"The Coffee Shop Girl You Never Spoke To"

You've replayed it a hundred times. She stood three feet away, scrolling her phone. You had an opening. You composed the perfect line — after she was gone.

For all you know, she's married now. To some guy who said something. Anything.

Openers are cheap. Almost any sentence works when it's delivered within three seconds. The expensive part is the standing there, drafting and deleting, while the window quietly closes.

The "22 Rules" stripped out my hesitation. What to open with, how to keep it alive, and the one habit that costs guys more women than anything else: waiting for perfect.

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Broke up with my g/f today

JohnJones

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I broke up with my g/f of 1 year today, and she's taking it pretty hard (begging, crying, pleas to talk about it).

Basically, I've gotten myself into a rough situation related to whether I want to mesh my kids' lives in with hers. I just don't see it because she has too long a history of getting in over her head and then dumping the guy really slowly (usually with some cheating toward the end).

Even without the cheating, I just don't feel like I can risk my kids getting involved with her then losing another stable situation. And I just don't see how or why she wouldn't eventually cheat or break up with me (or rather, I'd always need to be so distant and realistic that I'd need to dump her on a dime if I saw somethign shady).

Worst thing is, I can't explain my thought process -- it would be almost like calling her names .
 

"How I Made Sure No Woman Ever Friend-Zoned Me Again"

She calls you when her car breaks down. When she needs help moving. When some guy she's actually dating treats her badly.

You're the listener. The reliable one. The guy who would treat her so much better, if she'd just open her eyes.

She won't. You trained her to see you as the low-effort option — the friend who requires zero risk and zero investment. Every favor dug the hole deeper.

The "22 Rules" break the pattern. You'll stop auditioning for a role she already cast and become the man she chases instead. It starts with Rule 1.

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thissucks003

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Originally posted by JohnJones
I just don't see it because she has too long a history of getting in over her head and then dumping the guy really slowly (usually with some cheating toward the end).
If you knew her relationship history, why did it take you a year to break up with her? If she was telling you her past relationships, and she repeatedly has dumps guys and cheated on them, why take a year to 86 her?
 

Genghis Juan

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How did you find out about her history? Did she tell you this herself (which would be suprising)? How long into the relationship were you when you found out about her history?
 

JohnJones

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I knew about her relationship history before I went into it-- she laid it all out for me.

My biggest issue is that I like her companionship and we have a good time together, but I've never really been emotionally involved very deeply with her-- largely because of what I know. Usually, I've taken everything with a "one day at a time" attitude because I was having a good time and didn't see a huge reason either to break up or to get hooked.

I was kind of having second thoughts the last few days, but I also realize that she just lied to me -- not on a huge lie, but still: I overheard her best friend talking about the break up with her (g/f does not know I overheard). I told my former g/f that it was of course okay for her to talk to whomever she wanted -- its her right to get the assistance she needs. She insists that the friend knows only that we had a fight, not that I broke up with her. The friend would hate me if she knew what I did, my g/f said.

But I know with my own ears that the friend knows I broke up with her -- this is like high school now. She is lying because she doesn't want, if we got back together, there to be tension, but I know the truth -- and if you can lie conveniently about something like that, you can lie about anything.

Basically she has all the right things that I would want in a permanent relationship (and I mean permanent) in terms of fun, not complacent, physically attractive (enough that even a few extra pounds would be fine) and there was always a huge physical chemistry there. But I acknowledge that she has her limits -- usually she's dumped guys when she realized it wasn't going anywhere; the cheating was when she felt emotionally unfulfilled.

And that's where I come in -- I liked her, but I feel that the same kind of distance/mystery that I've naturally kept that has made her basically crazy for me also will turn her away. Since I feel that cheating is a character defect (not what a lot of girls think -- they think its because the b/f wasn't doing enough work), I'm not willing to invest that kind of emotion in her.

Before too long, she'd figure that out. Plus, she is at the edge of her 20s and I think she needs to be free now to find someone else before I have used up too much of her time.
 
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dietzcoi

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You know what you are doing is the right thing. Try to be strong. I know it is hard. But you already know she is not the one for you... why prolong it?

Dietzcoi
 

"She Liked You in March. It's October Now."

Attraction runs on a clock.

She flirted for weeks. Touched your arm. Found reasons to be alone with you. And you were careful. Respectful. Waiting for the right moment.

The moment had a shelf life. It expired around month two, and by the time you asked her out, she'd quietly filed you under "little brother."

One of the hardest lessons inside the 22 Rules: women rarely wait. Interest either grows or it decays, and nothing decays it faster than a man who never moves.

Make the move while she's still inventing reasons to be near you.

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JohnJones

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Agreed. I honestly could carry on if she'd just calm the f--- down a little.

Also, she keeps sticking to her guns as it relates to this lie -- I have assured her that its meaningless, and that of course a girl would talk to her friend if her b/f comes over one night and says dispassionately "I'm breaking up with you."

But it takes a liar to know one, and I've done it in the past. Usually my theory was that by lying to everyone I kept my options open and there was no bad blood with any option I decided to keep.

She may just be fixed on not losing me now, if Ican flatter myself that much, but in the end, she just kicks those trust issues into the forefront.
 
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She was convenient and proper to have for a season but you are searching for something deeper that she cannot provide. Why keep the lie of mutual interest going any longer? You did the right thing!
 
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