“Hey Jim!” Jake called out to the contractor who was just about to walk out the front door. “We might have a change of plans. How soon can you get started—with everything on my list?”
***
February 20, 2014
It took as little as a week for Holly to learn the ropes of radio hosting. She was surprised how easily it came to her and of course, it helped to have so many people at the station guiding her through the process.
Sparks101 premiered on Valentine’s Day and the response was phenomenal. Even the station was blown away when over a hundred listeners tried to get through on the phone lines the first hour. Holly’s favorite part was driving down the Los Angeles freeway and seeing the billboard that read: Sparks101-Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9-11pm on 98.2 FM Talk Radio. It showed a picture of her wearing the same tight green dress that she flaunted on her blog.
In all her wildest dreams, Holly never imagined that an opportunity such as this would land in her lap. The only thing that could make it better was if she had a special someone to share all her excitement with. To her dismay, she never received a response from Jake, even when she knew he had deposited the check into his bank account. It only made her realize that money was never going to make him change his mind and come back to her.
“Welcome to another edition of Sparks101. It’s Thursday night and I’m your hostess with the mostess, Holly Sparks. In just a few minutes we will be taking your relationship and dating questions, so get those fingers dialing.”
The show cut to a short commercial break and Holly caught a glimpse of her computer screen. There were over a dozen callers on hold.
“All right, we are back. Let’s take a call from Kelly. Hello, Kelly. You’re on the Sparks101 show.”
“Hi Holly.”
“Hello, dear. How can I help you tonight?”
“Well, I’ve been in a relationship with a guy for over three-months now. It’s gotten to the point where I practically have to beg him for affection. I feel like the honeymoon phase was over after the first month.”
“How long did you wait to sleep with him?” Holly asked bluntly.
“Oh, um, probably only a couple of weeks.”
“Oh girl! I hate to say it, but when you give up the goods that fast, you are no longer a novelty to him. The mystery is over. It’s an age old saying, but it’s true when I say that men like the thrill of the chase.”
“So you’re saying because I slept with him so soon that I blew my chances of ever having something meaningful and long term?”
“Exactly. I can guarantee that your relationship would have been a lot stronger if you had waited until you were in a committed, monogamous relationship before you slept with him.”
Kelly sighed. “Yeah, I get you.”
“I’m sorry, honey. Let this be a lesson learned with the next man you are with.”
“Thanks for the insight. I don’t think I can go on being in this so-called relationship any longer.”
“Only do what you feel is in your heart, girl,” Holly said. “Thanks for calling. I wish the best for you—next caller, you’re on the air.”
“Hi—the last caller was talking about the loss of affection, well my boyfriend was super affectionate the first year of our relationship and now suddenly it’s like pulling teeth to get him to kiss me or to hold my hand. I don’t get it.”
“Are you as attractive as you were the first time that he met you?”
“Oh definitely. I’m not overweight and I take really good care of myself. What is weird to me is that the only time I get any real affection from him is during sex. He will kiss me and act like he means it. When we aren’t sleeping together, he’s the complete opposite.”
“Hmm. How long have you been dating and does he still wine and dine you?”
“Over a year, and no, he doesn’t take me out as much as he used to. He always has some excuse like he doesn’t have the money or he’s too tired.”
“Quite simply, he’s lost interest in you. Either you do everything you can to reignite the flame or dump him before it gets worse.”
“I’ve tried nearly everything to get his attention, but nothing seems to work. Maybe we’re just going through a dry spell?”
“I don’t care what stage of the relationship you are in, you deserve to be wooed and have a man who thinks you’ve hung the moon. Sadly, your boyfriend is showing his true colors now that he’s comfortable in the relationship. This is the real him and don’t even begin to think you can change him.”
“I don’t know if I have the strength to break up with him. I’ve known him too long just to end it that quickly.”
“Well then, I hate to say it, but you are in for a miserable ride. Good luck,” Holly explained. “Hello, Dave. You’re on the Sparks101 show.”
“Hi Holly. I was wondering how you feel about getting someone to relocate?”
“You’ll need to elaborate a bit more on this one.”
“Well, my girl lives about an hour away from me and usually the drive to see her is pretty ruthless. A few weeks ago, I convinced her to look at some apartments closer to me, you know instead of her living with me.”
