Page 47 of Accidental Roommates

“Are you going to ask him out?” I whisper.

She sighs and pulls me back between two empty lounge chairs that have been claimed with beach towels.

“First rule. You don’t ask a guy out. You pretend not to be interested, which makes them even more interested. We just talked about this.”

“I know, but it all seems kind of crazy. Isn’t it better to be more direct?”

“Honestly, when is the last time you dated?” she asks, sounding exasperated.

“I’ve um, never really dated anyone besides Liam. We started dating in high school. I went out with a guy in eighth grade, but I wouldn’t count that. It wasn’t even really a date. My mom took us to a movie and—”

“Okay, I get it.” She puts her hand on my shoulder. “You’re in need of some serious dating help. You need to date a lot of guys. You have to know what’s out there so you can figure out what you like.”

“I already know what I like.”

“You know what you liked with your ex. But given how it ended, it probably wasn’t the best relationship. Trust me, I’ve been there. When it happened to me, I thought my world had ended, but it’d really just begun. Like you, I hadn’t dated much before then so I didn’t realize there were so many different types of guys out there. Sweet ones. Sensitive ones. Ones who are all about romance. Ones who actually call when they say they will. And then, of course, you have your bad boys, jocks, assholes. I’ve pretty much dated them all. The point is, you need to get out there and sample as many as you can.”

“And by sample, you mean date.”

“Date. Kiss. Have sex with. Whatever you want to do. Just don’t let it get serious. Not yet. Don’t get into another relationship until you know for sure what you want. You’ll save yourself a lot of heartbreak if you follow that advice.”

“Are you saying you haven’t had your heart broken since freshman year?”

“Yes, and it’s because I’ve stayed out of committed relationships.”

“What about Troy?”

“Okay, yeah, that was the one exception, but we only dated for a few months.”

“But you were in a committed relationship. So why’d you break your rule with Troy?”

“We’re not talking about me. We’re talking about you.” She glances back at the pool. “Shit, that guy took off. Do you see him?”

I look around. “Over there. By the waterslide.”

She spots him. “With a girl. You took too long.”

“Too long? We’ve been standing here less than five minutes.”

“Things move fast. You see a guy you like, you have to make a move.”

“But you said I can’t pretend I like him. So what am I supposed to do?”

“You walk past him or stand in front of him. You get his attention and then keep it by doing things like adjusting your swimsuit or messing with your hair. Movement is key. Guys have no attention span. They’re like toddlers. They’re easily distracted by things that move.”

I laugh. “That’s not very nice.”

“It’s the truth. Try it and see. Or just look around.” She turns back. “See that girl walking by?” She pauses, and we watch a blonde in a red bikini slowly make her way around the wave pool. “Watch the guys. See how they immediately look up when she passes them? And now she’s stopping to fix her ponytail. See how the guys are still looking at her? It’s because she has movement. She isn’t just standing there, doing nothing.” Andrea turns back to me. “Are you getting all this? I know it’s a lot.”

“I think I’ve got it. So what now? We just keep walking around?”

“Yes, but it’s not going to take long before guys start coming up to you so you need to be prepared with a plan. I’d suggest turning down the first guy who approaches you. You don’t want to seem desperate. In fact, you should turn down the first two or three, or all of them if you want.”

“If I want a date, I can’t turn them all down.”

“You can if you don’t feel any chemistry with them. You don’t want to date just to date. I know I told you to sample all kinds of guys, but you still want to at least feel something for the guy. An attraction. An interest. Something.”

I already feel attraction for a guy. And interest. The problem is, the guy is my roommate. He’s off limits.

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