One Step Away (A Bedford Falls Novel Book 1) (8 page)

“What does that have to do with
anything?”

“Everything. It affects how you view the
world. How you act. How you live. And especially how you think. The
problem is that you haven’t had any long-term relationships. If you
had, you might not be dealing with all this shit coming down on you
like the perfect storm. Otherwise, you’d have an idea what you were
up against.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Those women you work with stole your
masculinity. You’re the only one who doesn’t know it. And that’s
what makes this so sad.”

Alexander didn’t know what his friend was
getting at, but something about the certainty with which he spoke
made him take notice. He didn’t want to argue. He just wanted to
find out what Damon might say next.

“Does this sound familiar: those women at
work tell you what qualities they want in a man, and you listen
carefully so you won’t make the same mistakes. And I can’t blame
you, because why wouldn’t you trust them? They know what they want,
except when they don’t mean what they say. And that’s why you’re so
confused. Because you don’t know when they don’t mean it. And they
won’t tell you that while at work because they can’t. It would be
inappropriate.

“The bottom line is that what they
say
they want and what they
actually
want are two
different things. And you can’t tell the difference. I just never
thought it’d take you this long to figure it out. But I’m glad it
happened. You needed this wake- up call. I just hoped you hadn’t
told your best friend that you loved her before you got to this
stage.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your balls, dude. You gave them to Marisa
the day you met her, and she finally gave them back to you this
afternoon. And now that you have them again, you don’t know what to
do with them.”

Perplexed, Alexander just shook his head,
trying to grasp a thought. But he was unable to pick one that made
any sense.

“You’re losing me, man. You gotta give me
something tangible. Like, what can I actually do to fix this?”

Looking excited, Damon put his palms
together with his fingertips brushing against his lips. “Remember
when I visited your library a couple weeks ago to get that book
Sex on the Brain
?” Seeing Alexander nod, he continued, “I
overheard you helping some man, and what I heard made me feel bad
for you. It was your high-pitched tone of voice, like you were
bending over backwards to help this guy.”

“I’m in public service. That’s what we do. I
want to show people they can approach me.”

“But he already approached you. It’s one
thing if you approach a little boy or girl with that voice, so they
know you’re not creepy or anything, but an adult? Not
necessary.”

Alexander didn’t accept the criticism. “All
day, I have people approaching female staff members because they
don’t think I’m an employee since I’m a guy, or they don’t feel
comfortable asking me, like I wouldn’t know as much as a woman. It
pisses me off.”

“And how is that your problem? Don’t make
this about other people. We’re talking about you. Your voice? You
sound like a wimp.”

“But it’s necessary to—”

“Hey, I’m not here to argue with you. I told
you I’d help you try to get this girl. But by using that voice,
you’re giving others reasons to treat you like you don’t belong.
Your insecurities manifest the view of yourself that you don’t want
to project. Which makes you project it anyway.

“But getting out of the friend zone? It’s
like Superman weighted down with kryptonite. It won’t kill you, but
it takes away all of your power. And telling her that you love her
while you’re in the friend zone? It’s like Lex Luthor forced
Superman to swallow the kryptonite. It will burn up his insides and
prevent him from acting normal. Right now, you’re Superman, and
Marisa is Lex Luthor. But lucky for you, she gave you the
kryptonite – your balls – back to you. Now you’ve got to mix the
green kryptonite, the kind that hurts Superman, with the red
kryptonite, the kind that takes away his inhibitions, without
losing your morals.”

Alexander understood the analogy, but he had
no idea how it applied to him. But considering his friend’s amazing
talent for understanding women, he snapped his mouth shut to find
out where Damon would take his message.

“Lower your voice. Deepen it. Women aren’t
attracted to guys who are always trying to please them.”

“But it shows that I’m approachable.”

“It shows that you’re trying to please them.
If you want a woman to find you attractive, you show that you’re
worth being attracted to. By using that pleasing-type voice, you’re
basically asking her to like you. It’s like begging. It’s not
attractive. Knock it off.” He took a sip of beer.