“Smart move. That’s a Sparks101 rule—never move in with someone until you’re married.”
“Anyway, I agreed to co-sign her lease if she does it.”
“First of all, keep in mind that if she does this, she’ll become very, very attached to you, more so than ever before. And let me ask you, are there any other reasons why she would want to move or is it strictly because of you?”
“Her mother is right down the street from me, so I guess I’m fifty-percent of the reason,” Dave said with a laugh.
“Then you’re going to be a big part of her move, so you better decide now if you’re in it for the long term. Otherwise, I wouldn’t suggest it. It would be really heartless to have her move and then suddenly decide that you don’t want to be in a relationship anymore.”
“Oh, we’ve been together for six-months. I’m totally crazy about her.”
“In my opinion, relationships tend to work out best when there is some distance. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, Dave. When she becomes geographically desirable to you, get ready for more fights and possibly you two smothering each other. My suggestion would be to do everything in moderation. Do not have her spending the night at your place every night; do not see her every day of the week. If you want this relationship to work out for the long term, live your own separate lives and give each other space from time to time.”
“Thanks for the advice, Holly. Love your blog.”
“Love you too, Dave. Next caller—Monica.”
“Yes, hi, um…I have kind of a dilemma on my hands. I’m dating a guy with a kid.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Yeah and at first, I was okay with it, but as the months passed and I got to know him, he’s been acting like he’s obsessed with his daughter, as though no one else matters in the world but her.”
“You do realize that when you are dating a single father that you will always come second, correct?”
“Yeah. I’m beginning to realize that now. The thing that gets me is that when he doesn’t have his daughter all he wants to do is sit around the house and watch television, and he’s a young thirty-two year old man. It’s not normal for a guy his age never to want to leave the house. It hurts to know that when his daughter is with him, he doesn’t want me around. He basically told me that I was making him feel like he was neglecting her.”
“Oh, wow. What a piece of work. Honey, this guy sounds very self-centered.”
“He can be, yes.”
“Do you hope to get married one day?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Well, from what you’re telling me, he is not marriage material. He obviously doesn’t know how to balance a child and a relationship at the same time. I suggest you break it off because he is only heading down the road to Singles Ville where it’s going to be just him and his daughter.�
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“You’re right. I feel like I’m a stranger when I’m with him and his daughter. When she is not around, he changes back into the man I fell in love with.”
“He’s not into you—he’s into his kid. That’s how he’s going to be for a very long time, possibly the rest of his life.”
Holly was advised to take another caller before she had to sign off. “We have Catherine on the line. Hello Catherine.”
“Hello Ms. Sparks.”
There was no way Holly could forget that croaky old voice. “Dr. Adams is that you? What a surprise!”
“I just wanted to call in and congratulate you.”
“Let me fill the listeners in on who are you. Dr. Cat Adams is a world-renowned relationship therapist and a very close friend to my family and me. She was also the person who came up with the idea for the experiment, and owns findmetheperfection.com.”
“This may come as a surprise to you, but I just wanted to say that even though things didn’t work out quite as intended, I am very proud of the job you did. You succeeded my expectations far beyond I ever thought imaginable.”
Holly was quite stunned by this admission. “Well, thank you very much. I wouldn’t be on the air right now if it wasn’t for you.”
“You deserve this radio show more than anyone I know, as well as all the good things in life, Holly.”
Dr. Adams had never spoken this way to her in all the time they’d known each other. “I don’t know what to say, Dr. Adams, other than thank you for the opportunity.”
“Just goes to show that everything happens for a reason. I must get going now. Congratulations again.”
Holly shook off her daze and steadied her breathing. “So that’s it for this edition of Sparks101. Be sure to tune in on Tuesday where I will be discussing the top five signs that your boyfriend/girlfriend is a loser. Until then, this is Holly Sparks signing off.”
“Great job tonight,” said one of the producers.
Holly took off her headphones. “Yeah, that was rather entertaining.”
“Holly, someone in the hallway wants to speak with you,” mentioned another female producer.
Holly walked into the lobby, only to be stunned once again. When he smiled at her, there was nothing in his eyes that indicated anything dire had transpired between the two. Encouragement replaced Holly’s nervousness.
