The first time I met my future husband Rob, I took him by storm. Rob was dark blonde with big brown eyes, wide shoulders and an absolutely killer smile. He was also very quiet and painfully shy.
We took every opportunity to talk over the next few weeks. I knew he liked me, but he wouldn’t make a move! I smiled, I hinted, I “accidentally” brushed against him about a hundred times, but nothing. Finally, I knocked him down and told him we were together. The rest is history.
The more I knew about Rob, the more attractive I found him. However, he believed that he was totally unattractive. Rob had been a very shy little boy, overshadowed by two outgoing older brothers. He grew into a lonely, awkward teenager and spent most of his time reading or on the computer. At university, the girl he liked treated him terribly and from then on he was convinced he was unattractive to women.
When we were alone together, Rob was relaxed, charming and funny and it was easy to fall in love with him. But as soon as somebody else was around, Rob would shut down and become the silent, awkward little boy he used to be. It was breaking my heart.
I confided my worries to my best friend Cherie. She lived in Queensland and we would spend hours on the phone together. I often wished she was here with me in person, so we could help each other through our problems like we used to.
One day, Cherie had a big surprise for me — she was coming for a visit! I was ecstatic, knowing she was finally going to meet Rob.
“But he’s still so shy around other people,” I sighed. “He really believes he’s ugly and unlikeable.”
“He knows that you find him attractive,” said Cherie.
“He knows that I’m a bit crazy,” I replied. “He thinks that my attraction to him is proof of my insanity.”
“He needs some other woman to make a move on him and prove it’s not just you who thinks he’s attractive,” said Cherie.
That was a fantastic idea! And I knew Cherie was the one to do it. Cherie was tall and gorgeous, with long legs and red hair. Her looks had kept other women at a distance, but I knew she was a warm, loyal and loving friend. She was also as crazy as me and needed little persuading to throw herself at Rob to boost his self-esteem.
I planned an elaborate welcome dinner for Cherie, with lots of wine. She turned up looking as beautiful as ever, in a tiny black dress and high heels. As soon as we sat down, I kicked her under the table, to remind her of our scheme.
She started straightaway, flirting outrageously with Rob. She tossed her hair, giggled and fluttered her eyelashes like a professional. She even laughed at his jokes and gazed at him like he was a movie star.
Cherie flirted so heavily, I wanted to choke her. The only thing that stopped me was knowing I had asked her to do it! There was no doubt Rob was having a great time, but he still wasn’t responding to Cherie. It was obvious he didn’t understand she was trying to seduce him.
“This isn’t working,” Cherie hissed at me when she helped me carry the plates to the kitchen. “He should be asking me to have his babies by now.”
“Well, you’re just going to have to try harder,” I told her without mercy.
The moment we came back to the lounge room, Cherie turned to me and said “Where’s dessert? I haven’t come all the way from Queensland for no dessert!”
“Okay, I’m getting the cake,” I said, laughing. “It’ll take me a while, you and Rob can chat for a few minutes.” I left for the kitchen, but stopped just outside the lounge room door and peeked through the crack. Cherie wasted no time, sitting down next to Rob on the sofa. She was soon talking and laughing, leaning forward to give Rob a wonderful view of her cleavage. Rob was looking a bit confused. Then Cherie put one hand on his thigh, the other hand around his neck and blew into his ear.
Rob bounced upright, turned brick-red and bolted across the room. I had stuffed my hand in my mouth, desperate not to give myself away behind the door. Finally satisfied, Cherie leaned back on the sofa and gave Rob a smug smile. Rob had definitely got the message that Cherie found him attractive.
“Did you enjoy tonight?” I asked him later, when Cherie had gone.
“Mmm,” he mumbled, hugging me from behind. “Cherie seemed a bit … interested in me.”
“Well, that’s no surprise,” I said sleepily. “If you weren’t so shy, you’d notice a lot of women are interested in you.”
Cherie and I had coffee the next day and nearly killed ourselves laughing about the night before. She agreed that Rob was adorable.
“But I can’t believe he didn’t return my interest,” Cherie said, pouting a little.
“Don’t worry, you’re still as gorgeous as ever,” I laughed. “Rob only has eyes for me.”
Since that night, Rob has a lot more confidence in public. He walks taller and isn’t as shy and because he is friendlier and open, lots of girls talk to him and flirt with him. But I don’t worry at all.
Rob only has eyes for me.
Picture posed by models
