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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

When I was 21, I fell in love with Eric Lee. A friend of a friend, Eric was intelligent, funny, charming — basically, everything a girl could have wanted. The only thing he wasn't was interested in me!

A very shy person, I spent the frequent times we met awkwardly trying to make conversation while he nodded and smiled politely. I knew he was probably checking out all the other girls at the various parties we met up in, and it tore my heart out, but I just couldn't get the confidence up to ask Eric out.

This went on for two years, during which time Eric had a lot of girlfriends — none of them very serious — and I secretly pined for him. By this time, I was working for an accounting firm in the city; our university days were behind us, as were the university parties, so I didn't see him nearly as much. But this had its advantages — I had pretty much accepted that I had no chance, so the times we did meet were far less awkward — although I still didn't have the courage to ask the guy out.

When the annual company ball was announced, I felt sick. All my friends were asking their partners and people they liked, but I was too busy silently yearning for a guy who barely knew I was alive. It wasn't until I opened up to my best friend May that I found with a solution: pretend I needed a date to impress the big bosses.

May convinced me to approach Eric with the idea that I was going for a promotion, and needed to give the impression that I was serious and stable. I didn't know if it would work, but I was willing to give it a try. Surely he'd say yes if free alcohol was involved, and it didn't actually mean anything...?

Nervous to the core, I needed a stiff drink before I even picked up the phone, but once I'd dialled the number, the lie came out easily enough.

"Hi Eric," I stammered. "I've got a work ball on Friday night, and I need to pretend I have a boyfriend, or I have no chance at getting a promotion."

Surprisingly, Eric was totally open to the scheme. He thought it would be fun to pretend we'd been madly in love for ages, and promised he'd spend the whole night looking lovingly into my eyes. This part made me sick with nerves, but there was no going back. The fake date was going ahead.

Eric and I played our parts so well that every single person in the room was fooled. Even my closest friends expressed their surprise that I'd never mentioned I had a boyfriend. I should have felt elated, but I just felt sad and unfulfilled. I'd finally had my dream date with my dream man, and it wasn't even real.

We'd had such a good time too — chatting and laughing. Because it was all a sham, I'd quickly lost my reserve, and felt I could talk to Eric easily. But now the evening was over, and I knew I'd probably never speak to him like that again — I'd just have to wait for the next nervous small talk at someone's housewarming or barbeque.

So you can't imagine my shock when, the following day, the phone rang. It was Eric! He'd had such a nice time, he said. He couldn't believe he didn't know me after all these years and wanted to catch up for coffee. I was elated. A real date! Coffee quickly led to dinner, which led to other dates. Before I knew it, we were a proper item, and my lie had become the real thing.

Several years have passed, and Eric and I recently celebrated our second wedding anniversary. We laugh about the way we got together but, although he knows our first date wasn't real, Eric has no idea that I lied about needing a boyfriend, because that was the only way I could ask him out!

Names in this story have been changed. Picture posed by models.

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