Nicole met Christian at a wedding. The couple getting married had tried to set them up, and it had never worked out. But at the wedding, Nicole saw Christian — not knowing who he was — and "that was it!"

She says: "We really hit it off. He asked for my phone number. He had to leave that night because he was in the Navy. We hugged and he said he would call me. Like male clock work, three days later he called. And that was that. We talked every day until we saw each other again a month later at the Naval Ball. We lived 10 hours apart and Christian flew me to see him. It was our first official date, and it was perfect!"

They continued their long-distance relationship. He'd visit her; she'd visit him. He spent Thanksgiving with her and her family. She flew to California to spend two weeks with him. He planned to visit her for a week the following month.

She says: "Then it abruptly ended. It was a total shock because things were going great! It was like a fairy tale. At least to me. He basically said he couldn't do the distance thing anymore, and I told him that I wasn't going to make a move so huge for just a boyfriend."

And that was that. Not another word. No phone call, no email, no text — nothing. Nicole was depressed for a couple of months and then made a decision to move on with her life. She went into another funk when she found out six months later that he was dating someone new.

And now it's five years later. Christian friended Nicole on Facebook. She accepted. A few months later, she commented on something he posted. He commented on her comment. This went on for an hour. Then he texted her. She texted him back. He called her, and they ended up talking for three hours.

Christian invited Nicole to spend New Year's with him, but they both decided it was too much pressure, and she didn't go. He invited her to visit him for July 4th, but she wasn't able to go. Finally, she was taking a vacation at the same time he was on a business trip, which put them within an hour of each other for a whole week.

She says: "It was fantastic! The five years didn't matter. It was as if we had seen each other every day of our lives. Then the day came when I had to leave. It was horrible. But we talked. We both agreed that the situation sucked and that we didn't know what we were going to do because, as always, distance was plaguing us! So we decided to just go with the flow. I hate the flow!"

And you know what happened next?

Nothing.

It seems Christian's M.O. is the same now as it was five years ago: Come on strong and then do the big fade. He hasn't called Nicole in a month.

She says: "I want something more, but it seems he got what he wanted and now he's over it. Why would he act like he cares if he really doesn't?"

Readers, I will let you ponder Nicole's question. Send your thoughts, along with your questions, rants and problems to [email protected]. And check out my e-books, "Dear Cheryl: Advice from Tales from the Front" and "I'll Call You. Not.