My Handsome Stranger

My Handsome Stranger

Dear Auntie Twist,

There's this guy... isn't there always? We met at a party my cousin threw a while back and I felt like I'd been struck by lightning. It was like some cheesy movie. He stared at me and I stared at him and after a really long time I sort of remembered where I was and started talking to my friends (who I'd been ignoring while I drooled). So anyway, the conversation turned to GCSEs and I was stressing about my results when the guy came up behind me and said he thought I looked clever enough not to have to worry about those things. Then he was gone again.

I next saw him at an engagement party where there was a lot of dancing and mingling. Lightning hit again. I looked up to see him walking towards the dance floor. He actually stopped in his tracks when our eyes met. I'm not the kind of pretty that stops guys in their tracks. I'm average, at best. I was with my family and didn't see him again at the party.

The next time I saw him was a few days ago at another family gathering (he's my cousin's husband's best friend). I literally bumped into him as I walked into my aunt's kitchen and I dropped a pie. I cut my thumb as I was trying to pick up the bits of smashed plate, while at the same time trying my best to not sound like a complete moron for dropping a pie on his shoes. Well, he helped me pick everything up and then took one of the serviettes on the buffet table and held it on my cut thumb for ages. Again with the lightning.

Well, anyway. Just as he was about to say something, a girl walks into the kitchen and introduces herself as his girlfriend! I know it sounds stupid, we've only exchanged a handful of words and we only see each other at family parties, but still I feel crushed. I can't stop thinking about this guy and I feel like he feels something for me, too. What do I do, Twist?

From

Lightning Struck x

Dear Lightning Struck,

This sounds like it comes from the start of a YA romance novel! The lightning, the silent stranger, the conflict-keeping-you-apart. You've got the whole shebang! Unfortunately, if life and love were as simple as some books make it seem, then I would never have had a reason to start this column.

You're in dangerous territory. You and your silent suitor might have sexual chemistry, but you have no way of knowing whether it could be anything more than that because, frankly, you don't know anything about this guy. He might have a penchant for singing Justin Bieber songs in the shower. Maybe he pulls the wings of flies and enjoys stirring them into his coffee. Maybe he has a hairy back! You don't know.

Pursuing a fella who is in a relationship is never a good idea. No matter how it pans out, somebody is bound to get hurt. It might be you, it might be him, it might be his innocent girlfriend.

Relationships should always begin with honesty. If he's willing to mess his current girlfriend around, maybe he'd be willing to do the same to you. I'm not saying that you should avoid this guy forever, but The Way I See Things is that you need to keep your feet firmly on the ground whenever you are in his presence. Remember that getting struck by lightning bolts of lust might be harmless in fiction, but in the real world, lightning bolts hurt a whole bunch!

With love from Auntie Twist x