The Things We Allow

He called me beautiful.
Sure, it was followed by descriptions of the curves on my body.
And yeah, he expressed the interest of my insides rather than what’s inside.
But, he said I’m a girl with a pretty face.
And pretty faces get you far.
Pretty faces get you boys with a book of words to describe you.
Pretty faces get definitions.
He said “I love you”.
His gaze turned downwards, but he was still looking at me.
I’m sure he was just shy.
I fell in love with my body all over again. And so did he.
He never verbally said he was proud of me, but touched me like he was.
He called me beautiful.
He said he loved me.
He showed me that he was proud of me.
And I let him.