Cure To Her Heart

7- The Bachelor

Andrew

“I did not know you were celibate, Ethan. Are you sporting blue balls right now?” I mock him.

“f**k you, Hudson!” he bites back, visibly pissed off.

“I meant no s*x at the start, Andrew!” Sawyer huffs. “Obviously, we are having s*x now.”

“A lot of it.” Ethan grins.

“TMI, man. TMI.” James grumbles, laughing.

Sawyer playfully hits Ethan on the chest to silence him.

“So, you said you wanted a relationship, Andrew. If that’s the case, you...”

“There is a difference between want and can.” I interrupt her.

Sawyer frowns, confused by my comment.

“I am not relationship material, Sawyer. I don’t want to make a girl miserable by promising her something I cannot deliver.”

“Not relationship material? Either you want a relationship or you don’t. It is that simple.” She says, exasperated.

There is nothing simple about that.

“Don’t ever be in a relationship if you are not 100% sure that you will commit to the other person.”

Grandpa Jay’s words of wisdom hit me harder tonight… How can I be 100% sure?

“You are not your father, Andrew.” James states, reading my mind.

Dammit, my friends know me too well…

“You are loyal to a fault, Andrew.” Ethan says, squeezing my shoulder.

“You never lie and never cheat, Andrew.” James adds. “Not in your friendships, not in business, and I am sure if you start a relationship with a woman, you will still be a loyal and honest guy because that is who you are.”

“Now that we have established that you are relationship-material”. Sawyer says using air quotes for relationship material. “You should not jump to bed on the first day. You need to get to know this person to build an emotional connection before having sex.”

“But s*x is an important part of a healthy relationship. What if I get attached to this person and then the s*x turns out to be lame?”

“It is not going to be lame if you have any emotional connection. If you like this person… If you love this person, there is no reason for s*x to be lame.”

“But Sawyer, you know that sometimes people just don’t connect sexually!” I insist.

Her view seems quite one-dimensional! There are a lot of couples out there who are living a very frustrating s****l life!

“No buts! If you like her, the s*x will be good.” She dismisses me. “Yes, sure, you might need to talk things through… I don't know, you might need to discover each other's body first to see what makes you…”

“OK baby, that's enough. He got the message." Ethan cuts her off, rumbling that his wife should not care about his friend's s*x life.

I laugh at my friend’s jealousy and find myself envious again of his relationship…. of his ridiculous jealousy…

Could Sawyer be right?

“I know that one-night-stands do not lead to relationships… At least it was never the intent for me… But I am genuinely surprised that s*x should be off the table at the start. There should be a minimum compatibility… an attraction…”

“Of course. I am just saying don’t rush into sex.”

I glance at my friends, and cannot help but notice how close they are to their wives, and neither of them rushed things out.

I look at Sawyer and she nods, encouraging me to test her theory.

I sigh and nod. I still feel this is crazy, but there is no harm in giving her theory a try.

“What do you suggest I do, Sawyer?”

“You need to find a woman who will share the same interests as you. Someone you will be happy to spend some quality time with her. You know… to chat… to go for walks… to get to know her on a deeper level.”

“See, we already have a problem…” I say, defeated.

“What do you mean?”

“My interests revolve around s*x!” I smirk.

“Ha, ha, ha! Very funny.” Sawyer says sarcastically.

“I am serious, Sawyer. s*x is an important part of my life.”

“Okay …and what do you do other than that?”

“Just work and spend time with you and my family.”

“You like handiwork and renovation.” James pitches in. “You used to flip houses with your grandfather.”

Yes… one of the many fond memories of my grandpa.

“He is not going to a home improvement store to find his next girlfriend!” Sawyer complains, frustrated by the lack of progress in her plan.

“How about this nurse everyone has been talking about? You seem to already have a connection with her?” Harper proposes.

NO. Not going there!

Ivy Everly is a geriatric nurse. I met her when grandpa was hospitalized almost three years ago. She is a gentle soul who took care of my grandfather and helped my mother and me cope with the inevitable.

“She is just a friend.”

“Some of the best love stories start with friendship.”

“She is not an option.”

“As you wish.” Sawyer shrugs. “But you must admit that in this friendship with Ivy, you have bonded… So you need to replicate this flirting with a woman who interests you beyond just friendship.”

“I did not flirt with Ivy.” I mumble.

“That girl, in the red dress, is pretty and has been glancing at you.” Harper says, tilting her head to the right.

I reluctantly look at the girl, and I feel nothing.

“Nope.”

I look around, searching for a woman who can spike my interest.

It is Saturday night… the club is full… It should not be difficult to find one woman.

“I can introduce you to one of my single friends.” Sawyer proposes.

“A blind date?! Hell no! s*x is already off the table! I need to see the woman first… To talk to her… I need to feel something… an attraction… or a connection, as you call it, before I go on an actual date.”

My eyes are still on the crowd, but no one captures my attention. I mean, there are some beautiful as f**k women over here. I would not have minded f*****g all of them, one after the other, or even in pairs! But I am supposed to look beyond physical appearance… Whatever that means!

“OK. OK.” She rolls her eyes. “How about we host a dinner party, and you can chat with them and see whether you would like to take one of them on a date.”

“A dinner party with Andrew and a bunch of single girls?” James laughs out loud. “They don’t call you the last bachelor standing for nothing!”

“Your support warms my heart!” I spit out.

I never had a problem chripsing a woman… I won’t start now! I just need to check the eyes! I always look into a woman’s eyes to see whether she is interested in a hot night. I just need to search for something else in their eyes tonight.

“Thanks for your suggestion, Sawyer. But I’ve got it from here.”

I gulp my drink down and stand up.

“I will call you tomorrow morning." I tell the guys. "Eight-ish. Be ready to hear about the most romantic meet cute in the history of meet cute!”

I head to the bar, the central station for flirting in a club. As I see it, the night is still young, and I am bound to find a woman to test this relationship madness on her. I am sure I will have something to talk about with my friends tomorrow morning!

“Andrew! You finally came out of your hibernation skyscraper!?!” someone says.

I turn to my right and see Joanna, one of my f**k buddies. She had reached out in the past weeks, but I brushed her off every time… Just as I have brushed off everyone else.

“I’ve missed you!” She goes on her tiptoes to kiss me as she runs her hands on my chest.

See! That, I can read! This is a clear signal. She is up to it.

She goes on and on about her week and how she missed our time together. I stare at her, checking her out. She is still hot as f**k… and I know that we are compatible sexually… highly compatible!! And my hunch tells me that she would be more than happy to take this casual s*x to the next level.

Would it work?

She chatters about her modeling gigs, name-dropping cities, and islands she traveled to recently. Nope, she won’t do... I have zero interest in what she has got to say. I half-listen to her babbling, my eyes roaming the place in search of a better option.

My eyes land on a brunette, sitting at the bar, a cocktail drink in her hand. Every few seconds, she pulls on her tight dress and bites her bottom lip. She is uncomfortable but is trying to hide it… Why would she be uncomfortable? The dress fits her like a glove and, even sitting down, I can see how it embraces her curves in a delectable way. Just looking at her from a distance is enough for my d**k to wake up!

Her light brown eyes are fascinating… They are big, almond-shaped, and the elaborate makeup puts all the emotions swirling in there on display. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and I am mesmerized by the highlights in her hair that come to life under the dancing lights in the club.

A guy swoops in and introduces himself. f**k! She glances to the left before looking back at him and smiling.

Dammit! She is interested!