Spoken Word: Part II

"Good Evening, I'm Kevin Lowe."

One sentence and I don't know how the microphone in front of him didn't melt right there and then. Lord knows, every pair of panties in the place did. 

He continued as the crowd attempted to regain composure.

"I came in here tonight with the intention to recite my piece In The Rain---"

Three women down front exploded in cheer.

"Yes, daddy, in the rain, give it to me in the rain!" one pleaded. 

"In the rain!" another cried in orgasmic agreement.

Kevin Lowe flashed them a perfectly pristine, white smile.

"I'm sorry, ladies. I truly do apologize but my mind is preoccupied. You see, I didn't think this would happen to me ever again but, I think I just fell in love."

His eyes were glued to my own as we both blocked out the gasps engulfing us. 

"I've never been one to believe in love at first sight and I promise you this was not my intention but will you permit me the space to speak freely?"

The audience clapped and snapped and nodded in allowance. 

He looked around the room, made eye contact with more than just one, more than just me.

"Like I said, I never believed in love at first sight. Love at first sight was a fairy tale, a legend for teenagers and sad singles, a myth that traps you. Because if you've ever been in love, like I have, you would know that love is patient. Love is time. Love is a choice. Love is dedication. You see, I'm a man. I'm a grown man and these are things I know. I am not bamboozled on the fourteenth of February yet know how to participate in the act of loving a women with all of my self, three hundred and sixty five days a year. I know how to cherish that love, preserve it, mold it, water it, finesse it and above all else, never forsake it. I'm a man. I'm a grown man and these are the things I know. Love does not come over night. Love takes time.

But when I say I think I just fell in love please believe that it is true. One look was all it took but best believe I stole two. She caught me by complete surprise as lovers often do. Her hair swept up, her face hidden, her body turned away. I couldn't see her eyes but my heart sensed her soul was here to stay. 

I hate to sound corny. I hate to sound cliche. But when she finally turned and faced me, she took my breath away. 

Could one woman possess such absolute beauty?

My mind began to race.

I saw her in a home we shared. I saw her climbing into bed next to me, on top of me, me inside of her. I heard her moan and I felt her grab my hand. I saw myself take that hand and guide her in our dance. I saw our children. Three in all. One had my eyes, another her smile, the baby, a precious little girl, replicating her mother's kind soul. 

I took one look at the curve of her hips, the joy in her smile and the light in her eyes and my future became clear. 

This wasn't my choice, y'all. Like I said, I never believed in love at first sight."

Kevin Lowe freed the microphone from its stand, walked off the stage and made his way towards the crowd. He continued to ration out eye contact among the room of starving women, desperate for a taste. He walked to the left and right, made his way through his admirers. Made his way towards me.

"Now, I don't know if it was love at first sight for her. She didn't notice me when I first saw her."

The crowd scoffed in disbelief.

"It's alright though. I enjoyed that moment on my own. That moment of total peace and clarity. That moment of falling in love. Would she love me back? I had no idea. In that moment it didn't matter to me. She didn't need to. I would just be grateful for that space and time. I felt no fear, no nerves. I just looked at her and thanked God for letting me know what irrational love felt like.

I was thankful for the wave of nonsensical certainty that tingled in my toes, snaked up my legs, pulsed through my groin and melted in my heart. If she didn't feel the same, if all I ever had was that one moment of true and ridiculous love, well, I could die a happy man, a man who'd experienced something most never knew existed. If I live the rest of my life with the simple memory of her in that dress and that smile, well, shit, what else is there, right?

But you know what, y'all? I'm a greedy mother fucker. I can't even lie. So before I leave here tonight, before I hand over this mic, there's something I just have to know---"

Kevin Lowe stood directly in front of me. I tried to steady my quivering legs to no avail, praying the dozens of eyes on me didn't notice. 

He lowered his body down to bended knee, took my left hand with his right and steadied the microphone in front of parted lips.

There was only one unified gasp this time, an audible expression on behalf of my speechless self. 

"To the woman who stopped me in my tracks and left me breathless before I even learned her name," he continued, "May I buy you a drink?"

To that, I only had one thing to say.