“Jake—” Holly said breathlessly as she fought down the temptation to throw her arms around him.
“Hey,” Jake said with his hands in his pockets. “I believe a congratulations is in order, superstar.”
Holly looked at him shyly and absentmindedly passed her hand softly over his sleeve. For the life of her, she had no idea why he was here. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean for this to come off the wrong way, but I don’t know why you’re here.”
Jake offered Holly one of his adorable smiles, along with that chuckle that she missed so much. His self-effacing sense of humor never failed to charm her. “Would you like to take a walk outside?” he asked.
“Um—sure.”
In silence, they walked into the cold night air. The evening was full of scents—wet pavement, gasoline, festering garbage from a nearby dumpster. They continued to stroll down the sidewalk without as much as a peep. Holly hated that she was at a loss for words.
“So—” They both finally said at the same time.
“Sorry. You go first,” Holly replied, uneasily.
“Well,” Jake pondered his overwhelming thoughts before speaking, “let me start off by saying thank you for your astounding donation to the group home. That money came in just at the right moment. You once again saved the day and I can’t thank you enough.”
“It’s the least I could do after—well, you know.”
Another long period of silence ensued before Jake said, “Um…”
“Jake, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you!” Holly blurted out. “God, I wish I could go back and just undo everything.”
He smiled dotingly at the woman who had brought so much sunshine into his life. “Do I stand corrected when I say that if you had never went through with your little experiment that we would have never met? In retrospect, you really wouldn’t want to wish that now would you?”
His comment caught her by surprise. “Well, when you put it that way, no, but I—”
“Holly,” Jake put his fingers on her lips, “it’s okay. I forgive you.”
“You forgive me?” Holly asked.
He looked into her captivating green eyes and dropped his head. Ever since the first time he encountered her, those eyes had drawn him in. “Yes. I forgive you.”
Holly threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, burying her face in the crook of his neck. He smelled safe and clean, so very much like the man she fell in love with. “Jake, I’ve missed you so much.”
Jake gently pulled her away from him and looked into her eyes again. “I thought a lot about the situation over the last few weeks. Although what you did was mean-spirited, I do believe that your feelings are real because I never heard the l-word come out of your mouth until—”
She cut him off before he could finish his sentence. “Listen, I was in love with you to the point where I just wished the whole charade would have been over with, so the words could have actually meant something,” Holly explained with tears in her eyes.
“I’m sorry it took me so long to realize how much I couldn’t live without you,” Jake said, wiping her tears away with the ball of his thumb.
“Can we just start over, please?” She grabbed his face and kissed him hard. “I can’t live without those lips touching mine.”
Jake smoothed back her hair and kissed the tears from her cheeks. “I’d like that.” Jake stuck out his hand. “Hi. I’m Jake McClusky. I run a children’s group home in the valley.”
“Holly Sparks.” She shook his warm hand. “CEO and Matchmaker at Quality not Quantity here in Los Angeles.”
“Pleasure making your acquaintance, Ms. Sparks,” Jake said, amused. “Do you by any chance like sushi?”
March 4, 2014
Sparks101.com-I Teach Women How Men Think
Faithful Readers,
So guess where I’m writing to you from at this exact moment? Kuana, HAWAII! Most of you don’t know this yet, but “J” and I got back together last month. Both of us realized that we had something rare and unique between us. We would have been fools to let it slip away. Anyway, here comes the big news. For the last ten minutes, I’ve been…wait for it…wait for it… ENGAGED! Yes, engaged! He proposed in our hotel room while we were watching the sunset. Finally, I am no longer always the matchmaker and never the match. I’ve waited my whole life for this moment. I can’t believe it finally happened! You may be disappointed when I say that this will probably be the last time I blog about my relationship with “J.” He made me promise that I would leave him out of my blog after this entry. I don’t want to cause any more waves, so I’ll do as I am told. Well, we are just about to go have dinner on the beach and celebrate. See you on the mainland!
Mahalo!
XOXO
Holly Sparks
www.qualitynotquanityclub.com
Coming July 2013 to paperback and Kindle from Montlake Romance
Holly Sparks101: Your Guide to Avoiding Disastrous Relationships and
Getting What You Want
By Holly Sparks
The Experiment Page 31