A Good Man

"A woman needs to be loved, lusted after, spoilt, pampered, adored, worship. How can any woman in the right mind settle for anything less?"
"There are a million women out there who have given up such dreams, Layla."
"Well, I'm not going to be one of them. I'm going to get myself a bad boy."
"Why would anyone want to be with a bad boy?"
"Oh, Desiree. I'm tired of all the good men. Men who buy me what I want. Men who listen, agree with everything a woman says, hold them in their arms to sleep every night, kiss them everyday before they go to work."
"But... isn't that what every lady wants? There are so many tears shed by women all over the world because their men forget to be like this. I think you've just described an ideal man, a man many women would give up everything to be with."
"Desiree! You don't understand. I want to be with someone who's treats me roughly once in a while, like a real man, not the gentle, soft wussies that I've been with. I want to be ravaged, taken advantage of, pursued, only to be left alone as he goes out for another adventure. I want a man with a goal in life, a man who throws his temper, a man with whom life is a roller-coaster, or a box of chocolates, whichever analogy you prefer. I don't want a predictable man, a man who'll always love me, who demands nothing of me."
"You're crazy, you know that."
"Sigh. Maybe the grass is just always greener on the other side."
"Maybe you've read too many romantic novels and broken the hearts of too many a good men."
"That, Desiree, is a moral definition of 'good'. To me, 'good' must be defined as 'right for me'."
"You've just subjected the term 'good' to your whim and fancy!"
"I know. That's why men all over the world can take comfort that women today are still looking for 'good' men."
"If that's the case, I want a good man too."
"Who won't?"
"I know of someone who won't. Her name is Layla."
"Desiree!"

Unedited excerpt from "Conversations about Love" by Valentino Casanova