Warm Fuzzies…
Well, sort of. If the man I’m talking about saw me use that term, he’d probably whallop me one. Not physically; verbally. He’s mad good with words.
By the way, hello. I’m Karenna Colcroft, and this is my first post on FAB. I’m thrilled to be part of this group, especially with the company I’m in! I write romance and erotic romance under this name, and young adult paranormal under my secret identity. Or maybe this is my secret identity… I haven’t had enough coffee yet today to be sure.
Back to what I was saying. I have a male friend. Actually, several male friends, but this one… Let’s just call him Temptation, since that’s what he is to me. He and I had a little bit of a thing a couple years ago, but it didn’t go anywhere because at the time, he and I lived two hours apart and he’s not into the long-distance thing.
Last summer, I moved in with my fiance. I now live less than a mile from Temptation. Strangely, he vanished for about a year and a half, but about a month before I moved, Temptation showed up at a party at a mutual friend’s house, and we immediately reconnected.
This post, however, isn’t about how tempting he is. I won’t cheat on my fiance, as much fun as it would be to, er, spend some time with Temptation. But I respect my fiance more than that, and Temptation respects me more than that.
Hence the source of the warm fuzzies. Temptation is a very black-and-white kinda guy. He either likes you or he doesn’t. There aren’t a lot of people he likes, and even fewer whom he respects. His respect has to be earned, and it isn’t easy to do so. It’s kind of an honor to be respected by him. He lets even fewer people “in”, and being allowed past even part of his barriers is a huge mark of esteem from him.
I’m honored to be one of those whom he both respects and has allowed, however slightly, “in”. And that has benefits for me, too. When he considers someone a friend, he stands by them no matter what. He and I both belong to a certain chat room. It’s rare for anyone to give me a hard time in there; the regulars know me, and I’m considered one of the nicest people there. Once in a while, though, someone who doesn’t know me so well hassles me.
Which is what happened yesterday. Temptation and I were both in the chat room, bantering as we do sometimes (he’s told me I’m just about the only person he knows who can keep up with his banter) and half-jokingly plotting a new story for me to write, when someone started spouting off about me. I responded, sticking up for myself as much as I could.
Temptation jumped right in, confronting the person and refusing to let up until they apologized to me. And that… Okay, Temptation was angry. He always is when someone gives one of his friends a hard time. And I’ve seen him angry, and it can be a bit scary. But he was sticking up for me, and that gave me the warm fuzzies.
It’s an honor to be his friend and have his respect. And it’s a privilege to have his protection. That’s the warm feeling.