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“Hold the congratulations.” Xolani took a sip of her drink. “I didn’t say yes.”
Justine’s jaw dropped. “Why the hell not?”
“Because my reasons for not wanting to get serious with him still stand.” Xolani sighed. “He’s too nice to other women.”
“Is that all? Come on, Xo.” Justine rolled her eyes. “The man has one teensy weensy little blemish in an otherwise flawless package. You can overlook it.”
“Can I?” Xolani thought about it for a few seconds. “I don’t know. It’s not a teensy weensy blemish to me. I’ve already dated men who were too close to women before. It’s not an experience I’d like to repeat.”
“But Barry is not like Carlos and_” Justine clicked her fingers several times as she tried to remember the name. “What’s the name of your other trashy ex?”
“Ian?” Xolani mentioned her first ex; the one who’d turned out to be gay. Carlos was the one who’d impregnated his supposed best-friend.
“Yes, Carlos and Ian. Those two are human garbage. You shouldn’t let your trauma from their trashiness ruin the good thing you’ve got going with Barry.” Justine insisted, “Barry is nothing like them. He’s different.”
“How so?”
“For one, he’s nice to everyone, not just women. He’s nice to men, women, children… I bet he’s even nice to animals. Being nice is just who he is… it’s his personality. A personality trait that every book out there says is good.”
“Since when were you familiar with what books say?” Xolani teased to lighten the conversation. “I didn’t even know you could read.”
“I’ll let that insult pass for now. But we’ll get back to it.” Justine demanded, “Where was I?”
Xolani chuckled. “You were telling me that Barry’s different.”
“Ah yes!” Justine took two seconds to get back on track. “I was saying that his friendliness with other women isn’t as much of a problem as you’re making out to be. If you watch him, you’ll realize that his friendliness is very surface-level.”
“Is it?”
“It is.” Justine said, “He’s nice to me and Anika too, and neither of us has ever thought that it was too much. We can tell that he’s being nice because he’s polite and wants to get along with his girlfriend’s friends.”
“I’m not his girlfriend.”
“Yet! You’re not his girlfriend yet,” Justine corrected with a smarmy grin. “But let’s get back to my point. There’s never any flirting behind Barry’s friendliness. He’s just being him. The real issue here is his face.”
“I’m sorry what?” Xolani was confused. “What does his face have to do with anything?”
“If Barry was ugly, his niceness wouldn’t be a problem. But he’s a pretty boy,” Justine explained. “A face like Barry’s will attract many admirers, and his pleasant personality will turn that admiration into crushes or worse obsession. Because they’re already obsessed, any attention he gives, even if it’s innocent, will be amplified into something it’s not.”
Justine took a breath then continued, “Those women want him to like them back so anything nice he does just reinforces this fantasy. Eventually, they begin to mix up fantasy and reality, then end up showing their ass like that Misty girl. But none of that is on Barry. It’s not his fault. And it’s unfair to blame their overactive imaginations on him.”
When Justine put it that way, it did sound like Xolani was being unfair. Xolani admitted, “Okay, maybe you have a point.”
“Of course I have a point.” Grinning, Justine added, “As a pretty girl, I completely understand Barry’s dilemma.”
“Pretty girl?” Xolani teased, “My, my, my. Don’t your lips hurt when you blow your horn?”
“It’s not blowing your own horn if it’s the truth. I’m pretty,” Justine shamelessly insisted. “And people are constantly misinterpreting my intentions too and getting obsessed over me.”
“People misinterpret your actions because you flirt with them,” Xolani reminded her, “and sometimes you even sleep with them.”
“True.” Justine laughed. “But Barry’s not like me. He doesn’t flirt with his admirers, does he?”
Xolani thought over it for a second, then shook her head. “Not really. It’s just that he could be more proactive and firm about letting them know that he’s not interested.”
“Maybe he could be.” Justine took a sip of her margarita. “Have you talked to him about it?”
“I did.”
