I had been very unlucky in love throughout my life. My school boyfriends bored me, and when I got older, I decided to try dating more of the bad boy type of guys. Unfortunately, they didn’t have much else to talk about other than why they hated everyone and the crimes they had committed in the past.
I really had no idea what it was I was looking for. Something between sweet and naughty, but I just didn’t know where in between there I wanted my guy to fall. Of course, I didn’t want a guy who was so sweet he seemed like my girlfriend instead of my boyfriend. But I also didn’t really
want the bad boy type, either. I knew there had to be someone who was a right fit for me, though. Somewhere out there, I had a man who would make me weak in the knees with just one kiss. I just had to find him.
All I wanted was a nice, normal guy. Normal in the sense that he didn’t party all the time, didn’t treat his family horribly, and could hold a decent conversation. The pool of available men was pretty bleak. Maybe I would have to go to America if I was going to find the man I really wanted. When I watch all the American television shows, it looks like the perfect place to find a good man.
My hope had always been that I would find some sort of combination of a bad boy and a smart guy. I wanted a man who worked hard and didn’t take life for granted, but he also knew how to have fun. I didn’t want to sit home every weekend and wish I had something fun to do. I wanted my man to be adventurous, and I wanted to always have fun places to explore together.
I also desperately wanted a man who could have fun in the bedroom. I knew I looked all sweet and innocent, but I loved to play and have fun between the sheets. I’d just never been able to find a man who liked the same things I did. They were either too conservative or too wild, never was there a guy who was just right for me. Admittedly, I was still only twenty-two years old, so I had lots of time to find my Prince Charming. But it would be nice to at least date a guy who wasn’t a total frog.
Ana was right about at least one thing – I wasn’t going to find the man of my dreams in Liechtenstein. I needed to get out into the world and start exploring to see if I could find where I fit in best.
As my mother and Scott said their vows, I let Ana’s suggestion of looking at the men in America cross my mind. I didn’t have any intention of getting married, though, and I knew those men often wanted that. But I wondered if there was a possibility that any of the men in America didn’t want to just get married right away.
When Ana and I walked down the aisle and toward the reception area, I blurted out my agreement to sign up for the website. She had been hounding me for weeks, and now, as her departure to America was getting so close, I had no choice but to cave in and give her website idea a try.
“I’ll sign up for OK Love, but I’m just signing up. I’m not saying I’m even going to talk to anyone. I’m just going to see who’s out there,” I said.
“All right. But I know you, and I know you’ll want to talk to the first handsome guy who sends you a message.”
Ana did know me, and she was right. I gave in pretty quickly when there was a handsome guy around. But I was getting older and wiser now. I didn’t want to give in to just anyone who showed an interest in me. I wanted my perfect match. I wanted a man who would treat me right and be there for me no matter what. It was a fairytale I wanted, and I knew it very much. But sometimes, people got their fairytale.
Ana proceeded to give me the ins and outs of the online dating world. During the wedding reception, we sat in the corner, and she helped me make up my profile page. I felt very overwhelmed by how fast it was happening, but there was a small part of me that desperately hoped I would find the man of my dreams online. Others were able to find their Prince Charming, so why not me?
I wanted to find my dream man any way I could. He was out there, and I knew it. I just had to spend the time and do the work so he knew I was out there as well. There were good guys in the online dating world. I just knew it. They were probably busy with work and didn’t have time for the traditional dating scene. I just needed to put some energy into figuring out which of the men were good guys and which ones were jerks.
We fought the urge to spend the entire night on the website looking at guys, and finally turned our cell phones off after we got my profile up and running. There were so many different profiles. I found it hard to figure out what I was really looking for in the guys. I hoped I would find someone who would feel like the connection was right.
“It shouldn’t take long. You’ll have guys messaging you by the time the night’s over. Make sure you don’t give out personal information yet. And don’t trust they are who they say they are. Many of these guys are ashamed that they are looking to date a woman out of their country. But once I figured out that they were genuinely good guys, it was a lot more fun to talk to them.”
Ana seemed so happy since she had met her guy, Gordon, on the website. I had to admit I was a bit jealous when I saw his picture and how sweet he was to her. I really hoped he turned out to be the guy he said he was. Ana looked forward to meeting him in Miami in just a couple more days, and I couldn’t wait for her full report about what he was like.
It was time for me to move forward, and as my mother’s wedding ended and she started her new life with Scott, I prepared to start my new life. I wasn’t sure exactly how it was going to turn out, but I was one hundred percent sure I was going to enjoy it the best I could.
I knew I needed to make some changes, and moving to America sounded like the perfect opportunity to make all the changes I wanted. I hoped that by morning I would have a ton of sweet guys to talk to and get to know from that website. But if that didn’t work out, I was determined to pick up another job and save my money to make my way to America. There was no way I was staying in Liechtenstein, if my mom and Ana were both leaving.
Chapter Three
Chase
Sleeping was by far one of my favorite things to do. Unfortunately, it was not my father’s favorite thing for me to do. I sat up in bed as I heard his booming voice from the front room of my house.
Instantly, I regretted giving him the key.
“You don’t understand what having a job is. If you don’t show up to work, you don’t get paid. That’s what the real world is like,” my father, Reynold, said as he stood at the end of my bed.
“Slow the hell down, Dad. I went to work last week.”
“Last week. Really? Last week. I wish one of your brothers had stayed with the company. It makes me sick that you’re the only one willing to work for me, yet you don’t work at all.”
I saw the vein in my father’s neck pulse as he tried to calm his emotions over my work ethic. I didn’t actually mind going to work, but no one seemed interested in my opinions, and the company was still stuck in the ’90’s most of the time. That was exactly why my brothers had all moved on to other jobs. Dad never let anyone have an opinion in his company. When I made suggestions for streamlining our processes or adding social media, I was often met with negative feedback.
“You’re my son, Chase. And I had always hoped that I would be able to pass the company on to you, but I don’t know.”
“Dad, come on. I’m working hard. I just do a lot of shit from home. And, let’s be honest, you would have picked any of my brothers over me if they had wanted to be involved in the company.”
“Chase, you have to set an example. You’re more than just my son. You’re a high-level executive in the company and everything you do reflects back on us as an organization. And we aren’t talking about your brothers. Jackson, George, Nathan, and Jeremiah all had their opportunity to work for me, and they chose not to. You made the choice to work, so I expect you to actually work.”