I went to the Sprint store with my sister in hopes of returning my crappy phone for a new phone. The store was empty. It smelled like fresh carpet cleaner mixed with ocean breeze. I wanted to bathe in it.

As soon as my sister and I walked in, a Sprint employee immediately came to our rescue. What a kind gentleman? I mean, of course, he was doing his job, but some Sprint employees can be stand-offish. He had a kind face, his eyes were really close together that made him appear cross-side, but he wasn’t, (I swear)! He had a doughy body, and a soft voice that made me feel comforted. He wasn’t my type at all. Not to sound shallow (but aren’t we all?) If I was on a dating app and his profile picture popped up, I wouldn’t have swiped right. I’m keepin’ it real, okay?

He even had a table in the corner with a candy bowl. How thoughtful? (Okay, I know. He didn’t put it there just for me.) He then explained to me the Sprint plan and blah, blah, blah, and health insurance. No, it was phone insurance! Although I declined the offer on phone insurance, he was kind about it and quickly changed the subject. I didn’t have to plea with him. (Thank God, I was not in the mood to protest against the matter.)

I looked at him and thought: I could see myself with this guy. He wasn’t brawny, but he seemed thoughtful and kind. At this point, he was trying to reset my phone, but the backlight on my phone wasn’t working. So we sort of laughed about it. I thought it was cute, he was trying to shine his phone light on my phone—it wasn’t going to work. After he was toying around with it a bit, I gave it a try and completed the task successfully. He was impressed. That’s when—all of the sudden—I felt insecure. Is my hair especially coily today? Is my make-up still on? Did my lipstick smear? Are my boobs saggy today?

He also mentioned about a new perk: a free Hulu subscription that I was eligible for. (How did he know, I was considering getting Hulu?) He also mentioned how he loved the show New Girl. (He loves comedy!) (Yay!) (Okay, I think I could see us walking down a street holding hands.) And then he said, he and his girlfriend have been binge watching it. I—I  was crushed. Was I crazy? I was just imagining us holding hands and now imagining his girlfriend pushing me away. This was crazy. I smiled and didn’t say much after, other than “oh,” “really,” “I know,” or “yes.” I felt depleted in a way—it was sort of pathetic. Did my sister notice? (I almost forgot she was there.) I continued the customer service with a nod and a yes after that whole ordeal. (And Yeah, I’m calling it an ordeal.) He mentioned his daughter soon after and that’s when I felt horribly stupid. I imagined his daughter pushing me farther away too, saying “What’s that black girl doing here?) After signing off on those stupid disclosure agreements; I wanted to get my new phone and jet off into reality. As I gathered my things and said thank you, he said “I like your sweater—I like the robots on it.” (Yup, he was just being kind—this whole time).

Maybe, I’ll try T-mobile next time?