What I Mean When I Say ‘I Want You’

I mean I want your heartaches and disappointments and times you freaked out or let people down. I want your bruises and cracks in the ceiling. I want your imperfections and moments of doubt. I want your insecurities and painful memories that you’re not always sure you can tell people. I want to share your burdens. I want the hard stuff to feel a little bit lighter. I want you to know you’re never alone even when you’re completely convinced you are.

I mean I want to see you achieve your wildest dreams and go after every passion, even the ones that won’t come to fruition. I want to cheer for you on the sidelines and hold up signs saying, “YOU GOT THIS BABY!” so you can look out into the crowd and remember I’m always rooting for you. I want you to be proud of yourself, the way I’m so proud of you.

I mean I want your health, mentally and physically. I want your energy and enthusiasm for unknown adventures. I want your satisfaction and comfort and feeling that things are okay and you’re going to be okay. I want your soul nourished and good food in your belly. I want you hydrated and happy and glowing. I want your doctor to say, “Everything looks good!” because a world without you is a world missing some of its sunshine.

I mean I want your unbridled joy. I want your laughter to spill out with ease and your eyes to fill with a happiness that’s impossible to fake. I want your giggles and goofiness and dance parties at 2 am. I want your deliriousness and jokes that don’t even make sense, but we’re in hysterics anyway.

I mean I want your every inch. I want every patch of skin and nerve ending and muscle contraction. I want your shoulder blades and earlobes and the opening of your thighs. I want your mouth on my mouth and on my body and every place you were ever told wasn’t worthy. I want to make you forget the world for a while. I want you to not focus on anything but us, and you, and the fireworks bursting between.

I mean I want your partnership. I want the team we’ve created. I want the cooperation, the practice, the desire to always listen to one another. I want our compromise and your input and our mutual decisions. I want your trust and dedication. I want to take on the world with you.

Darling, don’t you see? I want you.