Intervention

Sometimes a girl needs a little help from her friends, especially when it comes to matters of the heart.

    “So, have you heard anything from Tony?”

     I take a sip of hot tea, and peer over the rim at my co-worker, Kim. “No,” I admit. “It's been three days since he texted me.”

     Kim rolls her eyes and sighs. “I don't know what you see in that guy.”

     Truthfully, I'm beginning to wonder myself.

     When Tony and I first met, I'd been swept up in a whirlwind of flirting, sexting, secret make-out sessions in dark corners, and endorphins overload. It probably had something to do with the fact that I'd been happily single for several years. Dating, sex, romance �" who had time for any of that? But then I'd met Tony, and for the first time in a long time, I'd dabbled with the idea of giving love another shot.

     “There's just something about him that I can't resist,” I confess.

     “Are you in love with him?”

     “No. I barely know him.”

     Kim raises her eyebrows. “You've been talking for almost two months now and you still don't know him?”

     I shrug. “We don't talk about much more than what he wants to do to me next time he can get me alone.”

     Kim makes a puking sound. “That is so adolescent! He's a grown man, for God's sake.”

     “Yeah, but that's what makes it so much fun. He's a grown man but it's like talking to an eighteen year old guy. It's exciting and fun, and we have to sneak around to see each other.”

     “Don't you think you should be looking for someone you can settle down with �" like, a long-term commitment type of guy �" not someone who just wants to jump your bones?” Kim holds up her hand before I can argue. “Listen to me! This guy is a player. He just wants to get into your pants, have a good time, then move on. You deserve better than that.” She gathers papers and folders together and slips them into her briefcase. “Kick Tony to the curb and find someone who is head over heels in love with you �" all of you, not just your body.”

     “He might fall in love with me if he gets to know me,” I defend weakly.

     “I don't think Tony is capable of loving anyone other than himself.” She stands up and picks up her brief case. “I'll see you later. Don't you dare give in to that arrogant butthole, I don't care how cute he is.” She turns around and walks out of the break room.

     I look at my watch and groan. I need to get back to work, but I don't know how I'm going to focus. All I can think about is Tony, and how happy he'd made me three days ago....

     Three days ago, we'd ridden up the elevator together from the lobby. He'd been heading up to the sixteenth floor, where he works, and I'd been heading to the twelfth. The elevator had cleared out at the second floor. Tony had pulled me into his arms, and we'd started making out right then and there. It had been frantic �" kissing, groping, grinding �" like making out under the bleachers at a football game. Maybe that's why Tony sets my blood on fire �" being with him makes me feel like a teenaged girl again.

     “I love your body. You're so hot, so sexy,” he'd whispered against my ear, as he groped my butt with his big hands. “I can't wait to get you naked.”

     “I can't wait, either,” I'd agreed, succumbing to his touch.

     And then we'd reached the twelfth floor. I'd brushed the wrinkles out of my clothes, thrown Tony what I'd hoped was a sensuous smile, and stepped out of the elevator. Before I'd even reached my desk, he'd texted: That was hot. You make me want to explode!

     And then, after that... nothing.

     “What kind of guy says he can't wait to get you naked, but then doesn't follow up?”

     It's Friday night and I'm hanging out with some of my old college friends at Luigi's Bar and Grill. It's been five years since we graduated, but we still try to get together on weekends. Collin, Doug, Kelly, Avery, and Will are some of the best friends I've ever had.

     “I mean, if I told you that I couldn't wait to get you naked, I'd be setting up a date with you to make it happen,” Will continues. He takes a swig of beer and gestures to the other guys at the table. “Wouldn't you?”

     “Didn't you say he's been talking about getting you into bed ever since you two first met?” Doug asks.

     “Yeah. He hasn't been shy about what he wants to do with me,” I answer.

     “But so far, all he's been is a whole lotta talk,” Doug continues.

     “We've made out, but that's it.”

     “He's stalling.”

     “Maybe he wants to hold out for as long as possible so that it means something when it actually happens,” Kelly suggests.

     “The guy sends sexually graphic text messages and naked pics to her, but he won't invite her over to spend the night? Something ain't right,” Doug points out.

     “Maybe he's embarrassed about his house.”

     “He's not secretly married, is he?” Avery asks.

     “No!” I answer emphatically. “He's made it clear to everyone in the building that he is an eligible bachelor.”

     “You mean he's made a public announcement?” Collin laughs.

     “Sort of. Everyone knows he's single.”

     “This guy just keeps getting better and better,” Avery says. “And what exactly is it that attracts you to this dumbass?”

     I don't get the chance to answer.

