I’m a sucker for nice boys. I’m a sucker for the kind of guy who loves his mom, who offers to help clean up the dishes, who brings me flowers just because and who is all around nice. A lot of women love the ‘bad boys’ because it makes them feel badass, but man oh man do I love the nice ones.

However, lately I’ve been getting tricked. Lately, I’ve been fooled. Maybe I should have seen it coming. Maybe I should have been more careful. Maybe I should have expected it.

Still — he was so nice. He was so positively radiant when he smiled. He was the nice guy I had been looking for. He was so wholesome. He was so gentle and pure. I felt the goodness pouring out of him whenever I saw him.

I believed him when he spoke to me. I believed with my entire heart that he wouldn’t ever hurt me. And I believed him when he said he wouldn’t blindside me. How could I not believe him? He was so far away from a player. He wasn’t even in the same category of any guy I had ever met.

But of course, he was the same as any other guy. And of course, he hurt me. He blindsided me. He did everything that he promised he wouldn’t.

I thought that by now I would be good at spotting red flags. I thought that by now, I’d be able to see a snake coming from a mile away. I thought the days of getting played were over. Because I was smarter than their games. I was better than to ever fall for that shit ever again.

But he fooled me. He played me. He stabbed me in the back. He left a wound in my heart.

And it’s worse because he was so nice. It’s worse because he still cared. It’s worse because he called me to break it off instead of texting me or ghosting me. It’s worse because he has a heart. It’s worse because he cried when he told me he was done.

It’s worse when they are nice. Because you can’t even hate them afterwards. You can’t even blame them. All you can do is blame yourself. Even though it’s not your fault. Even though you never saw it coming. Not from someone like him. Not from someone as kind and as good as him.