A Love Worth Waiting For

It all began in August 2006 at North Carolina A&T State University. I was a freshman at Bennett College for Women, and Earl was a freshman at A&T. Although we didn’t know each other yet, we had a mutual friend who played matchmaker in a way we didn’t expect. One day, that mutual friend asked if my friend and I wanted to walk to A&T to meet up with his friend, Earl. We said yes, and before we knew it, we were walking across the railroad tracks and ended up at Curtis. Now, here’s where it gets interesting. On the way, the mutual friend gave me a little “warning.” He said, “Before we go to Earl's room, just know he loves light-skinned women, but he’s a player—so don’t talk to him if he tries anything!” Naturally, I kept my guard up when we walked into Curtis and into Earl's room, where I was introduced to Earl for the very first time. After that initial meeting, Earl and I didn’t see each other again while we were both in Greensboro, North Carolina. We texted here and there throughout that year, but it eventually stopped. Why? Because Earl knew he wasn’t ready to do right, so he decided to spare me. Fast forward a few years, and life brought us back together in the most random way. I was at Walmart, minding my own business, when I suddenly saw him. My first thought was, “Oh my god, there’s that guy!” Without hesitation, I turned around and started walking the other way because I just knew he was going to try to talk to me (he swears he wasn’t, but I know the truth LOL!) Fast forward even further—many, many years later to 2018. Earl and I hadn’t seen or spoken to each other in ages. One day, I posted a picture on Facebook, and out of the blue, he slid into my DMs, and from that message, our real love story began!