I T HAS BEEN ABOUT A WEEK since my encounter with Rome at the beach. Honestly, I have been looking at his card endlessly, debating on if I should actually call him. Each time I would hype myself up to dialing his number; my pride would stop me from pressing the call button. I do not know—it is as if he’s just too good to be true.
I even rehearsed what I would say if he had picked up the phone. It goes a little something like—Hey Rome, this is Noni. I thought about what you said at the beach and I would love to take you up on that opportunity to learn more about each other. Honestly, I have not stopped thinking about you since the first day I walked into that conference room and our eyes connected.
Then I would snap out of it and return to reality knowing that every word that I had just rehearsed would more than likely never be said. It was against my rules to be that open—not just with Rome but any man.
After my last relationship, I created a set of rules to ensure that I would never be hurt to that magnitude again. The first rule is to never give all of myself. The second rule is to treat any man who approaches me with no care for his feelings—until one man can prove that he is different. The third rule is to play him before he plays me.
Is it fair? No—but it also wasn’t fair for me to constantly be hurt to the point that I had given all of me away and never even got to experience what real love felt like.
As I sat there daydreaming, holding Rome’s business card in my hand I began to wonder if maybe I was being too uptight. Suddenly, I was forced back into reality when there was light knock on my office door.
“Good morning Noni! You’re looking nice and toned. How was the morning jog?” Kim said smiling.
I stood up and walked from behind my desk. “Girl, do you remember that marketing executive from Higher Level that was here a few weeks ago?” I said smiling at Kim.
Kim’s face instantly lit up.
“Girl, yes—you’re talking about that guy Jacob right? No offense but that Rome guy was so damn attractive. You should have gotten him Noni.” Kim said as she giggled.
I grabbed Rome’s business card from my desk and flashed it in front of Kim’s face. I can see her face had instantly exploded from excitement.
“Oh—my—God—Noni, have you called him yet?” Kim exclaimed as she stood up from the chair.
“Not yet—I honestly don’t know what to say. He’s such a sweet guy.” I said as I walked toward the window of my office and began to gaze down upon the city.
I can tell Kim’s curiosity was growing as I turned around to see Kim leaning on the edge of my desk.
“Sweet guy?—is that an implication that you guys have already had some type of encounter other than that first work meeting?” Kim said with a giggly smirk on her face.
I ran both hands through my hair while sighing loudly.
“Well—we did have a slight encounter about a week ago. As you know, each morning I take a morning jog at about 7am—before I come to the office. So I was watching this Steve Harvey episode about love and…” I said before Kim cut me off.
I already knew what she about to say.
“Girl—will you skip to the good part! I want all the juicy details.” Kim said smiling as she deviously grinned at me.
I could not help but to crack up laughing—knowing that I interrogate Kim the same way when she tells me about her potential mates.
“Okay—okay girl—well to fast forward the story, I was running down the boardwalk and I usually stop at the 5-mile mark which is typically where I grab a Dark Chocolate Spice smoothie from my favorite smoothie shop…” I explained before Kim cut me off again.
“Then let me guess you bought that smoothie—turned around and spilt it on him. Then you offered to help him clean himself up and the two of you kissed—now you’re set for your first date—right?” Kim said smiling uncontrollably.
“No—girl—you are hilarious. What happen is—after I got my smoothie I walked toward the sand and was just watching the waves gently collide into one another until I felt a hand touch my waist. I turned around and there was Rome. We talked for a few minutes and he gave me this card—then I came to work.” I said smiling waiting for Kim to verbally explode.
Kim’s facial expression instantly became bombarded with a mere sense of curiosity as she screamed, “Girl, you better give me ALL the details! No holding anything back! I said fast forward to the good part, not the end credits.”
I started laughing because I knew she would say something like that.
“What was he even doing there? Does he live nearby you?” Kim said curiously, as she sat back down in the chair in front of my desk.
“Well—actually he was on his morning jog as well. He actually lives about 6-miles from the smoothie shop that I go to every morning. This morning he just decided to jog down the boardwalk a little further than normally before heading back—and that’s when he ran into me. He asked me to give him a shot to get to learn more about me and before he could even finish I accused him of being a player, only wanting my body, not being able to see the real me, how I wasn’t going to be hurt like I was in the past, and how he was just attracted to my looks.” I said placing my hands on my forehead as I sunk into the chair behind my desk.
I could hear the loud sigh of disappointment come from Kim.
“Noni—you have to stop doing that! You are going to be alone and single if you do not stop pushing every man out of your life. What happen to you in the past—is not your fault.” Kim said calmly.
I knew Kim was about to get really deep and speak some truth—a truth that I know I needed to hear. It’s nothing like having friends who tell you what you need to hear and not always what you want to hear—which is why I didn’t expect anything less than complete honesty from what Kim was about to say.
“Kim—that’s not all Rome said. After I accused him of being like every other guy, basically a player—he said something that literally touched my soul. He said something that no guy has ever said to me before.” I said looking towards Kim.
