The Older Man

I felt like a little kid as I got dressed in my apartment to go out on my big date with Q (name changed to protect the innocent). I literally changed my outfit 6 times, convinced that each one made me look my age. After an eternity I settled on a flirty black summer dress with matching accessories and heels that gave me some more height (he's damn near 6 feet).

I could literally hear my heart beating when he rung my doorbell at promptly 6 p.m.. I gasped a little when I opened the door, he looked even better than I remembered. He was dressed in a crisp gray suit with a pink shirt (not every man can wear pink, but he looked good) and he smelled like...the best thing...ever, and on top of all that he had a fresh shape up. My knees went weak..no really.


He handed me six white roses and I thought I was going to die at that point, I couldn't remember the last time a man had brought me roses. We were out the door and settled into his shiny black Mercedes 2008 C230 Sport Sedan (yea..dude is paid) and sped down 95 headed towards downtown D.C.. He said he was taking me to one of his favorite black owned restaurants and that he had a little surprise for me after dinner.



We discussed everything over dinner; what we wanted out of life, our family, our careers, and our past relationships. He was 31, had been in 3 serious relationships, he was now looking to settle down, a home owner, and he loved his career (he's in marketing). I shrunk into the chair, when I told him my stats; 1 serious relationship, happily dating, a renter (lol) and couldn't settle on one career. He laughed (a little to hard) and told me that he would love to help me get some direction.


Although I was happy he seemed to "care" so much, I couldn't help but feel so young as he went on and on about how much he had learned in his twenty something lifetime. I on the other hand was still learning, still trying to figure it all out, and still asking a million questions. He said I was at the age where I could do anything in the world I wanted to and strongly encouraged me to invest in a home. I smiled and shook my head, explaining that I'm just not ready for all of that. Hell, I can barely get my head around this rent and car note, let alone a mortgage and the money it takes to upkeep a house. He said, we could work on it "together," my heart skipped a beat.



After dinner, we headed down to a lounge where they played great jazz music and had strong (cheap) drinks. We laughed, danced, and had a great time. I don't know how, but he manged to have the band play 3 Beyonce songs (I was in heaven of course) and as the night went on I felt myself liking him more and more. When he dropped me off to my place it was well past 2 a.m., I just knew he was going to try something slick to come in, but he didn't. Instead, he walked me to my door, hugged me, and gently kissed me on the lips. He literally took my breath away...


The next morning I woke up to a text that said, "Goodmorning beautiful, I hope you have a wonderful day, can't wait to see you again."



I kept a smile on my face, the entire day.



He isn't like guys my age, there are no games (so far), no confusion, and no wondering what's next. He's consistent (something that's unheard of for the 20 something male). My biggest problem is that I never want him or anyone else to say that they "upgraded" me. Like one of my favorite writers says; I want us to build together.