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a man that keeps my attention that is the issue.
                  And so, I'm still searching for the one . But in the meantime, I’m having fun with the men I encounter along the way.
                  The men I date tend to be strong, self-assured individuals who challenge me in some way. I love a man who engages every part of me: mind, body and spirit. But my biggest problem, quite frankly, has been finding a man who can keep up with me. Once they realize the type of woman I am – confident, empowered and self-assured – they realize I’m not going to put up with the typical bullshit. I have no problems taking control of a relationship, and leading it where I want it to go. It’s only natural, right? But unfortunately, for some reason, the moment they figure this out is generally the moment that marks the beginning of the end. The guy I’d been seeing, Craig, had recently reached this point with me – the “point of no return,” as I called it – and tonight was the night I’d decided to do something about it.
                  But, that was enough musing for now. Noticing the time, I put down my book and stood up, stretching. I was meeting Craig in an hour for dinner, and I had to think of a gentle way to transition him into a friend instead of a lover – if that was possible.
                  I sighed. Somewhere in New York, there had to be the man I was looking for.
                  …Right?
     
    ****
     
                  Bliss Lounge was one of the hottest new restaurants in Manhattan. Even though it was early in the evening, there was a need for reservations. After I entered the double doors I went straight to the hostess, only to be told it would be a fifteen-minute wait and that my party was waiting for me at the bar. I thanked her and made my way into the posh bar area.
                  The room was done up in various hues of blue, making me feel like I was walking into an underground cavern in some exotic water-world. There was a backdrop of cascading water behind the fully stocked bar and the a subtle blue lighting shimmered off of the contemporary styled chandeliers, making the ceiling sparkle like tiny stars in the night sky.
                  I noticed several men glancing my way, but I ignored them as I looked around the bar for my date. I'd chosen a summer appropriate outfit for this evening, wearing a lightweight pencil skirt of charcoal gray with dark purple pinstripes, and a matching amethyst colored halter that completely covered my breasts but left my back bare. I finished it off with a pair of houndstooth stiletto heels and matching clutch purse that I'd found at a great little boutique a block away from my apartment in Soho. Though money had been a bit tight recently, I couldn’t help myself but to splurge every now and then on some really great accessories. Life was simply too short.
                  I saw Craig sitting at one of the high-top tables towards the back and made my way through the small crowd of people until I'd reached him. Craig was a nice man – a great guy, really. Any girl would be lucky to have him. He was good looking, with stylish blond hair and bright blue eyes the color of a summer day. He was smart, funny, charming... essentially, he was every woman's dream.
                  Just not mine, I mused to myself.
                  Craig was an attorney with a large firm that I'd met through a mutual friend. We'd hit it off when I had attended a birthday party last month. I'd liked his take-charge attitude and dynamic personality, but over the course of the time that I'd known him, that assertiveness had seemed to wane. I didn’t know the cause of this change in him, but I didn’t like it. It almost felt as though I’d sucked the life out of him.
                  This had happened before; actually, it happened way too often. One of my ex's