     “I know �" it's his fabulously fit body and big brown eyes,” Will says, batting his eyelashes furiously.

     “Is he well endowed?” Avery whispers.

     “No way.” Kelly wrinkles her nose and wags her finger in the air. “A guy like that is definitely compensating for something.”

     “Let's see the photos,” Avery says, putting out her hand.

     “It's hard to judge the true size from a photograph, though.” Kelly snaps her fingers at me. “Gimme your phone. Let's take a peek anyway.”

     “Come on you guys! No. I'm not showing you penis pictures. That's just...wrong.”

     “Are you...ashamed?” Will teases. He turns to the others. “She's embarrassed by his small package.”

     Avery sighs, disappointed that I won't hand over my phone. “Okay, fine. So, let's assume it's not his family jewels that you're after. What is it, then? Why him?”

     I value the opinion of my friends, so I don't take any major offense at their verbal jabs. I drink my beer and dip a corn chip into a bowl of salsa. “He's charming, deathly handsome, witty, educated, muscular....” I look up and see that nobody seems impressed. “What?”

     “That's great, but... you could be describing anyone off the street. What is it about Tony that sets him apart from the rest of us?” Will asks.

     Kelly nods her head in agreement. “Yeah. You haven't dated in a really long time. What is it about him that's made you change your mind about staying single forever?”

     I have to think about my answer carefully. I don't want to sound shallow or stupid, because, the truth is, I don't know Tony well enough to be able to give my friends a legit reason for being attracted to him. I lick my lips, take a deep breath, and say, “I like the way he makes me feel.”

     “Lame!”

     “You gotta do better than that.”

     “Booooooo!”

     My face flushes in embarrassment and I try to laugh it off. “You guys, come on! I really don't know him that well yet.”

     “Why are you wasting your time on this guy? Seriously! Two months and you can't say that there's anything special about him except that he turns you on?” Collin shoots back.

     Ouch. Hockey puck to the gut. “I haven't felt sexy in years! Give me a break!”

     “That is no one's fault but your own. I've tried to set you up with some genuinely nice guys,” Kelly protests.

     “Yep. It's not from lack of attention. You've had guys knocking down your door for as long as I've known you. What was wrong with all of them?” Collin asks, crunching into a chip. “That one chap �" what was his name? Dale? Yeah. Dale Roland. Real nice guy. He would have been good to you. Why'd you turn him down?”

     “He wasn't my type.”

     “Not your type? Seriously?”

     “What's that supposed to mean?” Will asks.

     Avery snorts and whinnies, sounding a lot like a disgruntled horse. “She means, he was too nice.”

     “Oh, that's right. You only like jerks. I forgot,” Collin says, smacking his head with his palm.

     “Stop it, you guys.”

     “Have you ever dated a man who has treated you right? Ever?” Kelly asks.

     I think about it for several moments, then confess that, no, I've never dated a nice guy. Not ever.

     “What was your father like?” Will asks, adjusting his glasses to look Freudian.

     I shake my head and giggle. “Don't psycho-analyze me, Will. My father is a fine, upstanding gentleman. My taste in men has nothing at all to do with my father.” I sit up straight and tall, and proudly announce, “I am my daddy's princess.”

     My friends burst out laughing, and I join in. People who have spent any amount of time with me know that there is nothing “princess-y” about me. I'm a blue jeans and pants suit kind of gal. I would never be caught dead wearing a tiara. But it is true that I am Daddy's Little Girl. My father means the world to me, and I've always had a close relationship with him. Therefore, blaming my attraction to jerks on a dysfunctional relationship with my father is invalid. My dad's the greatest.

     “So, who do we blame for your poor taste in guys?” Doug prods.

     “She's a freak of nature, pure and simple,” Avery says in a joking tone. She pulls me close in a side hug. “But we love you anyway.”

     The waitress comes over to our table and sets our food down in front of us.

     “Let's ask Tracy her opinion,” Collin suggests. He looks up at the waitress with an inquisitive expression. “If a guy you've just met says he wants to sleep with you, but after two months has only felt you up and text messaged you dirty pictures of himself, do you think there is potential for something substantial with him? Something, say... long term?”

     The waitress looks confused. “Are you serious?”

     “Infinitely.”

     She doesn't hesitate before laughing uproariously. “Oh honey, please. I'd tell a guy like that to take a hike. Sounds like a moron to me.” She shakes her head and walks away.

     Collin turns his head to me, one eyebrow raised, his lips pursed in a victorious smile. “I rest my case.”

     We finish our food and beer, then split the bill and head home.

