JULZBOY

The Game of Wait and See

        You’ve been seeing each other for about *three
months now. Up to this point, you still can’t tell if he’s into you, or
if he’s serious enough to get involved with. You occasionally have
dinners together and even get to catch a movie every once in a while.
He regularly texts you to ask how you’re doing but seldom does he show
unwavering interest, other than when he needs an opinion or help on
something. Oftentimes, even both. Being the typical girl, you don’t
really assume that he likes you. You say to yourself that he’s there,
simply to be a friend. Someone whom you can bond with and say things
you don’t usually share about yourself. This rather interesting guy
you’ve been going out with is fast becoming your best friend. That’s
what you’ve been telling yourself.

Sometimes, you even want to believe that.

The
truth is, you’re confused. He has been sending out mixed signals. He
certainly can make you laugh. Yet you also catch yourself getting
frustrated with his pa-cute tactics. You wonder if he’s being
straight with you or that maybe you’re just being dense. You’re a
little apprehensive about taking risks with him, but he has already
overcome that friendship barrier which you put up in the first place.
You’re comfortable with your current set-up. And it just seems crazy to
ask a stupid question such as ‘where is this going’? It’s not like you’ve fallen for him already.

Right?

Besides,
the situation is pretty awkward as it is. Your friends are divided in
their views of him. Some implore you to be careful around guys like
him. The rest swear that he likes you more than just as friends. Deep
inside, you just want to know where you stand with him. You wish for
him to just come out and tell you whether he likes you or not. If only
so you can move on and entertain other guys.

But
in reality, you just know that you cannot ask him to address this
directly. To do so would put you in a vulnerable situation. You’re
afraid to assume that he has motives other than friendship because it
will expose you to the possibility of an outright rejection; an
embarrassment which a girl like you simply cannot imagine. You don’t
want to get hurt so you choose the safer path and stay away from that
risk. The status quo seems ideal. You get to enjoy your time with a
good friend; albeit one who gives you more questions than answers.

          
Now I could go on to finish this story but you’ve heard all of this
before. You’ve either lived it in the past or are currently on this
particular road. Either way, you don’t want me to tell you how it will
end. Deep inside, you want to discover it for yourself. Just not today, perhaps.

Yes,
in a couple of months, you may start to get weary of the charade. You
may start to get easily irritated of the mundane things you used to let
slip by. You may begin to doubt the sincerity of his words even as he
tells you he misses the old you. You may not want to admit it, but you
would probably have grown tired of waiting for him by then. After all,
hearing the same thing, said in different words, can hardly inspire you.

Then again, what if you’re mistaken?

What
if he does turn out to be your knight, with a little less armor? Or
what if he turns out to be your Prince decked casually in his simple Giordano?
All of sudden, the perspective changes. All the efforts, frustrations
and time invested in your friendship suddenly become great foundations
for your relationship. And you, the same person who was once a wreck
inside, would finally have that special person to call your own.
Everyone around you will not  be able to help but notice this, as the
radiance of your smile rubs off on them.

I mean, really. At one point or another, we have all gazed out at night and watched thousands of little rocks fall hopelessly from the sky.

Now, it’s just about finding the right time and place to finally catch your own shooting star.

THE END

________________________________________________________________________

Few
things inspire greater debates than the topic of relationships. To
consider broaching this topic is to invite mixed reactions, depending
on whose point of view is being asked. Even though there could never be
an answer that would trump all excuses, virtually everyone you know
will have his or her own opinion as to how to manage one. Much as we’d
all like to think, we do not have THE answer that will resolve such
abstract issues. We can however, rely on observations of the personal
experiences of the varied characters who play a part in the drama we
call ‘our lives’. 

Now
while women and their complicated quirks will always baffle me, I do
know one or two things about how the typical guy thinks. At the risk of
exposing a few trade secrets and thereby, attracting the ire of guys
still actively in the “game”, I nevertheless embarked on this
fictitious essay on how a guy like *him sees a girl like you… you…
and you.