Page 14 of The Boyfriend List
“What? No! I did not make a marriage pact with him. I made adatingpact.”
Wait, that sounds even worse.
“You’re going to date each other?” Raina’s brown eyes widen. Even though it’s nine pm in Dorapolis, she looks wide awake.
“Are you jumping to all the wrong conclusions on purpose?”
“Yes. Keep going.” She wavesan impatient hand.
I sip my iced matcha latte. “We agreed that if I meet and date a guy who fulfills all the qualities on my boyfriend list by August, he’s going to date a woman for longer than two months.”
“What?” She pouts. “Why two months? Are you telling me London Boy has never dated anyone for longer than two months?”
Ever since that Taylor Swift song came out, she’s been calling LondonLondon Boy. I find it kind of funny, but I’ll never tell London that.
“Nope.”
“That’s weird. He seems like the type of guy who would talk about marriage and commitment on the first date.”
I sigh. “Is this because you think he’s boring?”
“I think he’s… safe.”
“That’s Raina-speak for boring.”
“Okay, fine, I think he’skind ofboring, but maybe you need more boring in your life. I mean, imagine if you were dating the male equivalent of me. That would be insane.”
I chuckle at the mental image. “I have enough of you in my life. I don’t need to date your male clone.”
“Exactly. Anyways. Why did you guys make this dating pact? Why aren’t you guys dating each other instead?”
I sigh deeply and rest my cheek on my palm. “You know why.”
“Thanksgiving?”
“Thanksgiving.”
Six years ago, when we were both single, London and I hung out all the time. Since I didn’t have any family in Los Angeles, London invited me to his house for Thanksgiving.
I made small talk with his siblings, and offered to help peel potatoes and do the dishes. His sister, Savannah, and I got along well since she was only a few years older than me and also planning to become a lawyer. I even heldout hope that London would see how well I got along with his family, and ask me out.
Then, after dinner, while everyone else was in a food coma, I helped his mom wash the mountain of dishes. In between scrubbing pots, pans, and baking sheets, she told me London was her favourite child.
Well, she didn’t come out and say it, but she told me how much she appreciated that he was always there for her. That she could always rely on him to be her rock. How she knew that whoever he dated would have to meetherexacting standards.
Basically, she said no woman would ever be good enough for her son. No woman would ever understand what he needed. And no woman would ever be able to compete with the needs of his family, because London always put his family first.
“Gloria, that was his mom, not him. It doesn’t meanhefeels that way about you,” Raina says.
“Maybe. But I don’t want to confess my feelings only to find out that he and his mom share the same opinions on women. Plus, imagine if we got married. I would have to deal with his mom hating me for the rest of my life.” A shudder wracks me at the thought.
“Then he’s a momma’s boy and not worth your time.” Raina folds her arms over her chest. “Come on, Gloria. Would you rather spend your whole life not knowing how he really feels about you? You guys have been friends for almost ten years at this point. Do you want to spend another ten years dating gas station attendants and pining away for him? What if he marries someone else?”
“Then he never loved me,” I say.
“He neverknewyou loved him!”
“And he’s not getting married.” A headache throbs at my temples as I say my next words. “He doesn’t want a family.”
