Scenario:I want a girlfriend.
Create my version of this story
Iāve always been a hopeless romantic.
Itās in my blood, and I canāt seem to help it.
Iām twenty-eight years old, single, and still searching for the love of my life.
Iām not picky, not by any means.
Iām just waiting for that special someone to come along and sweep me off my feet.
At least, thatās what I keep telling myself.
The truth is, Iāve been in love exactly once, and I thought she was the one.
But as is often the case, reality had other plans for me.
Now, a year and a half after my last breakup, Iām ready to put myself back out there and start dating again.
Iāve set a goal for myself: find a girlfriend within the next year.
Of course, finding true love is the ultimate goal.
But thereās only so much one man can do.
A year is a reasonable amount of time to find someone who fits the bill, right?
Hold on, let me backtrack a little.
You see, I have this amazing best friend named Emily Roberts.
We met in college.
She has long, dark blond hair that falls in loose waves down her back and striking green eyes that are impossible not to get lost in.
Not to mention that she has the kind of perfect smile that could light up an entire room.
In short, sheās drop-dead gorgeous and could have any guy she wants.
Except when it comes to me, that is.
Because although Emily is beautifulāinside and outāweāre just friends.
Nothing more and nothing less.
And thatās perfectly fine with me.
Sheās never looked at me as anything other than a brother.
Even when Iāve brought it up in the past and tried to convince her that we might be meant for each other, sheās remained steadfast in her belief that weāre just not meant to be in a romantic relationship together.
Our friendship means too much to her to risk ruining it by trying to take things to the next level.
And so, Iāve learned to live with that fact.
In fact, sometimes I think itās made us even closer than we would have been otherwise.
Sheās my rock.
My confidante and my best friend in the world.
Sheās the first person I want to talk to when things go wrongāand the one I want to celebrate with when things go right.
So when I came home one day and told her that I was going to find a girlfriend within the next year, she was more than happy to help me come up with a plan of attack.
āDid you find a girlfriend today?ā
she asks me from the couch where sheās curled up with a blanket pulled up over her legs.
āNot yet,ā I say with a grin as I pull a beer from the fridge and drop onto the couch beside herāclose enough that our bodies are touching slightly but not so close that itās obvious Iām trying something.
She punches me in the arm, feigning offense at my flippant remark.
Itās not like itās that easy,ā she says with an exasperated sigh.
āI mean, itās not like I have guys lined up around the block begging me to go out with them.ā
āYeah,ā I say, rolling my eyes at her words.
āJust because you have guys lined up around the block begging you to marry them doesnāt mean you canāt go out on a few dates every now and then.ā
āDonāt be ridiculous,ā she says with a shake of her head as she reaches for the remote and turns the volume down on the television set where some sappy Hallmark movie is playing in the background.
āIām not interested in dating right now,ā she says with a shrug of her shoulders as she turns back toward me.
āWell maybe you already found the guy youāre in love with,ā I tease her, knowing full well that thereās no one special in Emilyās life right nowāat least not anyone sheād admit to being in love with.
āThatās highly unlikely,ā she scoffs as she nudges my shoulder with hers.
āYou know me better than anyone, Alex,ā she continues.
āAnd you know Iām not the type of person who falls in love at the drop of a hat.ā
I canāt help but laugh at her words because theyāre so true.
Sheās always been a hopeless romantic like me, and yet sheās never been good at finding love for herself.
At least, not in the long term.
I know sheās had plenty of boyfriends over the years.
Most of them have been terrible, and sheās broken up with them after the first or second date, never letting things get serious enough for them to break her heart.
But every once in a while, she finds a guy who seems like he might be worth her time, only to realize heās nothing like she thought he was.
Iāve tried to set her up with a few different guys I know, but she always finds some excuse not to go out with them.
At first, I thought it was because she wasnāt attracted to them or she was still hung up on some other guy from her past.
But as time went on and no one was ever good enough for her, it became clear that those were just excuses to keep me from trying to set her up with someone else.
Besides, even if she did go out with someone, sheād be too focused on her writing to put any effort into making the relationship work.
And so, while part of me would love to see her find Mr.Right, another part of me knows that sheās better off staying single for now.
Sheās too much of a romantic to settle for anything less than the bestāand thatās fine by me.
āWell, youāre missing out,ā I tell her with a shrug as I take a sip from my beer and pull my phone from my pocket.
āMaybe if you were a better liar, you might actually have a shot at finding love.ā
āIām not a liar, Alex.ā
āThen why donāt you believe me when I say Iām going to find a woman who meets my standards?ā
I ask as I unlock my phone and start scrolling through the photos of the women from earlier.
āBecause your standards are ridiculous and everyone knows it.ā
I scoff at her words.
āEveryone except for me, apparently.ā
She rolls her eyes and sighs, aware that sheās not going to win this one.
Iāve been saying the same thing to her for years, but she still refuses to believe that there are beautiful, intelligent women out there who are interested in finding love as much as I am.
Though to be fair, most of the women Iāve met have turned out to be nothing more than a pretty face, which is why Iāve been single for so long.
But that doesnāt mean there isnāt someone out there who meets my standardsāin fact, Iām convinced that there is.
And when I find her, Emily will be eating her words.
āSo when are you going to give up on this hopeless quest of yours?ā
she asks, a teasing smile on her lips as she reaches for her glass of wine.
āNot until Iāve found someone worth giving my heart to,ā I tell her honestly, knowing that I wonāt be happy until Iāve found my true love.
āEven if it takes forever?ā
āItās not like I have anything better to do with my time,ā I remind her with a chuckle.
She shakes her head in amusement as she takes a sip of her wine.
āYouāre impossible, you know that?ā
āTell me something I donāt already know,ā I quip as I finish off my beer and set it down on the coffee table in front of us.
She rolls her eyes and takes another sip of her wine before turning to face me on the couch.
āIf you want my adviceāand letās be honest, you probably donātāyou should stop searching for a woman who is only beautiful and start looking for someone with a little more substance,ā she suggests.
I canāt help but scoff at her words because theyāre exactly what I expected her to say.
For as long as Iāve known Emily, sheās always put more emphasis on whatās inside someoneās head rather than whatās on the outside.
And while I appreciate her inputāand even agree with her to an extentāI know exactly what I want in a woman and I wonāt be happy until Iāve found it.
The problem is that Iāve been looking for so long and have yet to find a woman who is both beautiful and intelligent.
I know theyāre out thereāEmily is living proof of thatābut finding someone who meets my standards is easier said than done.
Besides, I donāt see why I canāt have both.
Is it really too much to ask?
āAre you saying you want someone like me?ā
she asks with a playful smile as she scrunches up her face and bats her eyelashes at me.
I chuckle at her words and shake my head.
āI never said that.ā
āRight,ā she drawls out as she rolls her eyes and sips her wine.
āAs if you could ever find someone as perfect as me.ā
I canāt help but laugh at the absurdity of her words because theyāre true in more ways than one.
As much as I hate to admit it, Emily really is perfect in every way.
And yet, as much as I would love to find someone just like herāsomeone who is beautiful and intelligent and loves me as much as I love herāI donāt know if thatās actually possible.