Jealousy (and you thought DIAMONDS were a girl’s best friend!)
Well, take a guess who’s got his knickers in a twit now that I’m “no longer not seeing other people?”
That would be Date #7, aka The Man from Across the State.
When I realized, approximately two weeks ago, that I was no longer thinking of my “friend” Date #6 in the strictly platonic sense, I felt I owed Date #7 the truth. And so, before blogging about my night out at the Fringe Festival Bar and the drunken aftermath in which my friend Date #6 suddenly became something more than a friend, I called Date #7 to break the news.
It seemed the only responsible thing to do. Does he drive me crazy with his eccentricities? Yes. Does he confound me with his enigmatic (by which I mean unperceivable) approach to flirtation and modern courtship? Yes. Does he consider microwavable Hot Pockets acceptable fare for a potential girlfriend’s first weekend visit? Yes. But does he deserve to learn of my… err… extracurricular activities via an early morning blog post?
No.
So I called him first, and it was quite possibly the most awkward conversation we’ve ever had (and believe me, we’ve had some truly catatonic exchanges) but it needed to happen and I felt better afterward—a lot better, actually, especially considering what followed.
“Are you doing all of this just to make me jealous?” he asked.
“No,” I replied, “not at all.” And I meant it. Admittedly, with my first boyfriend, I was not above dropping hints to inspire greater affection on his part, but I’ve since learned that envy is not the healthiest of ingredients for romantic relationships. As such, I kissed Date #6 because I wanted to, not because I wanted to make Date #7 jealous.
That was simply an unexpected, but not entirely unwelcome side effect.
Jealousy, you see, is a funny thing. There’s the destructive type, as characterized by fist fights or depression over one’s inability to afford fine shoes, and then there’s the productive type. This, fortunately, is an example of the latter.
“You never wanted to be exclusive,” I reminded Date #7 during his third phone call in as many days. “We talked about it when you first came to Philly and you were the one who said it was too soon.”
“I know, and it was too soon, but now…”
Now, evidently, it’s different.
Now he’s apologizing for having dropped the ball this past summer. Now he’s telling me he isn’t seeing anyone else. Now he’s calling me more than once in a blue moon and—get this!—he’s even invited me to accompany him to his brother’s wedding next month. As his date.
Here’s hoping there won’t be any curly haired brunettes to steal him away if the DJ calls “Lady’s Choice.” (Not that I would know anything about that…) But if such a female were to emerge, I’m fairly sure her presence would inspire the productive sort of jealousy on my part, and this, considering my serial approach to romantic entanglements, might be a good thing.
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5 Responses to “Jealousy (and you thought DIAMONDS were a girl’s best friend!)”
i lOVE this
I could go on and on about how this (date #7) reminds me of my failed marriage or some other relationships, but you’re not going to listen anyways.
Instead, I’m just going to remind you to have fun, be guarded with #7, not so much with #6 and the Wedding Date.
Glad he’s coming to his senses, but I’m with Zak — this “relationship” just seems to be a lot of game-playing on both your parts. If you’re both into that sort of thing, then that’s fantastic! Have at it. But I’m just going to say it: You shouldn’t have to work so damn hard to like each other this early on in a relationship. With #6 and wedding guy, that doesn’t seem to be the case. 🙂
AMEN! 🙂
Like the old saying says, “If you want a man to come to you, tell him to go away…” (Or threaten to take away that which he is taking for granted!)