A Thousand Ways I Say—I Want You

There are a thousand ways I say “I want you.”
This is one of them.

There are a thousand ways I say “I want you.”
This is one of them.
For the woman who’s loved a man before he was ready—I won’t pretend the end was all on me. But still—I wish I had been the man I am now, back then.I can’t go back.But I can be grateful for the part she played in helping me become the one I’ll be for someone else.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆𝘀You don’t have to explain everything right away.You don’t have to shrink the ache down to something digestible.You don’t even have to be okay yet.You just have to show up honestly.And they don’t flinch.They don’t rush to fix it.They just stay.That’s what it looks like when someone can hold…
Silence is rarely neutral. For one person, it can feel like pressure building in the chest — 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨? 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺? For the other, it can feel like containment — 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘺𝘦𝘵, 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦. Both are trying to stay safe. I used to go quiet…
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡.Not because it’s easy. Not because it stopped hurting.But because something inside you still wants to be here.Still wants to try.Not for them. Not for applause.Just… because you’re not done yet. Part 1: If You Need to Scream, Scream Part 2: What it Looks Like When…
There’s a difference between being composed and being closed.I’ve done both. When I’m composed, I have room for you.When I’m hiding, there’s barely room for me.
A funny thing happened to me a long time after my last breakup.⠀I did the thing you do… got one of those human-finding apps where you judge the next love of your life through a ceaseless stream of thumb-flickable faces.⠀So, I created a dating profile,and then I stepped back.I Looked at it.I realized…⠀…the man being…