“What did he say Noni? I’m dying to know.” Kim smiled taking a seat at the edge of my desk.
I took a second to try to remember his exact words so Kim could feel the same magic I did when I first heard them.
“He said that when he looks at me he sees more than just my beauty—more so that he’s able to see resilience and determination. He also said that he could see that I have been hurt and that I carry my past pain and experiences around with me. Then he looked me in the eyes and said that he sees a queen— one that he admires. He even said that he admired how I stood up for something I believed in as I pushed to propel Freedom Unveiled to new heights. He continued by saying that he sees a woman that every man wants physically but has never taken the time to get to know intellectually or emotionally. Then he ended this romantic speech by saying—Noni—I’ve seen you since the first day that you walked into that office.” I said smiling at Kim.
Looking at Kim’s facial expression—I knew she was a sucker for the romantics just like I was—which probably explains why her eyes seemed to be getting watery.
“O-M-G NONI!!! That is absolutely beautiful!!!! You are going to give this man a chance even if I have to dial the number for you. I have never heard of a man so open and expressive with his feelings. Girl—that is a blessing and you need to lower these ridiculous standards—before you lose a really good man.” Kim said gently touching my hand.
I stood up and walked back over to the window—smiling to cover up the tears that wanted to fall from my eyelids.
“You know what Kim—you’re absolutely right. I’m going to call Rome right now and see if he wants to do dinner tonight.” I said walking back over to my desk.
I picked up Rome’s card from my desk and sighed one last time—as Kim sat back comfortably in her seat waiting to hear what I would say once Rome answered the phone.
I grabbed my phone and slowly began to dial Ro
me’s number.
I instantly began trying to visualize what I would actually say once he had answered the phone.
However, after dialing Rome’s number, I instantly forgot everything I thought I was going to say. It was as if my mind had completely blanked out.
Then a few seconds later—I was brought back to reality when I heard a voice on the other side of the line say, “Hello.”
I looked at Kim, as I began to pace back and forward.
“Hey Rome, this is Noni.” I said nervously.
I can tell that Rome was extremely happy that I called by the excitement in his voice as he began to speak, “Hey Noni! I’m surprised you actually decided to call. Honestly—I was beginning to lose hope.”
I smiled and threw a thumbs-up gesture at Kim, indicating that the conversation had started off great.
“Put it on speaker Noni.” Kim whispered.
I nodded at Kim as I moved the phone away from my ear and hit the speaker button.
“Hey, you still there Noni?” Rome asked.
“Yes, I’m here Rome. Sorry about that I was closing the door to my office.” I replied.
“So you’re keeping me a secret already or nah?” Rome said giggling.
“I see you got jokes—Rome. In addition, yes I’m keeping you a secret—wouldn’t want all your little girlfriends coming after me—right? I said smiling at Kim.
I can tell that Kim was enjoying every second of this conversation by the overwhelming smile on her face.
“Oh—so I see you have jokes too. My only little girlfriend is going to be you Noni—so I guess we’re going to have to let all those guys that have been chasing you know that you’re officially off the market now.” Rome said laughing.
I looked over at Kim to see that she had completely sunken into her seat as she jokingly fanned herself.
I couldn’t help but smile at how cute Rome’s last response was—but knowing me—it was just a matter of seconds before I said something to make myself seem unavailable again.
“That’s so cute and nice of you to say but it’s going to take a lot of work before I go making those types of announcements Mr. Rome.” I said melting into the chair behind my desk.
I literally could not stop blushing.
“Well, I guess I better get to work then. So with that being said—Noni—I was wondering if you’d allow me to take you on a date. We don’t even have to call it a date—maybe lunch, a walk at the beach, dinner—whatever you’d like to do—I mean only if you’re okay with telling all those other guys who have been anxiously chasing you that they may have to wait a little longer.” Rome said as he began to chuckle.
I looked at Kim who was now standing up on her feet silently screaming, “Say yes!”
I took a second before answering to try to collect my thoughts.
“Sure Rome I’d love to go on a date with you. By the way—the term date does sound nice—so let’s call it that. Also—I do agree with you—guess I’ll have to tell those other men that have been anxiously chasing me that I’ll have to get back to them; just as you’ll have to call all those women that have been chasing you and let them know that I don’t to like to share.” I said smiling sexily into the phone.
I looked up at Kim who had erupted into a silent applause.
“I love the sound of that. You have me in my office smiling so hard right now. To tell you the truth, I’ve made those calls the moment I first laid eyes on you in that conference room.” Rome said.
“Awww—that’s really sweet of you! It sounds like our plans are official now—how about you pick me up at 7pm? I’ll text you the address.” I said smiling.
“Best words I’ve heard all day—I cannot wait to learn more about you and step into Noni’s world.” Rome said.
“You’re so sweet—I’m excited as well. However, my boss is summoning me into her office, so I have to go but we’ll see