I used to see her in my neighbourhood and a few events but I never got the chance to talk to her. Every time I saw her, I would think, “This lady is beautiful. I want to talk to her but I don’t know how.” I kept admiring her silently until I attended a dinner party one night. There she was looking stunning. I stared in the direction of her table until I saw that she was sitting next to a friend of mine. That was my chance to talk to my crush. So I walked to their table under the guise of saying hello to my friend. It was when we got talking that I realized my friend was my crush’s older sister. This made me smile.

I sat with them, having conversations about life, and politics among other things. When it was time for the guests to go for their food, I did the gentlemanly thing and went for their food for them. The entire time we were eating, we were having good conversations. I believe we even enjoyed our conversations more than we did the food.

At the end of the night my friend mentioned that her sister’s birthday was coming up. It was on 15th February of that month. I seized the opportunity and asked my crush… her name is Sophie by the way. Anyway, I asked her, “Can I take your number then? I would like to wish you a happy birthday.” She smiled and gave it to me.

I spent the rest of the night in my bed thinking about her, drawing on memories of all the times I saw her. She was always so pretty but that night she looked like a goddess dining with humans. When she smiled, it reminded me of the morning sky after a stormy night. Absolutely radiant. I hadn’t learned her favourite colour yet but I was already smitten.

We started talking the next morning. She was warm, polite, and very responsive to my attempts at friendship. Soon enough I even got closer to her than I was with her sister. I liked it. It meant everything to me. Especially after she told me one day, “I am very happy that I have you in my life. You fill a void in my heart that I did not even know existed.” Our connection was that great. And the more we talked the more intense it got.

Along the line, we started talking about dating. What we both liked in a partner alongside other couple bonding questions. Everything I described about my ideal woman was her. Everything sh wanted in a man was me. It was clear that we were both ready to take our friendship to the next step. She didn’t make her move. I believe she was waiting for me to propose because of traditional gender roles. I am the man so it was my move to make.

I discussed her with one of my boys. The first thing my friend said was, “Isn’t that girl too short?” I responded, “I prefer the term, cute.” My friend laughed and said, “Use all the fancy terms you want. The girl is short. Imagine if you have kids with her and they all take after her. Those genes tend to be very dominant. Your kids will be bullied for being short, especially if they happen to be boys. How many women have you met who admire short men?” He went on saying more demeaning things about Sophie’s height.

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I wish I could say I held my own in the argument. I wish I could say his opinion didn’t matter to me. Most importantly, I wish I could say that my friend’s comments didn’t change the way I saw Sophie. Sadly, I messed up big time. I let my friend get to my head. All of a sudden, building a relationship with Sophie no longer appealed to me. By then we had spent a year and a few months in the talking stage.

He Called Me On The Phone So I Could Hear The Other Woman’s Voice

Slowly, I started backing away from her. I didn’t want to lose her as a friend. All I wanted to do was kill the romantic interest we had nurtured. I was subtle about my withdrawal but she saw through all of it. She didn’t even bother to ask questions. She just blatantly started ignoring me. Before I knew it, she had completely cut me off.

It’s been four years now but she still won’t talk to me. After all these years, I still care about her. I just want to be her friend again. However, it appears Sophie is not one to give second chances. Worst of all this is that the same guy who got into my head about proposing to her is now very close to her. When I see them together, it burns my heart. She trusts him completely but can’t stand to even lay eyes on me. What do I do to get back into her good graces? Or should I just accept my fate and let her go?

—Boat

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