Fill in the Blan_s....

QUESTION: I think I may be in love with a guy that has every girl after him. I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't go after a "pretty boy" but somehow I have damaged to develop feelings for the most wanted guy at my school. And what's difficult is that no one knows him like I know him but we aren't that close. So I'm not in the friend zone but I'm not in total oblivion. I don't know whether to confront him about my feelings or try to get over him? Which I don't know how to do (I've tried..... I made a cons list, I tried to find other guys I need ways to get over him if I'm not going to confront him about my feelings.

Thanks.

GARLAND: Thanks for your question.

I hate to be picky about words, but lets not use the phrase "confront him" - that has an oddly hostile tone to it and kinda' scares me - I'll tell you why in a minute.

I think you should try to spend some time with him and hang out a little bit before you bare your feelings to him. The reason I say this is based on your statement, "no one knows him like I know him but we aren't that close..." I'm just going to say it - THAT SOUNDS LIKE A VERY DANGEROUS ASSUMPTION ON YOUR PART. No one "really knows someone" without truly being close to them. That is simply a fact.

The thing is, ALMOST ALL PEOPLE... when they are attracted to someone, and they don't have all of the answers on this person, they fill in all of the blanks with positive and desirable traits. It's human nature and nothing to be ashamed of. Nobody looks at an attractive person they are drawn to and say to themselves, "This guy hates his mother; This guy is a drunk; This guy is a thief; This guy can't dance; This guy is bad in bed; This guy is dumb..." Nobody says that. Instead, people will assume the positive, "This guy is a great son to his mother; Ths guy loves animals; This guy wants to have kids; This guy is awesome in bed; This guy will never cheat on me." From what you've given me, this guy is probably very popular and desirable because he's good looking and that's reasonable I think. But what I want you to understand is that you are probably thinking the exact same thing that other young ladies are thinking about him... "I know him better than anybody else. While he and I aren't friends, I still know him better than these other girls." So try to keep your perspective and don't set yourself up.

I could wrap this comment up in a bow at this point, but I want to leave you with your eyes wide open. If you ignore what I say, and you go pour your heart out to him without trying to truly learn more about him - you might find yourself played and left empty handed. If this guy is a "Pretty Boy" as you say, then he knows the women like him and guys that know women like them, tend to use it to their advantage and their advantage alone. Yes, I'm talking about sex mostly... sex and money. If these highly desireable guys want to have sex or have women buying them things, then a lot of times they'll make it happen and they'll try to mask their goals as if they have mutual feelings for their marks [targets]. Please don't think I'm saying all "Pretty Boys" are dogs and underhanded in their dealings - but you need to see the potential downside to these strong and somewhat presumptive feelings that you're having toward this guy.

Now, back to "confronting him." Just briefly I want to take you back to when I was in high school. In my Senior year I had a young lady basically "confront" me with her feelings. I didn't really know her that well and we only had one class together, but she pushed up on me very aggressively and was basically saying, "So why don't you like me?" This was only 60 seconds after she told me that she had a major crush on me. I was speechless. It was very awkward and uncomfortable and I was basically creeped out by her for the rest of the school year. I never went out with her and never had the desire to. In her mind she had filled in all of the blanks about me and painted this picture that simply wasn't me, including the idea of me being her boyfriend. She wasn't a bad person, but she came across so wrong that I had no interest in her. DON'T DO THIS TO YOURSELF!

Take your time and slowly try to get to know him and spend casual, friendly time around him, even if this means hanging out with other people. Really get to know him by his own actions and the things he says and then, down the road, gently let him know that you like him. But do not push up on him and creep him out - you WILL regret it.

Best of luck to you!!!

Run, Don't Walk!

QUESTON: Hey guys...

I haven't had sex with my husband in ten years! I met a guy and we became "friends with benefits". Then he suddenly says he's falling in love with me. Tells me not to fall for him he's a mess. The deal was since I'm married do what you want I just don't want to know about it. Since he started seeing me he hasn't slept with anyone else. (Or so he and his buddies swear to). One minute he wants to see me, gives me the "look". His friends tell me he's in love with me. He's never said it to me. We have the best time, great sex and I love his kids and they love me. We were friends for nine months before we did anything. He pulls me in and pushes me away. Tells me not to love him. He hates women we are users and take everything. Then he says except me. WTF???? What is going on? What do I do. Yes I am in the process of getting a divorce. He says he doesn't get jealous but if I mention a guy he starts talking about past conquests or says he's having some chick over later. I'm the only woman he lets stay the night even when he has his kids there. This I have scene since we were friends first. I'm 10 years older than he is but he's lived as hard and fast as I have. He got married at 19 and is 34. I say he needs to run and just let us "happen". Stop over thinking it and lets have fun am I wrong? Is he just not into me? Not ready for anything, lying to me to himself? WHAT DO I DO! Keep contact or hit the ground running?

Give it to me straight like I know you will!


GARLAND: Thanks for your question.

You want it straight, huh? Okay, that's how we'll do it.

You have some top shelf foolishness going on here. You are married and in a 10 year sex-less loop, but you can cheat as long as you don't do it under his nose. Fortunately you say that you're getting a divorce, so you've saved me about two minutes of typing - thanks!

This foolish BS he's selling you about all women being hated, theiving, creatures... except for you is some childish nonsense. When he first came out of his mouth with that crap, you should have realized that you were selling yourself waaaaay short. You really should have rolled out and left his juvenile butt standing in your dust, but since you've sent us this question, I assume you don't see the error in your judgement.

Then there is the whole - "I'm lovin' you, Boo - But, don't catch feelings for me, I'm not good enough for that, I'm not ready for that..." Again, you are lowering your value by continuing to think of this guy as anything more than a sexual outlet.

