Petra is twenty years young, bright-eyed and ready for male friends after  depriving herself of their intriguing complexities.

Eddie she meets first. He’s perfect in every sense of the word. Tall, dark and definitely good to look at. Plus he’s incredibly talented! Not only does he play the guitar and sing… gosh, he leads worship on Sundays and Wednesdays. He’s sensitive, in touch with his emotions. Undoubtedly, Petra’s completely taken by him. One thing; he’s got a long list of ex-friends. Uh-hmm, you heard right. Of all the people Petra’s heard him talk about, they’ve all offended him in some way and he doesn’t hesitate telling her about just how. Not wanting to add herself to that list and lose such an incredible friend, Petra gears up for placating and accommodating Eddie… until she drops her guard and speaks out of turn. Without a moment’s notice, Eddie’s checked the list, scribbled her name in black, permanent marker and promptly kicked her out of his life.

Blindsided, Petra makes a vow to stay away from guys like Eddie and dusts off the remnants of that failed friendship. On to the next one.

Mike‘s perfect on paper! He’s handsome, kind, softhearted and oh boy, is he smart! What’s even better? He’s not overly emotional and has his head screwed on correctly. Sold! Petra’s got several years behind her and is ready to begin a new friendship, even if Mike’s a bit more reserved than she expected. Ignoring his tight-lipped responses, she can at least count her lucky stars that there are no drama theatrics since Mike’s a rational human being. Relaxing a little too much, Petra’s blindsided yet again when Mike blows a fuse, listing off all her offenses. She has no idea when or how she’s offended Mike but he certainly doesn’t hesitate telling her to the day, hour and millisecond of said offense. Barrages of “why can’t you”, “if you could just”, “everything would be okay if you could”, “why are you” echo like loud, nagging gongs in her head as she staggers back to catch her balance or at least catch her breath.

Thankfully, she manages to escape with her sanity in check and makes yet another vow to avoid guys like Eddie and Mike. With a haggard breath, she trudges on. To the next one.

Collin‘s a breath of fresh air. Gorgeous, suave, he’s got charisma oozing from every pore in his sculpted body. His confident smirk and bright eyes leave Petra stunned and off balance. In a good way. His self-confidence and ease is intriguing. With the many women flocking around him, fawning over him, it’s no wonder why Petra finds herself drawn to him too. He’s got it going on, in a big way. He understands women, or so he thinks, and everything about him speaks of his confident ease around women. Around Petra. He’s got all the right words to say, the right look to throw her way to keep her wondering. She’s curious and finds herself wondering if he’s any different. He doesn’t seem overly-emotional nor manipulative… but Petra’s cautious. Every man must have a vice to him after all. Collins scoots in, brushes her arm with his warm fingers and wiggles his brows at her as his eyes caress her face. Her cheeks warm and tingle under his attention and she shyly succumbs to his charm. Bingo! Except not really. Collins scoots back just as easily and with a furrowed brow, he tells her not to fall for him. He doesn’t like her like that. She’s just a friend. Like the other hundred girls giggling and fluttering around him.

Embarrassed and slighted, Petra ducks away with most of her pride still in place. She pulls out her imaginary notebook and crosses off yet another one. This time, she’s tired and no longer looking. If the right one’s out there, he’ll find her. Right?

Shane swoops in. Man of the hour, he’s talented, he’s easygoing and surprise surprise, he’s not bad looking either. There’s no sign of an overly-emotional, manipulative casanova personality type. Even with a sigh of relief, Petra hesitantly inches close. At least she’s sorta grateful and impressed that he’s neither pushy nor aggressive. Patience in a man has to be a good sign? She’s content to listen, taking in everything he’s saying without any refrain. After all, she wants to get a feel for him before she lets her guard down.  Shane doesn’t disappoint. He’s honest and forthright, she has to give him that… except he’s not let her get a word in. Barely a pause is given for her to speak of herself. It’s not a big deal since she doesn’t like to brag about herself, not that he notices and is content to fill the silence with colorful stories of his amazing life…

Quietly, Petra bows out and slumps against the invisible wall before pulling out her notebook. She warily stares at the blotted names and mutely crosses yet another name off the list.

On to the next one?