Stop me if you've heard this story before...

Once upon a time, there was a woman who was particularly attracted to a man. They became friends, and her attachment to him grew and grew as time went by. She realized that as her feelings for him grew stronger, her insecurities grew with them. He was very friendly and open to her, but she couldn't tell whether he felt the same way for her.

Ultimately, she couldn't wait to find out - so she went out and confessed her love for him. He responded quickly. He returned her affection, and it was as though a beautiful relationship was blooming.

Yet as soon as it began, it faded. The man slowly became more distant, making her feel almost as though he was avoiding her. In the end, he stopped calling and seeing her. It wasn't long before she realized that she would never see or hear from him again. The end.

I could almost hear you trying to stop me midway through the story. I wouldn't be surprised - I've heard this story over and over from women who thought they were doing the right thing. Well, bad news - it doesn't work that way.

Don't lay out all your cards at once. It's wrong to think that you could convince a man to love you, or to think that he'll immediately return your feelings. Think about it - when a friend told you he liked you in a romantic way, how did you feel? Flattered, I suppose, but I'm sure you weren't that eager to return his feelings right away. At the very least, it was much too sudden.

True, the guy may play along for a while, but it's almost always because he doesn't want to hurt your feelings. After all, you've been very good friends for quite some time - it would be very unmanly of him to just reject you outright. He's breaking it to you gently, but breaking it to you nonetheless. In the end, you'll just have to realize that it didn't work.

Take it easy - the best relationships happen naturally between two individuals. Nothing has to be forced, and the feeling has to be mutual in order for it to last. If the story mentioned above has happened to you, then my heart goes out to you - I hope that it's not too late to mend the friendship, and that next time, you'll know better.