Page 56 of Divine Sense

MAGNOLIA

“Hello?” The sound of his groggy voice caused me to stir and turn over to face him as he sat up in bed. Looking at the clock on the wall, it was hardly four in the morning. We had planned on waking up around five to catch our flight back home but the person on the other end of the line had other plans. “No, no, no. No, wehaveto make it backtoday. Not getting home isn’t an option. I don’t care how much I have to pay you, you have to get us home today.”

I rolled over to face him now and scooted closer so that my arm was resting on his chest. He was wide awake, bent over himself in bed and feverishly begging who I assumed was our pilot to get us home. I remembered how he checked the weather multiple times last night before we fell asleep because he was worried about not making it back in time.

“Okay, okay thank you. Yep, we will be there.” He ended the call with a huff and set his phone back down on the bedside table before turning to me. He gave me a warm smile, pulled me in, and placed a sweet kiss on my cheek. “Well, we get to sleep a little longer. Our flight home has been delayed severalhours. That was the pilot, everything’s been grounded until this afternoon.”

“That’s okay, I don’t have anywhere to be. I’m happy to fly out whenever.” I shrugged.

“There’s something else…” He grimaced, pulling his lips back into an apprehensive line.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well, our flight can’t leave until around one thirty, and between the time difference and the flight, we won’t land back in Charleston until seven.”

I wrinkled my brows at him, unsure as to where this was going. “Yeah, and?”

“Hank and Bailey are getting engaged tonight and I promised him I would be there. The engagement is planned for seven thirty which means for us to make it, we would have to go straight there from the airport…” He was watching me, waiting for the dots to connect in my brain. I don’t know if it was because it was so early in the morning or what but it took me a second to get to his point.

“Ah! You’re asking me to meet your friends?” I exclaimed in surprise. I’d heard about his friends plenty of times but because we were keeping things underwraps, I hadn’t gotten the chance to actually meet them. He nodded his head at me, a small grin spreading across his face when he saw that I was excited at the chance to meet them instead of upset by it. “I would love to meet them, oh my gosh. This is so exciting.”

I was going to get to meet his friends.

For most couples, this wouldn’t be a big thing. But for us, it felt huge. Monumental. Like a step in the right direction. I was so scared last night when I shared my fears with him about us and whether or not we could make what we had work. I mean shit, my best friend—who probably loves me more than my parents do—was apprehensive at best when I told her about ourrelationship. There was no way my parents would get on board. He wasn’t the kind of man they wanted me to be with for several reasons. He didn’t come from a prominent family, he wasn’t from the same social background, and my being with him gained them nothing. Unlike Daniel, there was nothing in it forthemif I were with Kolbi. Other than my happiness, which they never seemed to care much about. But last night, he’d told me he loved me, too, and that we would figure it out.

You and me, together.

“You sure you’re okay with it? I understand if you don’t want to, my friends are a lot. I don’t think they’ll care that you’re there but…that means that more people will know about us.”

I flung my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, breathing in his morning smells and reveling in how his strong hand felt on my back.

“Of course I’m sure. They’re your best friends and I would love to meet them.” I pull away from him to look into his eyes so he sees how much I mean what I’m saying. “I can’t wait to meet everyone.”

“Malcolm,relax, we are coming up the elevator now. No, you didn’t hear me wrong I did say ‘we.’ Just hold on for five fucking seconds and I’ll explain it when I see you. We’re heading up now. No I don’t see her down here, it’s just us.”

We were standing in the lobby of a new complex that was recently built a few blocks from Kolbi’s place, about to head up and meet his friends. Thankfully, our flight home had been able to leave on time and since he had charted a private flight, we were able to fly straight through and make up even more time. He sent the driver who’d picked us up at the airport to take ourbags back to his place after he dropped us off here. My stomach was a mix of nerves and excitement. Both because I was about to meet his friends but also because someone was getting engaged. I loved getting to watch other people be in love. As we stood in the elevator, he pulled me closer to him and weaved his fingers through mine. I could feel the nervous energy on him as the doors opened and we headed down the hall.

We started walking towards a door at the end of the hall when another swung open revealing two guys about our age standing inside. They looked nervous, and then confused, bringing their eyes from me, to Kolbi, then back to me.

“Who the hell is she? And where the hell have you been the last four days?” The one with longer dark hair and oval shaped eyes asked. The tattoos painted all over his arms were the first thing I noticed after his hair—he had nice hair for a guy. The other person to his right had ashy blond hair that was a little longer than a standard cut and was wearing a loose fitting button down polo. A stark contrast to his friend who was wearing distressed jeans, a black tank top, and an opened button down shirt. With Kolbi wearing a full suit and me being in a dress we purchased in Aspen, we were completely overdressed by comparison. A phone buzzed from a pocket and the blond haired one pulled it out and read a message.

“No time for questions, they’re coming up. Kolb, shut the door and be quiet.”

The four of us stood inside the empty unit, staged with expensive looking furniture and waited. We all held our breaths as we heard two voices coming down the hall, two girls by the sounds of things. They were arguing, one voice telling the other to hurry up. The guys around me all chuckled softly as if they were all in on the same inside joke. Then, there was a knock on a door down the hall, quickly followed by another knock on the door we were all standing behind. The dark haired guy opened itand let in a girl who had tears in her eyes and was showing off all her teeth with a smile. She looked at all of us, pausing on me for a moment, and then stood just inside the door, leaving it open so we could hear better.

“Bailey Brown, will you make me the luckiest man and be my wife?” I heard the voice of a man I’d never met before ask. My heart nearly exploded in my chest when, at that moment, I looked towards Kolbi and he was already looking back at me.

“Yes, oh my god, yes!” We could hear the soon-to-be bride cry out and the girl who had come into the unit we were hiding in started to cry. She turned to the friend who was covered in tattoos and he gave her a hug, patting her hair down and consoling her as joy slid down her face. She wiped her eyes with her hands before hurrying out of the unit with all of us quickly following behind her.

Walking into the unit, I saw the happy couple kissing and hugging, soaking in the moment of pure bliss together. Assuming the blonde girl wearing the engagement ring was Bailey, I watched as she ran to hug the girl who had been with us in the unit next door and they started to squeal with excitement. Without even needing to ask I knew they were best friends. A girl can spot best friends from a mile away and by the way these two were acting, I could tell they were close.

Kolbi’s hand was in mine as we approached who I guessed was Hank based on how he just proposed and I noticed he was wearing the dress blues of a serviceman. Kolbi hadn’t told me any of his friends were in the service and I was suddenly taken back by the severe need to thank him for his sacrifice.

“Hank, this is Magnolia,” Kolbi said, his deep voice cutting through the joyous sounds coming from the other girls in the room. Hank extended his hand towards me, a look of confusion on his face as his eyes flicked between me and his friend. Hisgaze searched my face as if he knew me, he just wasn’t sure from where.

“Nice to meet you, Magnolia.” He gave me a firm handshake and continued to study me as if I were a puzzle he was struggling to solve.

“And you, too, Hank. Congratulations on your engagement.” I shook his hand and smiled, truly happy and excited for him. As I spoke I watched as his face transformed from dazed and confused to knowing and worried. He looked towards Kolbi again who was proudly standing next to me with a tight smirk on his face.

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