Real Conversations
The morning light shined bright through Angela’s apartment blinds as she reread Melvin’s text from last night. Three months of getting to know each other, and finally—finally—she had found someone that wanted who understood what she was looking for.
At thirty-two, Angela had kissed enough frogs to know a prince when she saw one. She wasn’t about games or situationships anymore. Life is too short and she was too grown for anything that wasn’t headed in the direction she was going.
Her phone beeped with a new message.
Melvin: Good morning, beautiful. I’m still thinking about your message from last night. You told—no lies. So if we’re going to do this, we’re doing it the right way. Exclusive. Real. The way it should be.
Angela smiled, her heart doing that little thing it hadn’t done in years. She messaged back:
Angela: Good morning, handsome. I’m glad we’re on the same page. I’ve been waiting for someone who wants what I want—something that could last forever.
Melvin: Is that what you’re looking for? Forever?
Angela paused at her kitchen counter, tea in hand. The question hung in the air. She thought about all the almost-relationships, the guys who wanted her time but not her heart, the ones who talked about keeping options open.
Angela: I’m looking someone who chooses me every day like I choose them. Someone who believes that what we build together is worth protecting.
Three dots appeared, disappeared, then appeared again. Finally:
Melvin: I want to be that man for you. I want to build something that lasts.
Later that evening, Melvin picked her up for dinner at their favorite spot—nothing fancy, a Caribbean place where they could talk without interruptions. He looked good in his polo black shirt, but it was the way he looked at her that sent chills through her body.
Melvin: “So, (reaching across the table to take her hand). Tell me what forever looks like to you.”
Angela felt the warmth of his palm against hers.
Angela: “Honestly? It looks like a easy Sunday mornings where we don’t want to leave bed, not because we’re being you know, but because we’re talking about everything and nothing. Like meeting each other’s families, having someone to call when good things happen or when everything falls apart.”
Melvin nodded slowly.
Melvin: “I would be proud to Introducing you as my woman, not my friend or whatever we’re calling it.”
Angela: “Exactly. I’m tired of people who want all the benefits of a relationship but none of the commitment. I want someone who’s excited about the commitment part.”
Melvin: Oh, that’s me. I want to be the one you call on. Your knight in shining armor.
The restaurant was filling up as people sat around them, but Angela felt like they were in their own little world.
Angela: “Are you asking me to be your girlfriend, Melvin Washington?”
He grinned, that dimple appearing in his left cheek.
Melvin: “I’m asking you to be my everything, Angela Marie.”
Later, walking hand in hand back to his car, Angela felt something she hadn’t felt in years: certainty. Not the desperate kind that comes from trying to force something that isn’t there, just to get in your pants. But the quiet one’s well that’s another story.
As they were slowly stopping at the red light.
Angela: “You know what I love about this?”
Melvin: “What’s up?”
Angela: “We didn’t have to convince each other to want this. We both just… do.”
Melvin lifted their joined hands and kissed her knuckles.
Melvin: “That’s how you know it’s real, baby. Both of us want the same thing instead of one person chasing and the other person running away you know.”