He releases a dry chuckle. “Olivia, at no point in time have we ever been just anything—let alone therapist and client.” He steps away and continues to guide me through the hamstring curls I’m doing. It takes me a moment to ignore the pulsing between my thighs to keep up with the exercises.

“So, what are you thinking for this date?”

“You let me worry about that. You just need to trust me.”

That night, the grin on my face is downright maniacal as I look at Kai painting the male equivalent of my canvas, completely focused on the task at hand.

When Kai asked me on a real date, I’m embarrassed to admit I was nervous. I was nervous because I knew being seen in public in an intimate setting could get back to my dad and that would possibly set him off.

I’m not proud of letting that be the first thought to cross my mind, but I am proud of the fact that despite that, I said yes anyway. And being here with Kai, at a couples’ paint and sip event, makes it all worth it. I’m impressed by what he put together for us. He knows that my ideal dates involve food and adventure, but with my injury I can’t really do the things I would normally consider adventurous. This paint and sip is an excellent improvisation. The canvases we’re painting are called the This is Me set. My canvas is a naked Black woman with her knees up to her chest and her arms across her breasts with the words “I am” painted across her forehead and words like “enough” and “blessed” painted all over her body. Kai’s is a shirtless Black man only shown from the waist up, likewise with the words “I am” painted across his forehead and words like “kind”, “safe”, and “enough” painted all over his body. I know it’s no coincidence that Kai chose the designs he did, but neither of us mention it out loud. We let the moment speak for itself.