March 2019.

Here I am, getting my makeup done for my engagement party. How did we get here? Well, one night Kofi and I were at his place watching a movie when we shared a moment that I will never forget. When I think about that moment, I get goosebumps because I had never experienced anything of the sort. That was the night I shared that I once tried to take my life because of the bullying I endured in high school while he opened up about his childhood in greater detail.

It was the vulnerability from both ends that just made us get even closer and in that moment he simply said 'lets get married.' I said yes without any hesitation because I know he is the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. It has been a year since Kofi and I decided to give our relationship another try and it has been nothing short of amazing. I thought our relationship was great before but now it has become even better because we have emotional intimacy that is out of this world. Before the breakup, we shared the beautiful parts of ourselves as well as few ugly parts but we've come to realize that a relationship requires vulnerability and showing your partner the ugliest parts of yourself. It's a scary thing to do but it has brought us closer than before.

Once my friend Rose has finished giving me a glam look, she moves to my hair. My hair is swooped to the side and she adds a diamanté hairpin which adds that je ne sais quoi. The hairstyle compliments the shape of my face and I know it's going to go so well with my dress. Rose leaves so she can go get ready for the engagement party so I'm left to change by myself. I change into my dress and I feel and look like a goddess.

The mermaid dress hugs my small curves and flairs at the bottom so beautifully. The way the champagne color compliments my rich melanin gives me that glow that makes the sun seem duller than me. I used to hear people saying when you are genuinely happy you glow differently and I didn't understand it until now. I have this radiance that I never knew I could have and it's all because I'm at a point in my life where I feel happy and it's showing on the outside. I look amazing but there's just something missing which is some jewelry. I put on some diamond studs with the matching necklace and it makes my outfit complete.

To finish off the look, I put on some strap heels and I love what I see when I look in the mirror. I grab my phone so I can call Kofi and as I'm about to dial his number, there's a knock on the door. I check who it is through the peephole just to make sure I don't open it up to a stranger and it's Kofi. I open the door for my adonis who looks absolutely handsome. When I tell you that this man is fine, I mean it.

He looks suave in a black tuxedo with a white shirt and a black bow tie. He has a pocket square which matches the color of my dress and he just got a lineup so he looks superb. I asked the Man above for a good looking man and I'm glad he came through for me. We stand there staring at each other for a moment until I pull out of that trance. I snap my fingers and that seems to bring him out of his trance as well.

"Hey handsome."

"Hey beautiful. Tu es magnifique. Je suis un homme chanceux." he says making me get a tingle down there because whatever he said sounded good coming out of his mouth.

"What does that mean? I took French class when I was a teenager so I don't know what you just said."

"I said you are magnificent and I also said I'm a lucky man." he translates making me smile so hard, my cheeks begin to hurt.

"Thank you baby. You look dashing."

"Can I get a kiss or will that mess up your makeup?"

"You can kiss me, I don't think one kiss will mess up my makeup."

He closes the distance between us and even though I have heels on he has to lean down so our lips can meet. When our lips meet, it's beautiful. I can smell the vanilla chapstick on his lips and I love how his soft lips feel on mine. He tries to be slick with adding his tongue but I stop him before it goes too far.

"Baby we need to stop before we're late to our engagement party."

"You're right, I'm sorry about that. We should get going."

"Okay, let me just get my purse."

I grab my purse from my bedroom and we walk downstairs where there's a man standing by a luxurious car waiting for us. Kofi decided to get us a driver so we would just relax and enjoy the night without having to worry about driving. The drive to the venue involves Kofi whispering such loving words in my ear, making me smile like a teenager girl that is on a date with her crush. It doesn't take long before we pull into the car park at the venue and I call the events planner to let her know that we are here. She gives us a signal to walk in after five minutes and as we're walking in, our guests cheer for us and we get covered by confetti.

We asked our guests to wear all white and I'm glad they all did so because there's always that one person that chooses to do whatever they want. Everyone looks absolutely stunning and I'm happy that they all came to support us. After greeting all our guests, we make our way to our seats and when we sit down, I take some time to look at the decor.

The long glass table has a white runner in the middle with white and peach roses sitting on top of the runner in these beautiful vases. The under plates, the cutlery and the napkins are all gold giving it a royal vibe. There are lanterns around the room and some candles which create a romantic atmosphere in room. The events planner captured the simplistic, intimate theme I gave her so well and from what I can see, it was definitely worth every penny.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Kofi and Thembisa's engagement party. Tonight we are celebrating love more specifically their love which all of us have witnessed. To kick start the evening, their friends will be giving us some speeches." my cousin says.

"Good evening everyone. Like our host already said, I'm Kofi's best friend and we have known each other for about five years. How we met was actually interesting because we were at a basketball game and our team was losing so we started trash talking. It wasn't until later when we met at an event and recognized each other as the guys that were trash talking and that was the birth of our friendship. I remember the night we went to his place and he told us that he had met his future wife we all laughed because we thought it was ludicrous. Little did we know that it would come true at some point. Their journey like most has had its ups and downs but they managed to conquer what came their way and I am so happy for them. I wish you all the best in this journey you have decided to embark on together. I pray you have a happy and healthy marriage and that you're able to overcome any obstacle life throws at you. I hope you're ready Thembisa because Kofi wants a basketball team with reserves." Elijah says and we all laugh.

