Page 3 of Dream Cum True
“Honestly, it was a number of things. I think the demise of our relationship started when I overheard her on the phone talking to one of her friends about another friend. I didn’t realize how much of a mean girl she was, and that shit wasn’t attractive. I’m big on loyalty, but based on what I overheard, the word wasn’t in her vocabulary.”
“Most men don’t care about that kinda stuff, so I’m surprised.”
“I don’t know about other men, but genuine friendships are important to me. How you treat your friends says a lot about you. She’s been friends with the girl she was talking about foryears, and I’ve seen that girl bend over backwards and go out of her way for my ex. It didn’t sit right with me. In my opinion, if she could dog her so-called friend like that, she can’t be trusted. When I asked her about it, she doubled down on everything she said.”
“Wow! I guess I need to stop grouping all men in the same category.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“A lot of men tend to have very surface-level friendships and don’t seem to hold each other accountable. That’s why I was surprised you cared about what your ex had to say about her friend.”
“All men aren’t the same.”
“I know. My friends’ husbands prove that to me every day.”
“How so?”
“I’ve never seen men so supportive of one another. They don’t hesitate to correct and hold each other accountable. They love my friends with a fierceness I’ve never seen. My husband sure as hell didn’t love me like that. So, what was the final straw with your ex?”
“I found out she was cheating.”
“I guess we have that in common.”
“It sounds like I was with the wrong woman, and you married the wrong man.”
Two
Elias Jentry
“Iagree, but after the disastrous dates I’ve suffered through, I’m starting to think the majority of men aren’t much different than my ex.”
“The dates were that bad?” I asked, wondering if she was exaggerating.
“Worse. My friends truly lucked up with their husbands, and God must have broken the mold and buried it.”
“I haven’t dated since I broke up with my ex. We were only together for about a year, and before that, I was too focused on work to date anyone seriously. I’d like to think I was included in the good man mold. All I need is the right woman to give all this good loving to.”
She looked at me for a moment as if she were weighing my words, but when she responded, she didn’t address them.
“Dating may be different for men. At this point, if I’m ever in another serious relationship, it will only be because God hand-delivered him to me. No more dating apps or letting people play matchmaker.”
I laughed as I thought about how terrible those dates must have been for her to swear off dating in general.
“You want another drink?” I asked, hoping she’d say yes.
“Sure, but this is the last one. It’s been a long day, and I’m not as young as I used to be.”
I wasn’t trying to get her drunk, but I wasn’t ready for her to leave. I summoned the bartender and ordered us another drink.
“None of us are, but you don’t look a day over twenty-five. I’m assuming you’re at least a few years older.”
“What is your assumption based on?”
“You said you were married for ten years. I’m pretty sure you didn’t get married when you were fifteen.”
“You assume correctly.”
“If you got married at eighteen, you could be close to thirty.”
