Monica

The dedication to your vocation.
The passion towards your craft.
The commitment to your causes.
The volunteering of your time.
The grace you offer towards others.
As I watched from afar, I knew I wanted more.
Before my heart flickered even once, the chance to see you each day illuminated my sunrises.
As I watched from afar, I knew I wanted more.
I wanted much, much more.
 
The hellos in passing turned into breakroom conversations.
The break room conversations led to the exchange of phone numbers.
The exchange of phone numbers led to a barrage of live texting.
The live texting turned into longer-than-anticipated video chats.
The video chats became meetups.
The meetups became pickups.
The pickups led to initiations to come inside.
The initiations to come inside led to invitations to stay over.
The stayovers become the constant.
The constant transformed us.
 
You were the one who I read each new story to first.
I was the one who you sang each new song to first.
You were the one who tasted each new recipe first.
I was the one who you practiced each speech to first.
There is so much comfort in knowing we didn’t have to pretend to be the best versions of ourselves.
As ‘I’ became ‘we’ and ‘me’ became ‘us,’ I was shaping into the person I had always strived to be.
 
The gleam in your eyes.
The joyfulness in your voice.
The gentleness of your hands.
The smell of your skin.
The taste of your lips.
My heart has never ceased thumping, and your radiance has decorated my sunsets ever since.
As our fingers interweaved, I felt a comfortable tenderness I hadn’t ever known. 
And I never intend to let go.
 
Our interactions became a lot more frequent.
Opportunities for us to check in and connect were built into our daily schedules.
Our conversations became far more profound.
Through our carved-out time, we developed into something incredibly purposeful.
Emotionally, we allowed ourselves to be defenseless, trusting in each other to guide our souls.
Our physical intimacy became much more intense, leaving us spent, though yearning for more.
Waking up in each other’s arms became our new favorite thing.
Unfiltered dreams, hopes, desires, fears, doubts, and hesitations were effortlessly shared.
The sharing became the constant.
The constant transformed us.
 
You are the one with whom I permit myself to be most vulnerable.
I am the one who you trust with your fragile, sensitive heart.
You are the one who I allow to be known deeply, profoundly, and without a filter.
I am the one you deem worthy of furthering our profound connection to levels previously unknown.  
There is so much comfort in knowing we didn’t have to pretend to be the best versions of ourselves.
As ‘I’ became ‘we’ and ‘me’ became ‘us,’ I began morphing into the person I always wanted to be.