What’s a Meantime Girl?

She’s the one you call when you’re bored because she
makes you laugh. She’s the one you talk to when
you’re feeling down because she’s willing to lend an
ear and be a friend. She’s not the one you call when
you need a date to your company’s Christmas party,
or to go dancing with on a Saturday night. She’s the
one you spend time with between girlfriends, before
you find "The One". You know, the one who you keep
around in the meantime.

She’s not one of the guys, not a tomboy, but you
don’t look at her as a "real" woman, either. She’s
not bitchy enough, moody enough, or sexy enough to
be seen in that light. She’s too laid-back, too
easily amused by the same things your male buddies
are amused by. She’s too understanding, too
comfortable – she doesn’t make you feel nervous or
excited the way a "real" woman does. But she’s cool,
and nice, and funny, and attractive enough that when
you’re lonely or horny and need intimate female
companionship, she’ll do just fine. You don’t have
to wine and dine her because she knows the real you
already, and you don’t have any facades to keep up,
no pretenses to preserve. You’re not trying to get
anything of substance out of her. She’s not easy,
but you know that she cares about you and is
attracted to you, and that she’ll give you the
intimacy you need. And you know you don’t have to
explain yourself or the situation, that she’ll be
able to cope with the fact that this isn’t the
beginning of a relationship or that there’s any
possibility that you have any real romantic feelings
for her. It won’t bother her that you’ll get up in
the morning, put on your pants, say goodbye, and go
on a date with the woman you’ve been mooning over
for weeks who finally agreed to go out with you.
She’ll settle for a goodbye hug and a promise to
call her and tell her how the date went. She’s just
so cool . . . why can’t all women be like that?!

But deep down, if you really think about it (which
you probably don’t because to you, the situation
between the two of you isn’t important enough to
merit any real thought), you know that it’s really
not fair. You know that although she would never say
it, it hurts her to know that despite all her good
points and all the fun you two have, you don’t think
she’s good enough to spend any real time with. Sure,
it’s mostly her fault, because she doesn’t have to
give in to your needs – she could play the
hard-to-get bitch like the rest of them do, if she
really wanted to. But you and she both know that she
probably couldn’t pull it off. Maybe she’s too
short, or a little overweight, or has a big
birthmark on her forehead, or works at Taco Bell.
Whatever the reason, somehow life has given her a
lot of really great qualities but has left out the
ones that men want (or think they want) in a woman.
So she remains forever the funny friend, the
steadfast companion, the secret lover, and you go on
searching for your goddess who will somehow be
everything you ever wanted in a woman.

You’ll joke to her that she should be the best man
at your wedding, and she’ll laugh and make a joke
about a smelly rental tux.

She doesn’t captivate you with her beauty, or open
doors with her smile. Mainly she blends in with the
crowd. She’s safe. She doesn’t want to be the center
of attention and turn the heads of everyone in the
room. But she wants to turn someone’s head. She
wants to be special to someone, too. We all do.

She has feelings. She has a heart. In fact, she
probably has a bigger and better heart than any
woman you’ve ever known because she’s had a
front-row seat to The Mess That Is Your Life, and
she likes you anyway. She obviously sees something
worthwhile and redeeming in you because although
you’ve given her nothing, absolutely no reason to
still be around, she is.

Anyway, yeah. I’m a Meantime Girl. (the author of this article, not me)
Been one more times than I care to admit.
I don’t know the reason,really,
and at this point I don’t even care. I just
want to let every guy know who’s ever had the good
fortune to have a Meantime Girl that we may be a lot
of fun, but we cry, too. A lot. And someday we won’t
be around.