R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

Had to be...

Before I properly got to know Highflyer, in the early "negotiation" or "interview" phase, so to speak, he asked me what I was looking for in a man. I wanted to give it proper thought and not fire away instantly as is my usual modus operandi, but deliberate carefully before putting it into writing. In a nutshell, I told him that (in addition to being drop-dead handsome and funny, obviously) I wanted someone who treats me with respect and does not see himself as a victim of circumstances, but who takes action. My definition was met with approval and things proceeded smoothly from there. As I was writing my reply, I was actually aware that "being treated with respect" sounded a) pretty obvious and b) was a rather cheesy cliché. I have since come to realise that despite being both, it really is one of the things I missed most in past "it's complicated" scenarios that, back then, I so wished would turn into a serious relationship. It's simply not enough for one party to treat the other with respect, it has to be mutual (unless of course one of them is a masochist and likes to suffer or being made awful...) in order to have potential. Clichés truly can be wonderful, sometimes...