Alexander had never given it much thought
because speaking that way simply had become second nature to him.
He ordered a bottle of Miller Lite from the female bartender, who
nodded, but cast another glance at Damon, who didn’t even look her
way.

“Practice using a deeper tone, something
that feels comfortable, something you can use all the time. Got it?
Next, I watched you walk in here. I wasn’t impressed. But I should
have been.” Damon stood tall and threw back his shoulders. “Lead
with your shoulders. And take it slow. When I walk into a room, I
get all Samuel L. Jackson with my strut: ‘I own this mother-fucker
and every person in it. I can get whatever I want, whenever I want
it.’ So, I don’t care how you do it, but do what it takes to get
that attitude. You do that and Marisa will notice. I guarantee
it.”

Alexander looked pessimistic. “Won’t I come
off as an asshole?”

“Hell, no. It shows all the right things to
a woman: ‘I’m confident. I’m strong. You won’t be able to find
anyone better than me.’ And let’s get to the complete opposite of
that attitude – yours. One reason Marisa isn’t attracted to you is
because you do whatever she says. If she wants to go to the movie
theater, and you pick one movie, but she suggests another, you go
see that one. Doesn’t matter what you want; you see her movie
instead. It’s not her fault. It’s yours. Not attractive.”

Laughing, Alexander couldn’t believe such an
outrageous statement. “It’s called compromise. Humans do that on
Earth – even on Krypton.”

“Right, but you compromise too much. You
bend over backwards to please her. What does that tell her? That
she can stomp all over you. And you won’t care. Since you’re best
friends, I’m sure she doesn’t treat you that way. And from what
you’ve said, she doesn’t take advantage of you in any way. Which,
I’ve got to say, kudos to her. She must really care for you. But I
guarantee that she doesn’t want you to cave in so much. It shows
you have no back bone. Not attractive.”

Alexander hadn’t thought of it that way. Put
in that context, he realized he did compromise way too often. Only
now that Damon had pointed out how Marisa might view him when he
acted this way, did he feel like a tool. “Okay.”

“Same goes for always being there for her.
If you’re always there, how is she going to miss you? You’ve heard
the phrase, ‘Distance makes the heart grow fonder’? There’s truth
in that statement. Remember it.” Noticing their bartender
approaching them with a smile, now that she caught Damon’s eye, he
said to Alexander, “Take note,” then turned to her and said in a
teasing voice, “Where’ve you been? It took you like five minutes to
get that beer. You stop off at the bathroom? Maybe powder your nose
while you were at it?”

She placed the beer in front of Alexander
without even glancing his way. “It didn’t take five minutes.” She
leveled Damon with a wistful look. “And why would I go powder my
nose?”

“Isn’t that what women do when they want to
impress a man?”

She checked out the room, dejected. “There
aren’t any men I want to impress.” She settled her gaze on Damon
with a twinkle in her eye. “Have you seen any?”

“Why would I be looking?”

Another customer called her, making her
twist her lips in frustration. “Duty calls.” She grinned and
attended to her new customers.

Alexander didn’t know what happened there,
but he could feel the chemistry between them. And it seemed so
effortless on Damon’s part.

Damon turned to him. “I’ve watched you
approach women. You’ve never tried witty banter like that, have
you?”

Feeling a little embarrassed, Alexander
decided not to admit that he’d written Marisa a poem last night
that he’d folded up and stored in his front pocket. At first, he
thought he’d give it to her so that she might understand the depth
of his feelings for her, but now he began to second-guess himself,
thinking that it might do more harm than good.

There was no way he could chat up a woman
like the way Damon had just done. “I’m not as quick-thinking as
you.”

Incredulous, his friend gave him an annoyed
look. “What? You’re quicker and way wittier than I’ll ever be. You
could score with so many women—if you only had more
confidence.”

