Fairy Tale Fail by Mina V. Esguerra

he was a Business
Economics guy in college, who collected anything and everything
Star Wars (episodes four to six only, he made sure to emphasize),
and that he had been working for financial firms since stumbling
onto one right out of school, but never really thought about where
it would take him. I told him about college, about experimenting
with various fields of Comm, and also ending up in Marketing
because it offered the path of least resistance.
    "In other words, you were just as lazy
as I was," he teased.
    "Work does not define us," I retorted.
"Those were your words, and I prefer them."
    The next day, I didn't see him at all.
Like, the whole day. And then yesterday, he suddenly showed up at
shutdown time with two tickets to a movie premiere – some
adaptation of a video game that I had never heard of.
    Now, if I were crazy into
him, I would have been freaked out by this erratic sked. I would
have expected a call the next day, and wondered hourly if he was
really interested. But for some reason I felt no rush to do anything . I was just
enjoying it.
    "We're friends now," I said,
giggling.
    Well, sort of. It was a bit
hard to explain, but Lucas and I weren't on the same page like Don and I were.
Don and I had the same opinions about a lot of things, but not
exactly the same interests. Like, he wouldn't feel like going to a
movie with me initially, but if he did, we usually had the same
opinion of it after.
    Lucas and I, on the other
hand, seemed to have the same interests, but our opinions could be
radically different. Like, he loved that video game movie, while I squirmed over the
bad acting and overdone action. We liked to talk about our
traveling, but I wanted international trips, and he was intent on
seeing as much of the country before he used his passport again. We
were not on the same page, but on opposite pages of the same
spread. Did that even make sense?
    And why was I comparing?
    "You've become like those girls we
have code names for!" Charisse gasped. "The girls we see him
with."
    "Is there gossip about me? What are
people saying?"
    Charisse paused. "Well,
nothing bad. I think it's the residual sympathy from the
whole Visita Iglesia thing. Normally anyone they see with Lucas gets the nasty
judgment, but with you they're actually kind."
    I rolled my eyes. "Great. At least
that trauma was useful for something."
    "So what's up? Are you dating or
what?"
    "I don't think so," I said.
"I mean, we've gone out, but I don't think those are dates . He's cool, but the
reasons why he's not right for me haven't changed." Except him having a lovechild. And
smoking. "Well, some have changed, but most
of them are still there."
    "Are you kidding me?"
Charisse said, her voice going up to a higher pitch. "He's Rock Star . You are this close to dating Rock Star. And you're holding yourself back because he
doesn't fit some Prince Charming template you designed way before
you met him?"
    What was wrong with my
template? Even after my failed relationship I still wanted one that
started as friendship. I still wanted a good guy, someone
responsible. It was an important decision in my life, and I wasn't
going to just wing it .
    I mean, if I obsessively planned my
trips months or years before I even set a foot on the city, how
could I make a decision about the guy I would love based just on
gut feel? That didn't make sense to me.
    So yes, Lucas was damn sexy, and
surprisingly easy to talk to, and seemed to want to continue
talking to me even after I shared how pathetic I was. I was having
fun, and my confidence in being around guys was coming
back.
    But that was not the basis for a
relationship, no matter what my friend said.
     

Chapter 11
     
    My boss' name was Herman, and he kind
of reminded me of Chow Yun Fat, but with graying hair, a fatherly
gut, and a less lethal kick. Since he discovered my skill at
planning travel, though, I saw nothing but appreciation from
him.
    Still, getting promoted was a
shock.
    "What? Why?" I couldn't