When it comes down to it, my guess is that 80 percent of guys would rather just sleep through the 14th, but personally, if I have to celebrate it I would like to keep things simple. Keeping in mind one day isn’t going to make up for the other 364, I would try and enjoy the excuse to have a great dinner and spend the night with someone I like.
That said most guys don’t look forward to Valentine’s Day in part because of the added pressure and higher expectations we think the 14th brings with it. On top of that, if two people have been dating long enough to be celebrating Valentine’s Day, the guy has probably come to a striking and humbling conclusion: he has very little to no idea about what women actually want. This conclusion leaves us guys in a pretty precarious situation come Feb. 14th, and no matter how put together we look, we’ve all freaked out on the phone with some maître d’ trying to get a table (sorry, Angela from Woodberry Kitchen).
But what could actually make Valentine’s great for guys? Maybe in addition to you wearing new Victoria’s Secret lingerie (which if your boyfriend hasn’t told you already, looks great on you), most guys would want a simple and fun night without all the unnecessary added pressure. Those girls out there to please your man: find a way to put us at ease, fool us, trick us and even lie to us. Chances are if you’ve been going out with a guy long enough to be celebrating Valentine’s Day, you’ve managed to fool him once or twice i.e. last Friday night . . .
Guys will spring for dinner at that restaurant you keep mentioning and happily sit through the night besides 50 uptight couples talking about the same generic things (how bitter do I sound?), all in an effort to show you we actually care about you during the other 364 days of the year. Ideally, you already know we care, but if Valentine’s Day makes you happy, fine . . . Just in return, hide some of those ridiculous expectations that we both know are impossible to reach and acknowledge that we’re trying. And if for some reason you can’t hide those expectations and still demand all the bells and whistles, Victoria’s Secret never hurts. . .
Chances are your boyfriend isn’t going to cover the bed in rose petals and write you an ode, but he probably picked up your phone call at 3 a.m. last week and listened to you vent for an hour. I understand it’s reassuring and maybe even pleasurable to be told how much you’re loved once a year, but realize too that guys show affections in much subtler ways. Maybe that’s what guys want on Valentine’s day: for there not to be a need to prove our love. Well, that and great sex.
But in all seriousness, just acknowledge that we’re trying and let us know you appreciate it. Maybe our actions over the past months have been misguided or just plain stupid (I still don’t know what I was thinking when I bought that birthday present), but as long as you let us know our efforts haven’t been futile we’ll keep trying in the future. That, or you can forget everything I just wrote and just have great sex at the end of the night. After all, guys do think with two entirely different heads . . .