Alexander had to admit that, when it came to
women, he didn’t have the highest self-esteem. The women he found
attractive were never attracted to him. And the ones that did like
him, he didn’t want to kiss. For him, besides intelligence, a sense
of humor, and kindness, it always came down this factor. It didn’t
matter if the women were thin or plump, short or tall. He’d only
kissed half a dozen women in his life, and only once did he
experience a kiss so thrilling that it rivaled the intimacy of
having sex, something he’d only done a few times – and only once
with each partner.

“So when Marisa said you need more
confidence, she wasn’t really talking about the confidence needed
to get a promotion. She’s talking about the way you handle yourself
with women. Look at James Bond, the Daniel Craig version. That’s
someone to emulate. That dude is
too
fucking cool. He walks
into a room, and everyone looks his way – even dudes. If he checks
out a woman, he’s admiring what he sees. If she doesn’t like it?
Too bad. He doesn’t care. He’ll move on without a second thought.
That’s the confidence Marisa’s talking about. And count yourself
lucky that she told you so.”

“Why?”

“Why else? She’s your best friend. Deep
down, she loves you. Remember, affection not attraction. But she
cares. She wants you to fall in love. And deep down, she wouldn’t
have told you if she didn’t secretly want you to herself. Even if
she doesn’t know it.”

Alexander hadn’t considered that
possibility. It made his heart leap. However, he didn’t know if he
could trust Damon: did he only say that as a motivational tool or
did he really believe it?

“Back to that conversation with you-know-who
at the other end of the bar.” But Damon didn’t look her way. “I
didn’t try to make her like me. I implied that she was attracted to
me, and I made it fun for her. That’s why she keeps looking my way.
And that’s why I’ll sometimes annoy her by not looking back.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Everyone wants what they can’t have. By not
giving her my attention all the time, I’m telling her that I don’t
care if she likes me or not – like James Bond. There’s tension
there. She’s thinking, does he like me? If he doesn’t, why not?’
And that makes her think about me even more. If I look at her and
smile all day long, what will that do? It kills the attraction I’m
building between us.”

“But you’re manipulating her.”

Damon’s eyes widened in mock disbelief. “Did
it look like I was manipulating her? She was having a good time. If
you want someone, you have to risk losing her. If she doesn’t care
enough, then you’re better off without her. Move on.”

“That’s pretty cold.”

“It’s life. And we know how fair that is.
Think of it as a game of percentages. Take Derek Jeter. He hits
.300 or better each year. What does that mean? He reaches base
safely three out of every ten times at the plate. In school, 30
percent is a failing grade. But in the dating world, I’ll take
those odds any day. Reality isn’t always pretty. But we all have to
live there.

“If you do everything I say you’ll have a
chance. Not a good chance. But you’ll have an opening because
you’re best friends with her. It shows she feels affection for you.
Just not attraction. Two separate worlds like Earth, where you’re
just a friend, and Krypton, where you have power – attraction. You
have to visit Krypton.”

“Fine. But let’s quit with the Superman
analogies, okay?”

“Done. I don’t envy you – getting your heart
ripped out. It was the most excruciating thing I’ve ever lived
through. That how it feels for you?”

Alexander didn’t want to admit the truth out
loud, which would equate to admitting defeat.

“Imagine spending years of loving each
other, only to have her rip your heart out. It’s way worse.”

It lent the impression that Damon had never
given up hope on revisiting love at some point in his life. It
startled Alexander because his friend hadn’t mentioned the
relationship that crushed him in over a decade, and he figured that
having persuaded dozens of women into his bedroom would have
annihilated the eternal hope of rediscovering the love he once felt
for another human being.

At that moment, movement caught his
attention from the corner of Alexander’s eye: Marisa had just
entered the bar with her on-again, off-again boyfriend named,
Brad.

CHAPTER FIVE

After the debacle with Alexander and the
disappointing incident at her parent’s home, Marisa wanted to get
her mind off the negativity surrounding her relationships and
celebrate her promotion. She called Brad and suggested they go out
dancing. Since he only acted like an adult while at work, she had
only recently given up hope that he would become more mature and
seek a long-term relationship.