| Sweetheartless in Seattle Cosmopolitan / By Christine Humphreys If I could find a way to rig this contest so I could win the date with Alex Rodriguez, I would. Going out with a professional athlete is one thing. But when it�s a date with the shortstop for the Mariners, it�s a whole new ballgame. You see, everyone loves this 21-year-old All-Star. Grandmothers in Walla Walla. Little Leaguers across the heartland. Die-hard baseball fans in Santo Domingo. Women the world over. Why? Well, in the case of the women, it could just be because he�s so cute. One look into his green eyes can set off that twinge in the pit of the stomach. But he�s also a nice guy. I don�t mean nice in that kiss-of-death way you blow off someone you really just want to be friends with. More like nice in that I-can�t-believe-he�s-a-professional-athlete-and-yet-so-genuinely friendly way. Sure, Alex is also overwhelmingly tall, dark and handsome. But perhaps his most seductive feature is the 20-second pauses between my questions and his answers. Athletes who are used to dealing with reporters often answer glibly, in a rush, avoiding eye contact., but Alex looks right at me and ponders each question I ask. It seems like he actually cares. The most important things he�s looking for in a woman? Pause. �Simplicity. Intelligence. Confidence.� Does she need to love baseball? Pause. �Well, she could love baseball and still be a bad person,� he replies. �I�d like to find someone with family values and a religious background, for when I have kids.� Wait a second---we�re already talking kids? �No, not yet,� he laughs, �but eventually.� Does she need to look like a model? �I don�t like those women who are six foot three and way 115 pounds. Women who are athletic and take care of themselves are a turn-on,� he says. What�s your ideal date? �A yacht cruise, a picnic or dinner by candlelight,� he says. �But I travel eight months out of the year, so when I do get some time off, I like just hanging out at my new house in Miami.� After a few dates with Alex, there is an inevitable hurdle: Meeting Mom. And Mrs. Lourdes Navarro is a tad protective of her son. �She�d beat women off with a stick, if she could,� Alex says. Being the gorgeous, charming, gainfully employed guy that Alex is, you�d think he�d be the one fending off would-be wives. �But there�s a difference between meeting women and meeting The Woman,� he explains. Still, you must have plenty of opportunities? �Even when you do meet someone, being in the public eye so much, you can�t be fun and spontaneous,� he says. �Athletes are blessed with all this ability on the field, so much so that people expect us to do everything right off the field.� Pause. �I worry sometimes.� Worry? About what? �That I might never meet someone.� He leans forward. �Are you single?� he asks. �Do you have a boyfriend?� I shake my head. �So you know what I mean. I hope and pray that the right woman will come along.� Alex, if you�re reading this, there are two things I want you to know. First, I lied. I do have boyfriend. I don�t know what came over me, but it must have had something to do with your eyes. Second, when that special someone does come along---and she will---please don�t go public with it. It�s probably the only thing about you I wouldn�t want to know. |