     I've just set my purse and car keys down on the kitchen counter when there is a knock on my door. My heart flip flops in my chest and I think, It's Tony. But then I remember that Tony has never been to my apartment, and I have never been to his... because we've never stepped foot out of the office building where we work. I sidle up to the door and open it a crack. It's Will. I open the door all the way.

     “Will?”

     He's standing there in the doorway with his hands shoved in his pockets. “Yeah. It's me. Just your ol' pal Will.”

     I cross my arms and look at him suspiciously. “Okay. You say that like I might be expecting someone else.”

     “Are you?”

     “No.”

     “Why not?”

     I let me arms fall to my sides and laugh awkwardly. “Because I don't have any plans.”

     Will steps inside my apartment and closes the door behind him. “And that's because Tony has never asked to come over here. You know why?”

     I watch him pace around my small living area, noticing the way he keeps his eyes locked on mine. “Why? Hmm? Please tell me,” I encourage.

     “Because he doesn't care where you live! He doesn't care what you do after you leave the office. He doesn't care who you hang out with, what you like to eat, or whether anyone else is interested in you.”

     Before I can be offended or hurt by his words, Will walks up to me and faces me head-on.

     “Do you know why he doesn't care about any of those things?” he asks. I don't say a word. He continues, “Because to him, you're nothing but a toy. A play thing. You aren't a real person.”

     “Will, that's mean,” I manage, but then he puts his hand out and touches my cheek. I suck in my breath, surprised.

     “You're absolutely right. It is mean. It's mean that he doesn't see what a beautiful, intelligent, amazing, brilliant woman you are.” He traces my lips with his index finger, then runs it down my neck, letting his hand drop to his side. “It's mean that he can't see how lucky he'd be to have you in his life.”

     I've known Will for almost ten years. We've seen each other through some pretty serious up's and down's, but he has never once shown a romantic interest in me. I am too shocked to speak. What is happening? Is Will making a move on me?

     “Don't look so surprised. I've had almost ten years to discover what kind of person you are. I've seen you at your best and your worst. Tony �" ha! �" Tony doesn't have a clue. He only sees the gift-wrap. He hasn't even tried to look at what's beneath the bows and ribbons.” He steps closer, pulls me to him, so that our faces are almost touching. “I know I'm not your type, but,” he smiles, and I think it is about the cutest thing I've ever seen, “maybe it's time to turn over a new leaf, huh? Try something new?”

     I stare up at him, dumbfounded. My heart is racing. My throat is dry. My palms are damp. “What is happening right now?” I whisper, afraid to know the answer.

     “Intervention.”

     “Huh?”

     He wraps his fingers in my hair and closes the distance between us. “I'm so in love with you,” he says. Our lips touch, and something akin to electricity shoots through me. I feel like my heart has just been zapped by a bolt of lightening. My body responds to Will's touch, as if it is life-giving energy. I'm swept away by the force, the depth, of his feelings for me.

     Breathless, we look up into one another's faces and smile. “I �" I never knew you were in love with me,” I told him.

     “That's because you were too busy looking the other way.” He kisses my left cheek, then my right. “I've been here the whole time, waiting for you to see me.”

     “But I never did.”

     “No. Because you were too hung up on losers like Tony.” He chuckles good-naturedly. “Which is why we decided you needed an intervention.”

     “We?”

     “Everyone.”

     “Everyone?”

     “The whole gang! They've known since Day One that I've been head over heels for you.”

     “And nobody told me?”

     “Everyone knew, except for you, and that's because you didn't want to know.” Will kissed my lips, then rubbed his nose against mine. “I know you aren't in love with me, but... I hope you'll at least give me a chance. Let me show you how a man is supposed to treat a woman. Then, if you still aren't 'into' me and want to go running back to Tony, I'll be mature enough to let you go.”

     I laugh in astonishment, and lean into his chest. He wraps his arms around me and holds me close. Somehow, I don't see myself running back to Tony after being in the arms of Will.

     When I get to work on Monday morning, I avoid going to Tony's favorite make-out spots. I dodge him, ignore his texts, and pretend I don't see him. When I see Kim in the break room, she notices the silly smile on my face.

     “Okay. What happened? Did you two finally hook up?” she asks, looking a little nauseous.

     “Nope.”

     “No?”

     “Nope! I didn't hear from Tony all weekend.”

     This gets her attention. She is intrigued. “Oh. Then...why the happy face? Did something else happen?”

I bite my lip and tilt my head to the side. “Oh yes. Intervention happened.”

     Kim sits down across from me and rests her chin in her hands. “Tell me everything.”

     My face is glowing as I begin, “I've been friends with this guy named Will for ten years. But this weekend, everything changed.”

     “In a good way, I take it.”

     I lean back in my chair, grinning from ear to ear. “In a great way.”