Cheesecake & The Pick Up Artist Part Two

“You have got to be the worst student I have ever had” Frankie D said angrily. The vein in his forehead was throbbing. He looked at me with anger and disappointment which seared into my soul. My eyes began to water. My heart felt heavy and I began to get shortness of breath.

“I’m sorry” I stammered.

“I honestly don’t know what I am going to do with you” Frankie D said as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “I have never encountered this before”

Throngs of people walked past us laughing and enjoying the night. I sat down at the curb of the street and began to wipe the tears from my face. I was trying in vain to not let Frankie D see me. I began to wonder how I had gotten here.



The night had started with promise. Frankie D took me to a rooftop bar called Descend. Tonight was the night where we would test out all the lessons he had given me in how to be a ladies man. I tried to dress as Frankie D had advised me. Peacocking was the term he used. “I want you to dress outrageous” He said. So I did, I wore a patch filled shirt with a pendant around my neck and a ring for each finger.

I walked into Descend, I was ready to make my mark. The bar was filled to capacity with beautiful people. The patrons reminded me of those ads I had seen in the pages of GQ. Great looking, stylish, and all having the time of their lives. Frankie D greeted me at the bar and after some small talk he said “Okay so lets start approaching”

He steered me to a group of girls talking at the end of the bar. “Okay, go approach them” he said. As I began to move toward them Frankie D grabbed my arm. “Oh by the way” he said, “Your clothes are way to small for your body, okay good luck!”

I suddenly felt like my clothes were cutting off my circulation. I felt like Jabba The Hut and that everyone was staring at me. I approached the girls and said hello. They immediately sensed my fear and turned away from me. The night only got worse from there. I was asked if I lost a bet when I said my memorized lines that Frankie D had taught me. I tried performinf a magic trick and was laughed at by many at the bar. All the while, Frankie D, got angrier and angrier. By the end of the night, I couldn’t even approach a woman without my heart beating out of my chest and having a full blown panic attack.

Changing venues did not help. We moved from bar to bar and I could not approach anyone. Finally, fed up Frankie D dragged me outside and began to rant about how terrible I was. All the while I was thinking shouldn’t you be helping me?

Sitting on the curb of the street I looked at everyone around me having fun. I thought to myself, why can't I just let go? Why is it so hard to just have fun? Frankie D sat next to me and sighed “Okay go home get some rest, tomorrow we will start again meet me at times square”

I walked home feeling like a piece of garbage. Once I walked into my apartment I took off my clothes and took a hot shower. As the water dripped down my body cleaning the dried tears from my face, I thought about my life. The goal of changing my life seemed so far away. Would I ever reach it? Would I ever be truly happy? The answers to those questions eluded me.

As I went to sleep I at least had the comfort that the worst was behind me. Little did I know that the worst was yet to come…

To be continued