Cheesecake, The Fountainhead and "John"

Have you ever noticed that books and relationships are like food? Stay with me here.
     Popcorn for example. Steady munching until you get to the bottom of the bowl. Not necessarily a meal or really substantial at all, but tasty none the less. Tacos? Plow through! Man, they taste so good, and they're hot and the taco juice is dripping down your arms, and you just can't wait to get to the next one. They fill you up and you're super stoked about the margarita special. Chinese food? You can eat and eat and eat and be so stuffed that you think you may actually explode. The minute you leave the restaurant however, that feeling is gone and you realize that while it tastes good, it will never actually satisfy you in the long term. Then there's turtle cheesecake. You could spend an hour eating the sliver that is on your plate. You actually get pleasure just by looking at it in anticipation of the next bite. It melts in your mouth, and even though it's amazing, you would never actually have more than one slice in a single sitting, because it would ruin the magic somehow.
     Fox in Socks is a super fun book. It may not go down on the list of "classics" that everyone is required to read to make people all think the same, but you laugh, your tongue gets tied in knots and in the end you realize that maybe taking a chance on something new and different isn't all bad. Even if originally you think that you "would not could not with a fox". *Wiggles eyebrows* The Harry Potter series? Oh man! Once you get in that world, you can't get enough! Every step the characters take is magical and so much different than your own, or is it surprisingly similar? You laugh, cry, smile, get pissed and confused, but above all, you enjoy the journey with these unlikely friends that you've made along the way. The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo series? While you're in it, you're taken over by the mystery and politics of the world. The things that happen are like some sort of bizarre train wreck that you would hope would never happen to you, but you can't seem to look away from. You love it while you're there, but when you're done, you realize that you don't ever have to read it again because you've learned all you can from it. The Fountainhead? Everyone tells you that the author is evil and crazy, you read it anyway. Nothing is like you expect it to be. It's real life but surreal at the same time. You think about reading it all the time, but when you sit down to dig in, two chapters go by and you're satisfied. You don't want to rush. You want to contemplate every word because it brings new light into your world. If you read it too fast, you may miss something, and somehow you feel as if that would be a crime committed against yourself.
     "Brad". He's hot. He sees you dancing at the club, and wants to join. He boosts your confidence because of said hotness, you dance the night away. The next day you don't remember his name or anything about him because you know he's not forever, just for that brief moment. "Steve". He's new and interesting. You spend every waking moment thinking about him and what he would say or do in any given situation. You may even daydream about "what if". In the end, you both realize that you're not to be involved romantically. You may be friends forever, or you may look back on him occasionally and think fondly of the times you had together. "Ryan". He seems like everything you want. Cute, smart, funny. You get caught up in the whirlwind. You make plans together. Everything's perfect, until it's not. He turns out to be exactly what you don't want. The relationship that used to glitter in the sun is now toxic and suffocating. It was a fast burning candle and you are lucky to have escaped with your life. "John". He's so palatable to you, and you don't know anything about him. You're interested in his views on everything, but don't ask because you are happy to go with the flow. You throw out the rule book with him because he gives you that confidence to just be in the moment. When you do think of him, there's not an anxious bone in your body. You don't feel like you have to know what he's been doing at every moment, because if it's important, it will make the headlines when you see each other again. It seems like you have all the time in the world to savor every moment.