the makings of a love story

 

Ebony and two of her best friends (Takela and Simone) had decided to attend an All-White Party at one of the newer night clubs in downtown Greensboro, Lotus Lounge. They were all dressed in there cutest white outfits and excited about the event. Unfortunately, and much to their surprise, the event was a bust. Not many people showed up and the crowd was a little younger than they were accustomed to. What a waste of $20, but hey, at least Ebony though she looked cute in her all-white skirt and white, ribbed tank top. Around 1, they decided they had enough and were going to call it a night. As they began to make their way to the parking lot where they had earlier parked their cars, they came across a group sitting in front of one of the stoops along Elm St. Two of the guys asked them if they needed to be walked to their cars as they walked past. Ebony was leading the pack. The three of them coyishly chimed, "No" in unison. Ebony turned her head and caught a glimpse of the lighter skinned guy and the gorgeous smile on his handsome face. His smile made her smile and since the two of them were having this brief eye contact with one another, he says to Ebony, "You; yeah you. What is your name?" Ebony slowed her steps and allowed Takela and Simone to walk in front of her so she could briefly entertain the cute guy. Ebony proceeds to introduce herself and he does the same and they briefly tell each other where they are from (Ebony says Greensboro and the guy says the Virginia Beach area). He asked Ebony how her night had been, and Ebony, being the chatterbox that she is, begins a mini-vent session about having wasted money to attend the event at Lotus Lounge. He is listening to her talk without interruption and even apologizes for her wasteful trip to Lotus Lounge. All the while, Ebony can't help but notice how perfect his smile is. Ebony even recalls looking at his shoes and noticing how clean they were and suited for his outfit; distressed blue jeans and a striped, colorful tee that matched his skin complexion very well. As they get closer to Ebony’s car, the two come to discover that they both just had birthdays; Ebony’s on the 22nd of June and his on the 28th. They giggle at the fact that they are both Cancer’s and agree that Cancers are the best of the zodiac signs. They are now at Ebony’s car and he asks what other plans she has for the evening. Ebony, being the Lady that she is, quickly informs him that she was headed home to get a good night's rest as she had church in the morning. Much to her surprise, he then asks could he attend church with her. Ebony tries to laugh it off because surely he can’t be serious, but he said he would really go if Ebony would pick him up. Still giggling, Ebony decides to take his number down and she programs it in her phone as "Mr. Virginia Beach" because quite frankly, she could not recall his real name.

The next morning when Ebony wakes to prepare for church, she can’t get out of her mind how sincere "Mr. Virginia Beach" seemed about going to church with her. In her mind, she is thinking of all of the reasons as to why he can't attend church with her – She’s never brought a male guest to her church and more importantly; she didn’t even know his name. Ebony calls Takela to get her advice and she understood Ebony’s concern and suggested she call him and explain it was not a good idea. Ebony does exactly that but it took every ounce of courage she had to make the call. When he answered, he sounded quite alert and that made Ebony feel even worse because what if we was dressed and ready to go. Luckily for Ebony, he took the decline easily and suggested Ebony call him later because his brother was having a cookout and he would like her to attend. She said she would, but in all honesty, Ebony was thinking she would probably never talk to this guy again in her life. 

As the day goes on, Ebony attends a family cookout and after dropping her Mother off, reality sets in—Ebony is home alone as the kids were in Georgia for the summer and it was the Fourth of July. Who wants to be alone on the Fourth of July when everyone else is out enjoying themselves? She then decides to call the guy without a name, at least not one that she could recall accurately. He answers, much to her surprise, and attempts to convince Ebony to come to his brother's cookout. Ebony declines because she felt attending a cookout with people she did not know, including the guy without a name, would be rather awkward. Instead, she convinces him to join her to watch the annual fireworks display in the city. He agrees, so Ebony later picks him up from his brother's house and off they go. It is around this time that Ebony finally learns his name; Steve, Steven Matthew to be exact.

They sat in the back trunk area of Ebony’s Chrysler Pacifica after parking alongside the road and begin to watch the fireworks. They weren't there long before Steve says he needs to use the bathroom. Well, umm, okay. Ebony drives him to the nearest McDonald's and once he returns to the vehicle, she explains that the fireworks show is almost over so maybe they could go downtown and catch the rest of the show from the Center City Park and just people watch. They make it to the park and sit on the stairs because it was very crowded; thus no benches available. Ebony sits on the very top stair and Steve sits about two stairs below her. They talked for what seemed like hours about everything from their kids, Ebony’s dogs, their careers, future goals, his family, and the fact they were both Cancers. Throughout the night, every time Ebony would get a good gaze of Steve and his perfect smile, she would blush. She would try to turn her head, but he would catch her blushing and that just made her blush even more. They did that to each other the entire night; it was so cute and refreshing. At one point during this blushing session, Steve leaned in far enough to let Ebony know he wanted a kiss. She obliged. Ebony would later say it felt like fireworks were going off in her heart during that very moment. Unfortunately, they were being forced to leave the park because it was closing time. As they walked backed to the car, Steve would later confess he was intentionally allowing Ebony to lead the way up the stairs of the parking deck so he could get a better view of her legs (and who knows what else…*smile*).

Ebony would later write the following in her diary about this night: Tonight was like none other for me. I met a gorgeous Man, almost too gorgeous, who was so warm and affectionate. My date with him left me with a feeling I had never experienced. I will never look at fireworks the same; thank God for this chance encounter with Steve. Happy 4th!