
The first time I heard these four words, they didn’t come from him.
I had just arrived at a dance studio where I was meeting a new friend, a guy who wanted someone to join him so he would have someone fun to dance with all night. We knew each other casually, and I felt touched that he found me a good enough dancer to want to dance exclusively with me all night.
As I approached the counter to pay the $20 cover charge, the man glanced up and waved away the money I was handing him. “You’re taken care of,” he said as he directed me toward the dance floor, where my friend was standing, smiling as he watched me process this news.
I was surprised, delighted, and totally touched. He didn’t have to do that.
He had arrived early to ensure that he could pay my entry without me having a chance to insist otherwise.
A very classy move. One I would never forget.
But it didn’t end there.
…
That night must have sparked something in me because several months later, we began dating. And that’s when I noticed something amazing about him. Something that absolutely delighted me every single time.
No matter what it was — whether it was fixing something, making reservations, booking an event, or doing something he promised, he would always say the same thing.
“It’s taken care of.”
This man had stellar integrity in doing exactly what he said he was going to do when he said he would do it.
I never felt more secure and cared for than I did with this man. Why?
Because he was very focused on making sure that I was always taken care of.
I never had to wonder. I never had to worry. I never got stressed over whether I could trust him to make things happen and get things done.
This made me feel extremely safe and relaxed with him. Which is the best feeling in the world to have with a man.
Whether it was my cover charge (which he paid for every single time even when we arrived separately), or something that I needed, he was 100% on top of it. Every single time.
It was deeply impressive.
What really connected me to him was how mindful he was of ensuring that I always felt provided for and cared for.
And oftentimes it was the small things. He always carried my favorite snack bar on him so I was never hungry. Once he bought me a whistle in case I ever needed to alert others that I needed help.
He was always keeping an eye out for things that would be helpful, useful, or valuable to me as if he were proactively predicting any potential need I might have.
And it all conveyed one thing: “You’re taken care of”.
To me, those words, and any variation of them, conveyed something even greater to me. It conveyed love. And it made me feel super safe with him.
When you love something or someone, you take care of it. You make sure it is provided for.
Long before he ever said those words to me, I felt loved by this man. I connect to a man when I feel cared for and taken care of.
And that’s how I became receptive to him loving me in all the other ways too. ❤
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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Photo credit: Giulia Bertelli on Unsplash




