What Men Don't Understand Read Online Free PDF Page B

no, but he sensed that the evening would not be as funny as the previous ones, and he was right.
    The impressive display was not enough to ease the mood. Patti was constantly tugging at a lock of hair, and talked incessantly in a voice that came out too sharp. Alan was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the same first symptoms he had seen too many times in other girls. They walked through the city center to reach "Belltown", a next by neighborhood winning prestige as an artistic and cultural focus. They had a couple of cocktails watching the sunset over the Puget Sound, and just when Patti thought that things were eased up, Alan argued an excuse and left.
    Six days later she Patti called. Alan saw who she was on the caller ID and didn't answer. Patti did not leave a message that time, but did so three days later when Alan didn't answer the phone either. A pathetic message in form and substance. Listening to it, Alan felt sick again. He had promised himself that would not happen again, but had not been able to avoid it. Or maybe he had? He thought that if he had been the one calling Patti, maybe she wouldn't had feel so overwhelmed and ready to humiliation. He spent a couple of days thinking about how to achieve that Patti would be the one getting tired of him, and he thought he had the solution. Basically he wasn't such an interesting or appealing guy, if he'd let Patti know him better, she would surely the one ending the relationship. Alan decided to call her and lied saying he had spent several days in Ohio visiting his family, and next he asked her for a date. They went to "Soundgarden", taking advance of an unusual sunny Sunday. He spoke to make her a proposal. He said he wanted they both would get know each other much better before having sex again. This was a somewhat unusual deal, but certainly attractive to Patti expectations, because it meant that he liked her, at least in the medium term. Thus, a series of meetings began in which they were increasingly being intimate. The limit was always sex. But other than that, they'd go out to exhibitions, lectures, movies, performances and even a baseball or a football game. They'd also spent a lot of time over Alan's or Patti's place smoking pot, listening to music, watching TV, or chatting on the couch. Alan was satisfied with the progress, because little by little Patti was gradually gaining confidence and seemed less submissive and less aware of him. After a few weeks, Alan felt close enough to victory and told his friends about his experiment. Both Mike and Catherine were somewhat skeptical. "Why do you bother to do all that if you don't like her?", Mike said. "That doesn't mean he wants to hurt her!", Catherine hastened to answer before Alan could speak. But she also had doubts, trying to manipulate feelings is like playing with fire. But Alan was convinced, and the following days confirmed his certainty. Especially when he called and Patti declined his invitation to meet the next day. She said some friends organized some kind of girls party and she couldn't meet him. Alan was so proud of his idea that he could hardly believe it. Not only would prevent that Patti would abase herself and had a bad time, but probably he'd also end up having a good friend. During the following month, appointments were spread enough for Alan to see victory very close. In every date, and thanks to the trust they already had, Alan talked about his weaknesses, his foolish acts, his vices, and anything that could help Patti loose interest about him.
    It had been already two months since Alan initiated his falling out of love sessions with Patti. One day they're walking by the "Queen Anne" district after having lunch at a Thai restaurant, when they bumped into a Patti's acquaintance who proved to be an indiscreet gossip, and when Patti introduced Alan, she didn't hesitate to ask openly if they were together. Patti laughed carefree and said no, they were just friends. She said it with a sincerity