Text Messages

The following is something a friend and I were working on chronicling the dating game and the chase from the man and the woman's perspective, enjoy, and as always feedback is appreciated


She...

Sits at her desk unable to focus

His text is on her screen and she immediately notices

Grabbing the phone but putting the response on delay

Can’t seem desperate; oh the games we play

Choosing her words carefully when she finally responds

Doesn’t want to come across as needy or too strong

So an hour for her response he waits

She presses send then begins to contemplate



He...

Pride won't allow a man to be considered weak;

It's been a minute since they exchanged numbers and he still can't speak.

Several times he's conquered his prey without hearing a voice;

But he's gotta use tact cause he wants more than getting her moist.

So he opted for simplicity, cause he could always just downplay the text;

"I need you worse than jazmine..." letting her decide what comes next.

Then the regret tripled in his mind after he pressed send;

60 minutes later the phone buzzed away, and this chapter came to begin.



She...

Even though the delay was deliberate

The response made her blush when she read it.

Did he mean Aladdin’s Jasmine?

Filled with desperation and passion?

Or the sweet flower with the elusive scent?

Insinuating that for a night her body he wanted to rent?

Nevertheless his words had moved she

But remain cool she had to be

So vague she kept it with an “awww that’s so sweet

”But who's gonna make the first move definitely not she



He....

As he anxiously awaited, he never expected to be at this place

Should he attack full throttle, or attempt to save face

She never struck him as the type to be schoolgirlishly coy

Maybe she was flattered or maybe she labeled him a little boy

It had never been this hard to let her know what was going on

But then again his convos usually involved stilettos handcuffs and a thong

He dismissed a random text that read "let me suck u dry"

And got back to his target with a response that read simply "*sigh*"



She...

She can’t read his tone through these keystrokes

But it’s an easier way to express emotions than through vocal notes

Afraid to read too much into his texts

Afraid to say more than he expects

She wants to know what “sigh” stands for

She needs to know if he wants something more

She’s been ignoring textual advances of her other suitors

Dismissing them as unworthy because she has become the chooser

And she has chosen he

All eggs in one basket foolishly

So she has to play this one smart

If she wants to be the closest thing to his heart

She types the open ended “what do you want from me?"

Ball’s back in his court “SEND” now let’s wait and see.



He...

His mind in circles as he repeated the question out loud,

and began pacing back in forth to erase his mind's cloud.

He couldn’t put in words the response she needed to hear

because when it came down to it, they shared the same fear.

Objects in the heart are sometimes closer than they appear

blinked in his mind in neon, like in a review mirror.

This road was the same, always smooth in the onset

but they ended one less than who began the trip.

He took a chance and let his finger go

typed far more than intended but she just had to know

"Hell, I want everything that is open to be took,

even some of the things that’s locked away because u got shook

by the guy from the past who I remind you of and hope I wouldn't be

I gotta be everything you need, do you trust me?"



She...

Her phone slides off of her fingertips onto the floor

His words had shaken her to her soul’s core

In asking the question, she had expected an evasive answer

Instead his response required her to face her fears like cancer

Re-reading his text at least 100 times

Carefully dissecting each word and reading in between the lines.

Drafting and re-drafting is what had taken her so long

24 hours it took her to finally respond

Not that she had slept a wink all night

But thinking of an answer concise enough to text type

Finally her words begin to flow

Instead of censoring herself; she let it all go:

“Been down this road with him, him, and him

Uncertain about going this route again

Giving you all that is there for the taking

Makes me susceptible to be broken if you’re faking

Trust is to be earned and not given

Something I’ve learned in this life I’m living

The things you want unlocked were once used against me

Now these secrets are kept under lock and key

Can you promise you’re not like the ones before?

And whatever is to come won’t send you out the door

Exactly what I need I’m not truly sure

But we can work up to that if your intentions are pure

Tell me that in us you’re ready to invest

These are my demands and I’ll accept nothing less.”

It was like the last word of a prayer...Amen

At 3am is when she finally pressed send.



He...

Awaken from his slumber by a jab to the chest,

"Tell that heaux you laid up, I'm sick of this mess!!!"

"Who could this be at 3 am?

Fuckin up my sleep pissing off my lil friend"

He told her “don't worry”; thinking “he'll cuss her out later”

But she insisted on inviting herself over so she could return the favor

Now who was disturbing their sleep with apparent bullshit

He looked at his phone and came face to face with the guilty culprit.

After reading the text he sent back "I’ll respond when the sun's up"

Lawd why SHE have to complicate his quest for butt?



She...

The buzzing of the phone jolts her awake

She realizes it’s a call not a text message exchange

She answers the phone expecting it to be HE

The first time she’d hear his voice since the initial meet

To her surprise it’s another familiar voice on her line

Pleading on the other end for some of her time

She politely declined telling him she was tired

When in truth she was starting a new chapter so old workers had to be fired.

She hung up the call and noticed she had missed a text.

Immediately opened it to see what HE had responded

“I’ll respond when the sun’s up” struck her as odd

Reality hit and her head began to nod

He was up but in more ways than one

Probably a little late night action or laid up with someone

She thought, “Be what I need

Nigga please

If you were you’d refrain from being between someone’s knees

I’m only guessing even still I’ll do you before you do me.

If I’m wrong that’s a chance I’m willing to take

This is the cushion prepared for my heart to deter any breaks”

Racking her brain to see what’s to come next

She hits redial; he picks up “If you still want to come over the answer’s yes.”





He...

Struggling to save face from his embarrassing night,

He thinks "I just want her gone, no fuss, no fight.

"Tapping his latest conquest on her tattooed shoulder,

The words he spoke just fell like a boulder.

"Why are we fooling ourselves, it’s nothing but sex,

True, you are a pretty face, but I'm on to the next.

If you are mature you'd say thanx for the memories and quietly leave,

take your stuff from hiding and empty that trashcan of weave.

You see, I found something that's better than you,

I’m in search of wifey and you're only a boo.

"Surprisingly she complied but that was the only good thing,

because as soon as boo pulled off, he gave HER a ring.

Thinking she'd be waiting, he got the shock of the day,

"I’m unable to come to the phone, leave one and have a blessed day."