Who Said Nice Guys Finish Last?

My heart was pounding. I couldn't stand the pressure anymore. This was my one opportunity to ask her and I was not going to let myself back out of it.

"Lauren, you mean so much to me and I never want to lose you. Will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?"

She stopped for a second and looked down at her feet as she held my hand, "I'm sorry, Jeff. You're a nice guy, but I just don't look at you like that."

As she walked away, all I could think about is what could have been and how much better that that conversation could of went had I not been a "nice guy".

For so long, all I wanted was for someone to talk to everyday, someone who listens and gives advice. I thought I needed someone to call mine. For the longest time I tried and failed to woo who I believed to be "Ms. Thang". No matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried I remained alone. Ridiculing myself and being pessimistic about opportunities given to me to find what I wanted. I felt alone, outcast, and it frightened me. I tried even the simple romantic things. The usual candy for her birthday, maybe a few flowers.

"Thanks Jeff!" they would say. "You are such a great friend.

Friend. To me nice guys were always and will always be just a friend. In hopes of trying to make myself feel better about the situation, I placed the blame not on me, but on an old cliché that "Nice Guys Finish Last". I looked at this as my easy excuse as to why I felt so alone. I blamed all of my mistakes and errors on this. I truly believed being a nice guy to be a curse, a way for God to torture me throughout my pathetic life.

Ever since I remember, I didn't excel above everyone in school. I was not the coolest kid, the best athlete, or thankfully, the nerd. I was the nice guy. The young lad who helps ladies across the street and lays his jacket over a puddle for a lady. That kind of thing. At work I find myself going above and beyond for customer service. Things like searching for hours and calling other stores to get an item for a customer. Using my own time to go pick up the item myself from a store 30 minutes away, all for a thank you.