Decoding Mr. Nice Guy

All signs point to yes. He's nice to you. You text all the time. You hang out and watch Glee together. But he hasn't tried to kiss you since the first night you met when both of you were really... let's just say: out of it. He backed off when he found out his roommate liked you. And despite the fact that his roommate claims he told this guy that he no longer likes you, that it's cool, Mr. Nice Guy won't do a damn thing.

If any of this sounds familiar, you and my friend Jamie would get along well. You'd certainly have a lot to talk about.

What about he talks to you fervently in English class? Smiles real big when he sees ya? Gives the best hugs you've ever gotten in your life? And yet he ignores your handful of attempts to contact him about hanging out before summer break? You're nervous and confused because he's got a lot of female friends. Or at least that seems to be the case. And you really think you might just be another friend. But your mom thought she saw something in the five minutes she stood in his presence.

Yeah, that's what's on my plate.

I fully understand that not every guy will be into me or my friends, no matter how fabulous we are. That's the way the world turns -- some people strike your fancy, others do not. And while you might be the fire that lights one guy's match, you're not burning down the city.

Yup, I get all that. But how can it be that no one is ever struck by you? Jamie and I have about the worst luck when it comes to guys. And we feel like idiots for being unable to read them better. After 18 (or 19) years of dealing with boys, you would imagine we would have picked up at least a trick or two.

Yet we constantly pose some version of one question: "Does he like me or not?"

It seems we're finally finding ourselves drawn to nice guys as opposed to the garden-variety loser. That seems to be a step in the right direction.

But still, we want to know. How do you tell Mr. Nice Guy from Mr. Totally Feeling You Guy? It's as if our lives were plucked straight from He's Just Not That Into You. Only we don't know if we'll ever be the exception.