I met him thru my bestie, He was her Cousin. Khali Talked Highly about her Cousin James, I had to know for myself what Kinda person he was. She insists I call him up, but I didn't know if I was ready to date yet. My mother surely didn't Like the idea of me being around boys. I was 17 at the time and she gave me hell about it. Khali & I went to the same school and we had sleepovers almost every weekend. I let her convince me into calling James up. I probably wouldn't have dialed his number if I was home. But since I was staying the week with Khali, I felt comfortable. I dial his number, waving to Khali to leave her room for a moment to have privacy. It was my first time calling a guy up, I was a little nervous. As Khali walks down the hall to her dad's Pool Room, James picks up. His voice was soothing as he says “Hello, How Can I be of service”. He seemed so respectful and spoke with intelligence. He was A gentleman throughout the whole discussion. We chatted about school, our hobbies, And How I got his number. I explained to him, his cousin had great things to say about him and thought we'd hit it off. My mother forbade me to date until I finished school. He asked if he could meet her, I laughed and told him not for a while. I wanted to ease the conversation when I spoke to her about a guy I was interested in. Khali comes in, it was her room so what could I have said? I tell James I have to go but will be calling him later on. He tells me before he hangs up to tell his cousin, my best friend, that he is grateful to her for handing his number out. I laughed, Khali could hear him do to her standing right next to me, she blurts out, “You're Welcome”. After putting the phone down, Khali grills me, asking me what all we talked about and if I could see myself with him. I told her I'd have to meet him first and maybe have a few more conversations. “I liked what I heard from him, He was such a gentleman and well-spoken”. Khali giggled in happiness. She knew we would work out.

After I left Khali’s house to go home, James was all I could think about! He made an impression on me. My mother stood in the doorway of my room grilling me about Staying at Khali’s as often as I do. She went on for an hour but I heard nothing she was saying, my thoughts were focused on James. Finally, she had left my doorway. I immediately fetch the house phone, I wasn't a teenager that had a cellular phone. Thank goodness it was wireless, I could just run into my room with it. I dialed James, I was jonesing to talk to him more. He picks up on the first ring, the Same greeting as we first spoke. “Hi, it's me, Ericka”. He snickered. I've been waiting for you to call, he replied. We talked for hours. We talked about everything and anything. Weeks went by, we talked on and off without my Mothers knowledge. James calls me around night, he knew my moms would be sleeping. One day after school James calls, and why he was calling before dark was an enigma to me. I barely got in the door, My mother picks up. Nervous about what she was going to say to him and me. He tells her that we met at school which was a tiny lie, he asks her if he could take me out for dinner and Bowling! She felt so great about him coming to her first, and she agrees. I'm waiting for her to hang up on him, She hands it to me. “Will Discuss This Later Dear”, she comments as she walks away. I take the phone to my room. Scared of what she was going to say later. After hanging up with him, my mom says to get ready. She wasn't upset. I get so excited. I get ready but as I am, I slip and hit my head, and a pump knot forms on my forehead. His first time seeing me, I had a huge bump to share with him. A true story, glad to be sharing.