Perspectives
in three parts
~~~
I've been friends with Jim for a long time, about three years and change. We grew up in the same lame town, although I didn't really know him then. We worked together for about six months and that's when we were tight. After he quit, we stayed close, getting together on the weekends and for a game sometimes. Jim is the kind of guy I can relate to. We share musical taste as well as a need for pizza. If guys have best friends, Jim is mine.
Two months ago, Jim showed up at my place with this girl, Elizabeth. It wasn't particularly unusual for us to enjoy the company of women. Most of the time we've known each other, I've had a girlfriend or Jim's had a girlfriend, or we've both had girlfriends. Even when we didn't have girlfriends, we had friends who were girls. So Elizabeth being a girl wasn't itself a big deal.
But what a girl! Don't get me wrong, Jim is a great guy. Reasonably handsome, if you dig that sort of guy. Sense of humor. Smart. Really a good guy. Elizabeth is something else. None of the girls who came before could hold a candle to the shockingly brilliant sun of Elizabeth. I remember my jaw actually dropping when I saw her. My eyes opened wide and I stared slack jawed for at least a minute. Stunning. Beautiful. Sweet.
I recovered soon enough and welcomed her into the fold. I don't think I ever acted creepy or anything like that. I had too much respect for Jim to behave like a fool around his girlfriend. I mean, I'm sure I stared to the point of drooling from time to time, but being a man in the presence of a beautiful woman, that kind of reaction was par for the course. All guys leered at Elizabeth. I would be unrealistic to think anything else was possible.
Even so, I could soon tell that Elizabeth didn't like me. She avoided talking to me. If I joined bunch of people in conversation, she'd soon walk away. She tried to make plans that seemed particularly to exclude me. She was creating distance between us and, as a result, between me and Jim. I wasn't thrilled with the direction we were headed, but I had no idea what I could do about it. Jim seemed happy with Elizabeth. My sun was setting.
So it came as a surprise when Jim asked me to go to the park with him and Elizabeth. By that time, I had begun to accept that things would never be the same and I was ready to move along. I agreed without expressing my reservations, but Jim understood immediately my reluctance to join the party.
"You don't like Elizabeth, do you?"
"I do. That's not it at all."
"So what is it?"
"She doesn't really like me."
"Sure she does."
"No," I said deliberately. "No, she doesn't."
"What makes you say that?"
"She acts like she's disappointed in me. Like she thinks I'm a failure. A sad, disappointment. A bum."
"You're intimidated by her."
"Definitely. She's just amazing."
"That's just dumb."
"But she's incredible."
"It's not dumb because she's not incredible. She is. What's dumb is that so are you."
"I'm not that hot."
"No one is that hot. But you're just as cool as she is."
"I am not in her league," I said sincerely. "Hell, you're not in her league." Jim reached over and hit me in the arm. "Ow."
"She intimidates you, and you act like an idiot. She hates that. Treat her like a real person instead of some kind of fertility idol."
"Sorry, man, but she messes me up. I can't deal with a woman that pretty."
"You've dated pretty girls."
"Not like her. She's out of my league."
"She is not. Look, I shouldn't be telling you this, but I am completely sure that you are not out of her league."
"Bullshit."
"I'm not kidding. I'm only going to tell you this to help you understand, so don't tell anyone I told you this. If I get in trouble over this, it's your ass. Don't make me kill you."
"What?"
"Sometimes, when we're fucking, Elizabeth talks about you."
"Hold on. What?"
"When we fuck, Elizabeth gets off on talking about getting other guys to join in. She has a whole gangbang fantasy that she teases herself with. Usually, she talks about celebrities and remote impossible guys like that. But sometimes, she'll bring you up."
"Bring me up?"
"Concoct stories about you walking in and offering to lend a hand, so to speak."
"And that gets her off?"