was a whole thing.”
“Was this before or after her family hired you?” Hank inquired. I knew where his head was at because it’s where my head was at not even three months ago.
“ Before ,” I pressed. “It wasn’t until after I went to that last minute meeting at her house that I figured out who she was.”
“Does her family know about you two?” To my surprise, it was Conrad who asked the question. He wasn’t one to normally care about the affairs of others. Shit, it took him months of Bailey coming around before he actually started to not make a big deal about it.
“No, and we would very much like to keep it that way.” I looked at him across the table, then to my other friends who flanked his sides. “I know it’s not ideal, our relationship with me working for her family and her family being…her family.” I swallowed hard thinking about how she’d told me her parents had a very set plan for her life and I knew that a guy like me definitely wasn’t part of that plan. “And we’re sorry for keeping it from all of you but we just thought that the fewer people who knew, the less likely the chance of it getting out, you know? We wanted to keep it as ours for a little bit.”
“Aww that’s so romantic, like Romeo and Juliet,” Bailey cooed, shaking Hank’s shoulders as she swooned. Her eyes got round and she gave me a look that rivaled that of a puppy. “Do you love her?”
Without even skipping a beat I answered her. “Yeah, yeah I do. A lot, actually.” That warranted me another cry from Bailey who jumped up from Hank’s lap and flung her arms around my neck.
“I’m so happy for you Kolbi. I can’t wait to get to hangout with her and get to know her. She seems really sweet and nice. Plus, if she makes you happy, then that makes me happy.” She tucked her lips close to mine and whispered, “You’re my favorite, you deserve this.”
“We’re sitting right here ya know?” Malcolm scoffed from his seat as Hank almost fell backwards in his chair laughing.
“Haha, fuck you guys. I’m Bailey’s favorite,” I exclaimed, pointing to my friends with a cocky smirk.
“Her favorite behind me, isn’t that right, hermosa?” Hank asked with an outstretched arm that she was moving towards again. She adjusted the ring on her left finger and placed a kiss on his forehead.
“Of course, soldier, you’re my favorite forever.”
“Alright, we good now?” I looked at my friends. “Can we start the game?”
“ Please, ” Conrad grumbled with an eye roll, grabbing the die from the center of the board.
“Hold on,” Malcolm interjected. “I have a question.” We all looked at him and waited. “Is the sex good?”
A groan from Conrad, a sigh from Hank, and the sound of my clicking tongue rang out in unison around the table. We all loved Malcolm, but I think we were all secretly hoping he would grow out of his playboy tendencies sooner rather than later. I was about to knock him upside the head when Bailey stood up, crossed her arms, and locked eyes on her target.
“You know what, Malcolm, one day you’re going to meet your match and she’s going to put you in your place. Then you won’t feel the need to make those kinds of comments anymore. You just wait until you feel the way your friends do about a girl, it’s going to knock you on your ass and I can’t wait to watch it happen.” She nodded her head at him and gave him a half-irritated look before dropping down to give Hank another kiss. Then, she walked out of the dining room having put Malcolm in his rightful place.
“Damn, I love that woman,” Hank stated in awe.
“I think I love her too.” I gave him a sideways glance from my chair as we watched her take her normal spot in the living room.
“Can we please play now?”
With Conrad’s request, my three best friends ended their cross examination and dove into the fantasy world I had crafted for us.