Lauren Larson is waiting for men to do something or say anything.
In The Notebook, Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams have a fight, and he writes her a letter every day for a year. This summer, a guy I was dating showed up at a bar with another woman, and all I got was a text message the next morning. It seemed sincere, with proper punctuation and everything, but the offending dude didn’t know who he was dealing with. I was raised in the school of grand romantic gestures. I saw Say Anything and The Graduate at a very formative age. I love grand gestures so much that I actually get a little giddy when I’ve been slighted, anticipating the flowers that will follow.
But the flowers never come. Not even carnations.
It’s easier than ever to be aloof about dating: The volumes of beautiful people on dating apps have made everyone seem expendable, ghost able. That makes grand gestures, geysers of sincerity that they are, even more refreshing to women. They take planning and earnestness and, often, money—all the things that impress us. All the things that impress anyone.
This story is from the October 2017 edition of GQ.
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This story is from the October 2017 edition of GQ.
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