Tales From the Front by Cheryl Lavin

A woman recently wrote in basically saying she wanted to date, but she didn't want to have sex. She wondered if there were men who were looking for companionship.

Here are Rich and Kevin, who both say, "Not me!"

Rich: Women are complaining about us guys going on dates expecting sex. Well, I don't like women asking us guys what we do for a living. Is this really a question that needs to be asked on the first few dates? Most guys don't ask a woman what she does for a living. It tells me that all the woman is after is a man with money!

Oh, and to you women who don't want to have sex on any date, but still want a companion? Buy a pet!

(Rich, what do you do for a living? It must be pretty disgusting if you don't want to disclose it on the first several dates.

People work. That's what we do. We do it five days a week, eight hours a day, 50 weeks a year. We spend another couple of hours getting there and back. Of course women ask what you do. If you struck up a conversation with a guy on an airplane or in a bar, he'd ask, too.

And, frankly, if I were on a date with a man and he didn't ask me what I did for a living, I'd be insulted. I'd know whatever he was interested in, it wasn't my brain!)

Kevin: I was married for 21 years and then I was thrown to the (she)wolves. And I can positively tell you that men are after sex! That's what has kept the species going all these years.

When I'm with a woman, I can tell within a millisecond of a nanosecond if there's any attraction (read sexual attraction) between us.

Nothing can be more exhilarating than meeting your date in person for the first time and seeing what makes her tick. The anticipation has built. And then there's the eyes, the smile, the curves, the hair — the excitement. Or the disappointment when you know it won't work.

My attitude is, I did the crazy, I'm free now, let's have fun! When I first got divorced, I thought having sex early on in a relationship was a good thing. It felt good! But what happened was odd. Something was not right. I couldn't put my finger on it, but the relationship was doomed.

I felt like I was sitting down to a great steak dinner — you know baked potato with all the fixings, Calabrese salad, asparagus and tiramisu. However, all I seemed to get was that hollow chocolate Easter bunny. That was the feeling of waking up next to someone I didn't even know. Thank God I came to my senses.

After dating many women in the past three years, I can tell you that if you have sex before you become friends, the relationship has a slim chance of working out.

I'm a man now, better than I was when I was married. I'm looking for someone special. They're out there. I know, someone is paralleling my universe.

(Someone is paralleling your universe? Sounds like the Big Bang Theory to me!)

Who proposed? How? What was the response? Send your tale, along with your questions and problems to cheryllavin@aol.com. And check out my blog www.talesfromthefront.com. To find out more about Cheryl Lavin, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.

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