I'm certainly not one to endorse cheating on your spouse, but if you all haven't slept together in 10 years and you two haven't taken the steps to fix that problem, then I have to say that you are only human. At some point you have to do what you have to do, as long as you don't get it twisted. Sadly, you HAVE gotten it twisted. You've gotten good sex confused with loving emotion. What should have been one thing has flipped into another, at least in your mind. I just don't think the reality is anything close to what you are hoping it is. Sorry, I think you're investing in a worthless stock with this guy.

And one last thing - the whole, "his buddies swear he's in love with me..." For him to be a man over 34 years old, and bringing his lover around his kids, and giggling about you to his boys - it just sounds weird. It just doesn't sound sincere. It sounds childish, like he's a teenager in a man's body. I say this because GROWN MEN don't talk to their buddies about the sex they are having with THE WOMEN THEY CARE ABOUT. They respect them too much. Men will, however, talk about the sex they have with women they don't think too much of. If he is letting his Boyz in on the nookie-nook that's going down between the two of you, he doesn't really care about you. Don't let all the gushing they are doing fool you, chances are, sadly, you are a Booty Call to your Lover Boy. That's what men are thinking.

CHUCK: If I was a less than tactful person, I might suggest that the ten-year sexual dry spell has addled your brain and effected your judgment. But I'm not tactless, so I won't suggest that. There.

This man, as Garland has stated, is, despite his age and circumstances, childish, and not someone to even consider a relationship with until he does some growing up. I don't think that you displayed the best judgment hooking up with this guy while you were still married, even given the state of your marriage. And when I read your account of this jackass' behavior, that just confirms my reservations.

There was a song in the 70's called, "Baby, Don't Get Hooked On Me." This singer (a man) was warning a woman off of him because "I'll just use you, then I'll set you free." That's the same kind of insincere narcissism you're dealing with here. And it's not even the 70's anymore. And he hates women, but he's okay with you.That's really some backward idea of flattery, if you ask me. How's if feel to be "one of the good ones?"

You're supposed to relax and just let your relationship "happen." Well, I think you know deep down what's going to happen. What's fun for him now will eventually get old, and he'll break up with you. So my advice is, take his advice. As you start your new life keep it moving and leave him behind.

MORE LIES.... R U Serious?

Hey....again! Please let me know if I am bothering you with my everlasting problems, but your advice is really needed. SEE: "LIES, LIES AND MORE LIES"

I think that I have proven to be young and naive. I have recently moved in with my 32 yr. old boyfriend, and soon after I began to notice that one girl in particular called him a tad bit too much. Then I got a call from her, not knowing how she got my number, so I did not talk to her but I did decided to email her. She never replied. After asking my boyfriend about her, I found out that he slept with her once when we had broke up for a 2 month period and just never called her anymore ( maybe a one night stand type of thing) now she just got really attached. His story was very believable because I have found letters that she has sent to his p.o. box way back in Dec. and he never bothered to open them. So I believed him. Now heres the problem... while helping him look for his car title, I see many bills and letters made out to T XXXXXX and Jenn XXXXXX. WHAT THE HELL? Are they married, seperated, devorced? All of the papers have this address on them, he hasn't been living here for a year, but we have been together for two. So something has taken place in the past 8 months that I am very unaware of. I am not going to marry this man no time soon because I can not figure out what is going on and why this man is with me... I really take everything that you guys say into consideration so please help!!!!!

GARLAND: I don't think your questions are a 'bother' to Chuck and I. If we thought these questions and situations were a 'bother' we'd stop doing this blog. Speaking for myself, what I DO find to be a 'bother' is when someone is in a situation full of lies, deceit and unbelievable nonsense - they reach out to us - we show them, the lies, deceit and unbelievable nonsense and yet they still jump right back into the foolishness. THEN they come back and add even more insanity to the mix and ask us what is going on?

We told you before that this fellow is bad news. I wish I had a dime for every time that someone decides to screw around when they are "on a break" and then lingering foolishness stays around for weeks, months and years - you know what I mean: stalkers, E-Mailers, babies, HIV...

I'm sorry, but I can't even begin to rationalize the situation that you so willing choose to stay in. This guy is one lie after another, hidden bills that he shared with his wife that you claim not to know about, lovers that are stalking you and him, the 11 year old kid, this is just mayhem and foolishness. I believe that you are where you want to be with him, things are only going to get more bizarre and he is only going to bring you quicker and quicker into emotional ruin. That bothers me.

Hopefully Chuck will be more compassionate.

CHUCK: Now, Garland, I know it's frustrating to compose a reply to a question and try to give someone some well-thought-out advice, and then find out that it apparently wasn't heeded. But we shouldn't react badly when we find this out. After all, in this young woman's case, she's only hurt herself.

Your 32-year-old boyfriend has once again told you bold-faced lies and you are presented with proof that he is lying. And, at a certain point, it ceases to be about him, and starts to be about you. What is going on? He is obviously concealing the true nature of his relationship with this woman from you. But he's doing a pretty poor job of it. Why is he with you? Because you are young and, frankly, gullible enough to still be with him after all of this.

Leave this man. I'll repeat: LEAVE THIS MAN. Confront him about his lies or not, but leave him. If I were you, I'd confront him just so he would not live the rest of his feeling that he REALLY got over on me. I mean, he did, but he ultimately didn't.

You can take our advice or not. We take this seriously, believe it or not, but I guess in the end, it's just entertainment. Unless you've tied yourself to a man who just cannot be trusted, and can be counted on to lie at any time. It's your life. Stay in touch.