Chapter 14: "The One Who Saw Me (In Cotton)"
I never thought I'd fall in love again — not after everything.
After James. After Simone. After nearly burning my panties in a moment of weakness. Love felt like a gamble I wasn't ready to play again.
But then came Elijah.
We met at the empowerment summit — the same one where I gave my first public speech about body positivity and cultural pride. He was sitting in the second row, scribbling notes furiously in a leather-bound journal, glasses slightly sliding down his nose as he listened to every word I said.
Afterward, people swarmed me for photos and questions, but I kept catching him lingering near the back, watching with this quiet kind of admiration that made my heart skip.
Eventually, he approached.
"I just wanted to say," he said, voice smooth like jazz, "you reminded me why we need more voices like yours."
That was it.
That was how it started.
He didn't ask for my number right away. Didn't try too hard. Just smiled, handed me a copy of his book (he was a writer), and walked off like he already knew something I didn't — that I'd be thinking about him later.
And I did.
A lot.
So when he slid into my DMs a few days later with a simple message —
"Still rocking those legendary granny panties?"
— I almost dropped my phone.
Not because he was making fun of me.
But because he remembered.
And he liked it.
Our conversations flowed effortlessly. We talked about music, books, our favorite childhood memories. He asked me about Grandma's parties, about the meaning behind my style, about what made cotton so special to me.
I told him the truth.
"That underwear isn't just fabric. It's heritage. It's comfort. It's rebellion wrapped in lace."
He responded with a single line that made my soul shiver:
"You wear your power close to your skin. That's beautiful."
From that point on, I knew Elijah wasn't like the others.
He didn't want me to change. He didn't want to tone me down or shrink me into someone smaller. He wanted me exactly as I was — glitter, sass, cotton, and all.
And that meant everything.
By the time we went on our first date, I was already wondering if maybe, just maybe, I had finally found someone who could handle my sparkle without flinching.
And Elijah? He was ready.
More than ready.
He was waiting.