“I know what you mean.” David inserted himself in the conversation once more. “Moira’s always after me to take her to the mall. Why women think men would be interested in that kind of thing is beyond me.”
Moira frowned at him. She almost never asked David to go shopping with her. In fact, she could think of nothing worse than having a whining man tagging along while she was trying on shoes. She turned to Leslie once more. “I’d love to go shopping with you one day,” she said. “And you should meet my friend Rachel. She’s about your size and has great taste in clothes.”
“Rachel Westover?” Garret Kelly froze in the act of raising a beer to his lips. “You know her?”
“Sure. She’s my best friend.” Moira braced herself for yet another comment about Rachel’s man taming column.
“Just met her tonight. Over by the buffet table.” He took a sip of beer. “Interesting woman.”
“Yes, Rachel is very…interesting.” And she must have made quite an impression on Garret Kelly. Moira subtly checked him out. Nice suit, but no tie. Definitely the rugged, athletic type. Definitely not Rachel’s preferred sort of date, but there was something to be said for a man’s man.
Was he man enough to stand up to the Man Tamer? Moira chuckled to herself. Could be Rachel would finally meet her match. No doubt the battle would be fun to watch—from a safe distance.
2
Men and Sports
Dear Man Tamer:
My boyfriend loves sports. Sometimes I think he loves them more than he loves me. He is always going to games or watching them on television. Our entire social calendar is planned around baseball, hockey, football and basketball season. Now he’s talking about taking up golf! What can I do to save this relationship?
Hates Sports
Dear Hates Sports:
This is a tough one. For many men, sports are like a religion. They identify with teams and players and are invested in the outcome of games. But these are only games and the trick is to show the man in your life how much he is missing of real life—i.e., a relationship with you—by being so involved in sports. I suggest you start by attempting to distract him by planning fabulous evenings alone. Favorite foods and hot sex are usually winning distractions. Some women have had success in learning to love sports and sharing them with their men, but if you do this, I suggest insisting he meet you halfway and learn to love movies or ballet or whatever your passion is. After all, a relationship is a partnership. You shouldn’t do all the work. In the end, you may have to confront him with an ultimatum. Does he choose sports or you? If he chooses sports, your heart may be broken, but at least you won’t have wasted your life on someone who couldn’t give you the love you need. Let me know how it goes!
The Man Tamer
RACHEL WATCHED Wild Man Kelly’s departure. Her fingers still tingled from the touch of his tongue. Her breasts felt heavy and aching, and the dull throbbing in her groin testified to how fully turned on she’d been within mere seconds of first laying eyes on him. He’d had her so under his spell that if he’d suddenly laid her back on the buffet table and begun stripping off his clothes she wouldn’t have protested.
She shifted and squeezed her thighs together, breathless at the thought of herself laid out among the chocolate tarts and cream puffs, a half-naked Garret looming over her.
He’d certainly lived up to his nickname so far. If she didn’t have serious business to discuss with Denton, she wouldn’t have minded getting to know Garret better. Not that he was at all her type, but he would probably be fun for a fling—provided he didn’t get too wigged out by her occupation.
“What did you want to talk to me about?” Denton asked. “I haven’t got all evening.”
Denton’s prompt pulled her back to the present. “Have you made a decision on the afternoon slot on KTXK?” she asked.
“No. I’ve got a chance to buy the rights to reruns of Space Cadet Coeds.”
“Space Cadet Coeds?” Was he for real? “I’ve never heard of it.”
“Number one in Japan last year,” he said. “I think it’ll be a big hit.”
“Who’s going to watch a Japanese import when they can have a hometown star?” She drew herself up to her full five feet six inches. “The Man Tamer is the number-one relationship column in the state,” she said. “A Man Tamer television show would draw the coveted twenty to forty-year-old female demographic, plus it would increase readership for my column.”
Denton waved away her words as if he was brushing off a pesky fly. “I’m also thinking about filling that slot with a show all about lacrosse. If would be a great way to build interest for the team.”
“You said yourself lacrosse is already hot. Why would you need a show about it?”
“Lacrosse is something that appeals to both men and women. Especially with a star like Wild Man on the team. Who’s going to watch your show but a bunch of women with man troubles?”
Only every woman in the city, if you put it that way, she thought. In her experience, every man was some kind of trouble. “So what if the show mainly appeals to women?” she asked. “That’s a lot of viewers. Not to mention with my training in psychology and the strong following I already have with the magazine, I could be the next Dr. Phil.”
Denton looked pained. “Rachel, you apply dog-training techniques to handling men. It’s a cute concept for a column, but I just don’t see it translating to television.”
“It’s not dog training!” she practically shrieked. Noticing half a dozen people turn to look at them, she sucked in a deep breath and tried to remain calm. “My columns promote the use of proven behavior modification techniques.”
“Dog training,” Denton repeated.
“Call it what you want, but it works. I have hundreds of letters from satisfied readers who’ve tried my man-taming techniques and transformed their relationships.”
Denton looked thoughtful. “So you’re telling me you can take any man and turn him into the perfect tame boyfriend using your techniques?”
“Of course.”
“Even someone like Wild Man Kelly?”
She glanced toward where Garret was standing by the keg, surrounded by half a dozen admiring men and women. He stood with one hand in his pocket, the other holding a plastic cup, a casual, slouching pose. The too long hair, beard stubble and general demeanor spoke of a quintessential bachelor who didn’t care much about his appearance. No doubt his apartment was a sty and his idea of a balanced meal was a slice of pizza in one hand and a beer in the other. Hundreds of women had written to her about similar men in their lives.
“I’ve seen worse.” Of course, none of those men had managed to reduce her to a whimpering mass of hormones within two minutes of meeting her.
“Then maybe we can make a deal.”
“Huh?” She blinked at Denton, coming out of her lust-induced fog.
“I’ll make you a little bet.” Denton actually rubbed his hands together, a gesture she had never seen outside of a B-movie. “You apply your man-taming principles to Garret Kelly to tame him and if you succeed, you can have your show.”
“That’s fantastic!” In her elation, she almost hugged Denton, but restrained herself just in time. “This will be the easiest bet I ever won.”
“Don’t count on it,” Denton said. “Kelly’s got way too much testosterone in his system to tame.” He chuckled. “I don’t call him Wild Man for nothing. And from what I hear, that applies to both on and off the field.”
She glanced toward Garret again. A