The Lady and a boy named Dex: Part I

4/13/2012 The Lady 4 Comments

Once upon a time, The Lady fell in love. Honest to goodness love. This is the story of her journey in and out of it and back into it again.

His name was Dex. (He has previously been referred to as "The Doctor"). He was tall. Incredibly tall. And lurpy. But he was hilarious. At least that's how my sister introduced him to me, "This is Dex, he's hilarious."

One summer, Dex became one of my closest friends. I was friendless in an unfamiliar town, and my expectations for a rekindled relationship with Mr. Tennis had just exploded. Dex adopted me as an honorary member of his group of friends. We had bonded over our mutual love for Coldplay, Regina Spektor, and The Office, as well as the pleasure we derived from belting "I Will Survive" at the top of our lungs. But more than that, Dex was someone whom I could talk to and laugh with. There were no expectations to be met. We were simply always ourselves together, and for one whole magical summer, I was free from boys who expected things from me.

Dex started up his battered car and it rumbled to a start. The night air was warm and my hair was harshly slapping around my face. "You have perfect porn-star hair," he said grinning at me. I scowled, but laughed. He was one of those sorts of people who can get away with saying anything. Dex helped me from the car ceremoniously. Then he hugged me. It was the first time he had hugged me all summer. And in that instant I knew that he liked me. Liked me for more reasons than just my "porn-star" hair, my love for Coldplay, my classical piano skills, or my dumb jokes. He liked all of me. And liked all of me a lot.

Inside, the house was dark. Everyone was already asleep. I wished that I could be oblivious. That I didn't know that he liked me. I didn't know if I could like him. I couldn't imagine myself liking him. I needed him as a friend, and I didn't know if I could handle more than that. Not then.

The shallow and embarrassing truth was that I wasn't physically attracted to Dex. He was tall. Incredibly tall. And lurpy. And I had never been the sort of girl who was attracted to gangly guys with glasses. I was attracted to muscly, rugged men who had played football in high school (hence my attraction to Mr. Cowboy and Mr. Tennis). I wouldn't date him. But he was my friend, and one of the best friends that I had at the time. So I decided upon what I should do: Absolutely nothing. I couldn't address the issue without making it awkward for both parties. So I would do nothing. Pretend to be oblivious.

But Dex didn't let me be oblivious. One night, we went for a walk, not a purposeful "let's take a walk" sort of walk, but just a stroll between friends. Dex put his lanky arm around my shoulders, and I reached up and put my hand in his. I didn't know what I meant by it. I was certain that I didn't like him, and I was afraid of leading him on. (And let me tell you one thing, usually when you hold hands with a boy who likes you, it counts as leading him on.) But putting my hand in his felt natural. It felt appropriate for whatever it was that I was feeling. Friendship? Belonging? Gratitude?

Every time we were together after that--which was frequent--Dex held my hand. And I didn't mind. In fact I liked it. And soon, I liked him. I liked him in spite of his quirks, his height, his throaty laugh. I liked his humor, his generosity, his goodness, his ambition. All of him.

I had avoided telling anyone that there was anything between Dex and myself. I had no desire to make it public knowledge. But for me not to tell my own sister (with whom I share everything) what was happening right under her nose was astounding. After several weeks (which is an excruciatingly long time for me to keep something from my sister) of a secret attraction to Dex I admitted, "I think I might be dating him."

My sister's ability to keep secrets is a match for my own. At a family dinner the next day, she blurted to my older and protective brother, "How would you feel if The Lady was dating someone?" I grimaced. He took a minute to mull it over. "Only if it's Dex." Then, via several prattling cousins and good friends and healthy dose of modern technology, word got back to Dex within ten minutes that there was a rumor going around that the two of us were dating.

Dex called me in a panic. "Lady, people are saying that we are dating!"

My heart froze. Had I falsely labeled our relationship? He didn't want to date me? Was this really some sort of friends-with-benefits fling?

"Oh."

"Do you want to date me?" he asked honestly.

"Yes," I admitted, hoping that it wasn't the wrong answer.

"I guess we're dating then," he said with satisfaction.

Con Amor,
The Lady

"She had been forced into prudence in her youth, she learned romance as she grew older: the natural sequence of an unnatural beginning." -Persuasion

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does this story continue??? I felt like I was there, and I want to hear more! I love that your writing draws me in so much! Please, please, please, tell me this is not where it ends!

April 13, 2012 at 9:30 PM

Lady,

I really liked this post! And was light and sweet yet kept me interested! And I'm personally glad you're splitting the story up, keepin me coming back for more!

April 14, 2012 at 12:21 AM