***k buddy

"Talk to me," he says. There's no hello or random statement to ease into a conversation. You could picture me, sitting in a space working away at something and suddenly interrupted by a familiar man standing in my doorway. We speak playfully about something and share a laugh. I ask him how he's doing.

"It's in the e-mail. Read and enjoy."

"Yeah, I was just trying to be polite and not talk about myself." I laugh at my sheer honesty. It's taken a while to get this comfortable with him.

"You should, that's why I said 'talk to me', because you should".

I sit up and look at him for a moment. He doesn't want a polite conversation. He doesn't care what topic I pick. All he wants is talk. There are two things I do well; talking is the other one. So I give it to him. I don't think about the past, I don't think about the non-existent future. I just let it all loose, chattering away and holding nothing back for 40 minutes until he says he has to go.

I used to suck at good-bye, always wondering when the next time would be. This time, I don't even care if there is a next time. This was just so perfect I'm afraid a next time couldn't be anything but a let down. That, and I know that there will certainly be a next time. After a year and a half of dancing around I finally know.

*Every girl should have a good talk buddy.