Momentary Bliss

A short nonfiction story about a boy who took a girl for granted. Focusing on a short-lived relationship that ended in seemingly the worst way possible.

“So, do you want to be my girlfriend?” he asked me suddenly, apparently so struck by my beauty that he had to ask at that exact second. I stood in awe. The relationship of my dreams was becoming a reality. My life was finally pulling itself together. I had been carefully brushing my hair in the bathroom mirror at the moment that he felt so inclined to become my boyfriend. I didn’t think that I would ever forget the state of sheer bliss I was in at that exact second.

“I mean, we don’t have to if you…don’t want…or whatever…” he mumbled, shyly looking at the ground with his hands in his pockets. Clearly he must have been blind. Nothing could have wiped that stupid grin off of my face.

It had been barely a month since Rob reappeared in my life. He was an old friend of mine, having met when I was an innocent freshman in high school. We became close friends fast, and I really enjoyed having someone like him in my life. However, the friendship was short-lived, and we lost touch for nearly three years. Now he was back in my life with perfect timing, and knocking me off of my feet once again. It was as if nothing had ever changed between us, we became close instantly.

He was now almost twenty years old, dark hair arranged perfectly underneath his beanie hat, (although it was mid-June, he insisted upon wearing one), complete with a smile that made me melt. He made me go weak at the knees on a daily basis, continually telling me how attractive I was, or how cute I looked at any given moment. Once he asked to be my boyfriend, I thought that life couldn’t get any better.

Sadly, my dream wasn’t quite a reality just yet. He still couldn’t get over his ex-girlfriend of five years, and understandably needed some time to tie up the loose ends before he jumped into a new relationship. He still wore their promise ring on his finger, insisting that it meant nothing, although we both knew it did.

The next week went by fairly quickly, as I was completely in bliss. We weren’t “officially” dating �" not even remotely �" but I was still hopeful that he meant what he had asked me that night in my bathroom. We spent every free moment online chatting, having meaningless conversations about anything and everything. He came over regularly to watch movies, cuddle, and occasionally do a little bit more. I was much happier, and just about everyone noticed.

Rob was hardly perfect, but I quietly ignored every red flag that went off in my head as he rated the physical attraction of practically every girl we knew on a scale of one to ten. Apparently I was only a five, with most other girls coming in as sixes, sevens, and even eights. I bit my tongue. Times like that were often, leaving me to feel as though I was barely anything special, let alone someone he would make his girlfriend.

He was wishy-washy about everything, and could never make up his mind about us. He would ban me from kissing him, and then tease me until I would do it anyway. He would purposely turn me on and then shut me off just as quickly. I should have realized that this was bad news, especially because my best friends had been telling me all along to stay away. I only realize now just how right they were.

On another one of our average days, I threw on some unimpressive clothes and patiently awaited his arrival. He came prepared with his normal jokes of “giving it” to a specific girl we knew, who for the record, I never liked. She had desperately wanted him for a long time, but he consistently denied that anything would ever happen, simply because she was in a committed relationship. I knew that a boyfriend wouldn’t stop her from getting what she wanted �" and on that average day, I found out that I was right. My happiness came crashing down in an instant. It wasn’t a joke anymore �" they had sex. I felt so many things at once: shock, anger, sadness, everything. I swear you could see steam come out of my ears, just like in the old cartoons. He had apparently forgotten what he had asked me in the bathroom barely two weeks ago. I held the power to ruin both of their lives in an instant, but I chose against it for reasons that I don’t even know myself.

I choked back tears the entire day, barely hiding the fact that I was livid. I asked myself why I was so angry, because he had never been mine. He continued to brag about how they did it for over an hour, and how loud she was, as if that was something I wanted to hear. I ignored almost every word, and he joked about the fact that I was angry. He continued to hug me and be affectionate, and even though I could barely look him in the eye, I simply had to hug back.

Lying apart in my bed, I asked him, “Do you remember what you said to me that day last week, in my bathroom?”

“Yeah, you…probably shouldn’t ever believe me when I talk.”

 I was gutted. He had friend-zoned me in the worst way possible. He clearly felt guilty, and that was exactly what I wanted. Rob had dragged me through hell with him and deserved to feel horrible, but nevertheless, I couldn’t help but think about how things used to be when I was just a freshman, blown away by this attractive, sweet, caring, funny, genuinely nice guy.

Author's Note

This is my first 'real' writing, and I worked fairly hard on it! As far as I know, there should be no errors in grammar (let me know if there are!), but at some points I feel as though I could have said something in a better way. Looking for honest critique!