Put The Phone Down For Love

Looking at the handsome man sitting next to me on the couch, I started to feel my lips curl upward into a playful smile. I couldn’t help it, it just happened naturally. Looking at him reminded me of all the wonderful memories I had of him. All the dates and inside jokes that we shared over the years. I couldn’t believe that I had gotten so lucky with him.

“What are you smiling like that for?” He asked, even though he himself had an equally large smile across his face, “Do I have food in my teeth or something?”

I laughed and rested my head on his shoulder. At the end of our very first date, he tried to kiss me goodbye but I had to inform that he had some food stuck in his teeth. It became our inside joke that he always had food stuck in his teeth and the fact that he was still mentioning it to this day meant a lot to me. It indicated to me that he had a whole wealth of memories from our relationship. He remembered everything, even the smallest interactions. 

I managed to compose myself following my fit of laughter to find that he had wrapped his arm snugly around my waist, securing me close to his body. There was a certain je ne sais quoi about that moment, but I just felt so filled with love. My body felt flush and warm and before I knew it, I was pressing my lips against his cheek, giving him a loving kiss. His fingers ran delicately over my torso. I was wearing a maroon-colored satin mini-dress that was ruched. It was soft to the touch, and its short length showed off my legs. I was also wearing a black high-heels. I already felt confident and sexy in my ensemble, but seeing his eyes explore the length of my body made me feel even sexier and more confident.

“I promise there’s nothing in your teeth. I was just smiling because you look so handsome tonight,” I reassured him. 

“Enough about me,” He joked, brushing his hand over leg, “I want to hear about you. How was your day? How did it go at work?” He asked me.

My smile grew even wider as I prepared to tell him the good news. He knew that I had been planning to ask my boss for a raise at work. Today was the day that I was supposed to do it. Even though I was confident in myself and my abilities, he helped me practice what I would say. He helped me write down all the bullet points of achievements I would bring up as a coup de grace to my boss when I asked him for the raise. I could tell that he was excited to hear how it went, even though the glint in his eyes suggested that he already knew the answer. “I made sure to talk to him when he wasn’t busy, and today he seemed to be in a really good mood, so that encouraged me. I pulled him aside and I brought up all of the things that we talked about. I mentioned my achievements and how our branch has been exceeding the company’s goals ever since I joined and after giving him my whole speech he decided to give me a raise!” I exclaimed with glee. He returned my excitement, congratulating me and telling me about how he knew I could do it. We were in a deep embrace, and his mouth was right next to my ear when I heard him whisper “See, babe? I knew you could do it. That is so awesome, and I am so happy for you. You totally deserve this raise.”

We pulled away from the embrace and stared lovingly into each others’ eyes before sharing another kiss on the lips. Suddenly his eyes lit up and he said “Oh, I almost forgot. I got you something because I had a gut feeling that you were going to get this raise.”

He reached behind the couch and produced a gift bag. I was so surprised, I couldn’t even begin to guess what was in the bag. I looked inside and, to my surprise, it was a potted plant. But it wasn’t just any potted plant. It was a baby rhododendron plant. It looked so snug and cute in its pot. I couldn’t believe that he had gotten me a rhododendron, I had only ever mentioned that it was my favorite plant on one occasion. I have loved rhododendrons ever since I was a child. The first time I saw one was when my parents moved into a new house and the previous homeowners had a garden with rhododendron plants growing in it. I immediately took a liking to them because of how beautiful they were. My parents wanted to dig them up out of the garden and replace them with other plants, but when they saw how enamored I was with them, they kept them in the garden. I would come home from school and water them, making sure they were thriving. Ever since then, I have received rhododendrons as gifts during the most important occasions of my life. I got one when I got my first job, when I got accepted into the college of my dreams, and now when I got an important pay raise. Just as I was about to thank him for the gift and give him another kiss, I heard a high-pitched ringing coming from his pocket. The shrill tone of his ringing cell phone cut through the sentimental mood we were in. His expression soured into disappointment as he reached into his pocket to retrieve the device. Looking at who was calling him, he sighed and told me “It’s a work call. I’m so sorry, babe, I have to take this.”

I looked back and forth between the beautiful flowers he bought me and the phone in his hand. He had been letting his work consume him more and more and I didn’t like it. The time he spent at work was time that he didn’t spend with me. We set aside this evening so we could enjoy each others’ company. I knew I had to speak up and say something. “Babe, put the phone down, it’s probably not that important. Whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow,” I implored him. 

My heart soared with delight when I saw him put the phone down. He placed it in silent mode and told me “You’re right. I’m so sorry for the interruption, but now we have the whole evening to ourselves.”

We giggled and I thanked him for the beautifully thoughtful gift. He leaned in close to me and we shared a deep, loving kiss. There was nobody else I would rather spend the evening with, and I was so glad I was able to convince him to put the phone down and spend time with me.