My entire life, I’ve never been good with matters of the heart. No matter how hard I try, I just never seem to get it right. For as far back as I can remember, every time I thought that I had found a boy that liked me, and that I liked in return, it turned out a disaster.

Sean Williams was my first crush. He sat beside me in school and had this shy little smile and, when he looked at me, turned my insides to mush. Turned out, though, that the only reason he was even looking at me was because my best friend Laura’s desk was right next to mine and he was trying to see past me to look at her.

Next, I was desperately in love with Mattie McDonald. He was tall and on the football team and everything about him was just perfect. When I finally got the nerve to actually talk to him, he told me that if I lost some weight and did something with my hair, he could probably talk one of his friends into asking me out.

College brought me to Jake Flynn. He was smart and clever and said all the right things at all the right times. He made me feel as if I was the only girl that he could truly be himself around – and then I found out that he’d been himself with many other girls at the same time he was with me.

And that brings me to my ex – who I thought at the time was someone I was going to spend the rest of my life with. Handsome and charming with the world at his feet, he could have had any woman he liked, yet he wanted me. Or so I thought. Turns out he only wanted what I could get for him and once he’d got it, I became insignificant.

And now to add to my long line of failures, there’s this new guy and even though he hasn’t said anything, I think I’ve been getting some vibes. But again I’m just not sure if I’m reading too much into things. The problem this time is that he’s off-limits. So even if there was something, I have no choice but to set my feelings aside. I need to protect my heart. Career too.

I’ve tried talking to a friend for advice, of course, but maybe there’s something about getting an entirely objective (and anonymous!) point of view. Completely understand if you find all of this stupid and shallow and I’m sure now you’re sorry you asked.

P-2

Dear P-2,