The speeches are interrupted by the caterer giving us a sign that our food is ready. It's a buffet style meal with beef stroganoff, teriyaki chicken, baked parcels plus other sides. As we're eating, our other guests give heartfelt speeches that leave me feeling overjoyed because you can feel how supportive and genuinely happy they are for us. We cut the cake which is a vanilla sponge with a lemon curd and give each guest a piece before we get into the entertainment portion of the evening. My cousin introduces a game of couples trivia and it's quite simple. Kofi and I will hold one of my shoes and one of his shoes and lift the shoe we feel the question refers to.

"The first question is, who made the first move? Chi asks and we both lift Kofi's shoe.

"The next question is, who apologizes first?" and we both put my shoe up because I like to apologize before something small gets magnified whereas Kofi will apologize when he feels like it which is highly could be a day after he had done something.

"The next question is, who cooks better?" Chi asks and we put both shoes up because we're both good in that department.

"The following question is, who is a baby when they are sick?" and we put Kofi's shoe up. This man is grown yet he wants to be babied when ever he is sick which is comical considering how big he is.

"The last question is, who is most likely to show up to the wedding drunk?" Chi questions making us laugh before we put my shoe up. Kofi knows how to control how much liquor he takes whereas I drink without much control which makes the one most likely to show up to our wedding drunk.

Davido blasts from the speakers and we all flood the dance floor. You can literally feel the genuine love and joy that everyone who is celebrating this joyous moment for us has. I even see Kofi and my father dancing together which wouldn't have happened last year because my father wasn't too fond of Kofi after the breakup but now you can see that he has been welcomed into the family once again. I wish I could have this moment for life but it has sadly come to an end and we take time to thank our guests for joining us in celebrating our love.

"I would like to thank you all for joining us tonight as we celebrated our engagement and how far our relationship has come. A big shoutout to Ann-Marie who helped us with planning this and making sure everything was perfect. My fairytale began in a cafe with a handsome king meeting his beautiful queen and being enchanted by her. Their love story blossomed as time went on but like any other fairytale, there are problems that came along but it worked out in the end. I'm so glad I found someone who loves me and who I love unadulterated. I am ao excited for what the future holds for us and I pray we find the strength to overcome whatever life throws at us."

"I just want to start of by saying a big thank you to you all for coming out tonight. I'm a man of very few words so I just want to say to my future wife, I adore you with every fiber in me and I cannot wait for us to enbark on this journey together. Thank you for choosing me to be your partner in life, I will forever be grateful for having you in my life. Good night everyone. Travel safely."

The night draws to an end even though I don't want it to end because I was having such an amazing time. We speak to the events planner briefly just thanking her for her work and making sure she's all set before we can leave. There's a chill outside so Kofi gives me his jacket which almost makes me melt because it smells so good. We head to the car and as we are being driven home, we whisper naughty things to each other.

It makes me even more sexually frustrated because we decided to refrain from engaging in sexual activities until our wedding night. This man makes it so hard but I have managed to stay strong until tonight. We get to my place and we carry the gifts we received tonight up to my place before Kofi dismisses the driver. Like a child on Christmas morning, I get excited because it means he wants to spend the night with me and I wanted it even though I didn't say it. I leave Kofi in the kitchen doing lord knows what and I go to my bedroom so I can get out of this dress.

As I'm unzipping my dress, I feel a body pressing into mine. My hearbeat quickens as he kisses the side of my neck which is one of my soft spots. He helps me get out of the dress before I turn around and face him. His eyes travel from my eyes to my lips then they stop at my chest which is bare. He licks his lips which makes me want to pounce on him but I remember to control myself. I push him on the bed and I straddle his lap which allows me to feel his bulge. My hands hold his face before I lean down so our lips can meet. We kiss with fervor and I slowly grind on him which earns me a groan.

Fuck baby.

The kiss becomes more passionate and nasty, as our tongues battle for dominance. His hands squeeze my butt which almost makes me push him further down on the bed so I can ride him but I have to stop this before we get carried away.

"Holy shit baby. You almost made me cum in my pants." he says and I laugh.

"I'm serious baby. I haven't had a release in a long time so anyting you do to me will probably make me cum."

"Just a few more months and you'll get what you've been craving."

"I can't wait. Why don't you finish getting ready for bed while he goes down then we can cuddle."

"Okay."

I change into an oversized t-shirt before I remove the makeup and wash my face. I find Kofi resting on the headboard with the sheet only covering his lower half. I join him and I lay my head on his torso as he caresses me.

"I had so much fun tonight."

"Me too baby. Everything was so beautiful and the highlight of my evening was seeing you dancing with dad."

"Who would have thought that I would be dancing with him considering how much he disliked me last year? I certainly wouldn't have seen it coming."

"Well, I'm glad you ironed out your differences."

"I know I've said this many times before but I'm glad you gave me a second chance because I really thought I had messed up."

"Well, I still loved you and I had this strong feeling that you are the one for me. For once my heart and mind were in sync and they told me to give you another chance which I'm glad I did."

"I love you Thembisa and I can't wait until you are my Mrs."

"I love you too. There are four months left until we say I do and I can't wait."

We lay there for some time in our love bubble talking about our future plans as a unit and as individuals. We eventually fall asleep in each others arms which is one of those feelings you just can't explain.