Sex and the 'Burg: Welcome

This is a column about the lives of four best friends – Jen, Kate, Heather, and Riley – and their search for that special someone. All names have been changed to protect the identities of the characters but their stories, relationships, and lives are reflected in truth from conversations the author has had with the subjects.

The first column is an introduction to each of the characters and to the column itself.  Future columns will appear regularly on Fridays.  Welcome to Sex in the ‘Burg.

Life in Blacksburg might not live up to the glamour and speed of city life, but for my three best friends and me, we find our own way to bring big-city scandal to small time life.

Honestly, all we want is to find that “one” to settle down with, but it seems that the hunt is always more exciting than actually finding someone. And when we do find him, we can’t handle the stress of keeping him.

We spend our weekends searching and our weeknights hoping. This might not be sex in the city, but we sure do bring sex to the ‘burg.

I came to Blacksburg over a year ago for the same reason most people come to this small town: to pursue a degree at Virginia Tech. Moving from a busy town outside Washington, D.C., to rural pastures has been a struggle for single me.  But, it really hurt my high school friend Jen.

Jen chose to try a long distance relationship with one of her high school sweethearts, Chris. I’ve known Jen since we were both 14 years old and she hasn’t changed a bit – always falling for her best friend but never able to hold on to her relationship longer than it takes to grab the bus from the Village to Burruss Hall.

Her romance with Chris may be over, but her drunk phone calls to him keep us on our toes as to whether they’re ever going to give it a second or third or 15th try.

Jen and I met our other two best friends a year ago. Probably the only two girls we liked in our dorm, we clung to Kate and Heather, also best friends from high school.

Kate’s been with the same guy, Trevor, since college started. Even though they have only known a long distance relationship, they seem relatively strong. Unfortunately, Kate forgets her obligations to her boyfriend when she’s been drinking and fears that Trevor is the same way. She may not have cheated (yet) but her flirtatious nature means we are constantly monitoring her behavior.
 
Heather and I are the single ones. Heather just came out of a long-term relationship and is ready to move on to someone new. She’s been testing the waters by making “new friends” every weekend, but she can’t seem to find that one guy to replace her ex.

As for me, I’m still looking. I have my fair share of adventures, but tend to let my idea of a perfect guy push away anyone who doesn’t live up to my standards. You could say I’m just picky, but the truth is I’m too strong-willed to need anyone else in my life.

There may be thousands of guys in Blacksburg and Kate, Heather, Jen, and I have tested hundreds. Don’t think we’re easy; we just believe in a lenient return policy. If we’re not happy with you, you’ll be exchanged in a second. Welcome to our world: a lot of scandal, in a little city.