Romantic Moves that won't make you Gag
BY CARA BIRNBAUM
How do you shower your guy with heartfelt affection without making him head for the hills? Cosmo grilled tons of men (spanning the spectrum of sensitivity) to find out the tender, sweet, but not-too-sappy ways to melt their hearts.
You adore your man. You know it, and he knows it. Still, you want to drive the point home. But can you lavish the big lug with romantic vibes without setting off his anti-sap meter? The even bigger question: Do men even care about romance? Hell, yeah. Cosmo discovered that even the most macho dudes will warm up if you hone in on the kinds of gestures that get to them. "Boiled down, romance is the expression of love," says Greg Godek, author of 1001 Ways to Be Romantic. "But since men don't usually go for the traditional hearts-and-frills stuff that women do, you need to think more creatively."
If that sounds like more brain work than you bargained for, relax. We rounded up scores of men and got them to reveal what romantic stuff a girl can do to make them weak-kneed...and have them dying to return the favor!
2. "One girl called my mom for the recipe I loved as a kid, then surprised me with my favorite cornflake-battered chicken for dinner one night."
--Howard, 23
9. "If I'm up late working, my fiancee will bring me a little bowl of ice cream on her way to bed. It's usually not something I was thinking about but love, which proves how well she knows me."
--Chris, 29
12. "Theresa once taped a good-morning message and slipped it into my car's cassette deck at night so I'd hear it on my way to work that morning."
-- Leon, 27
21. "I was vacationing at the beach with my girlfriend last year. I woke up one morning to go for a swim and found my name spelled out in seashells on the sand."
--Dan, 27
26. "Tell me what an amazing time you had after a date. It may seem obvious, but guys are way more insecure than even we like to think."
--Liam, 24
29. "A girl at my gym -- who I thought would never give me the time of day -- left a note on the treadmill that simply said 'I have a crush on you.' Now that we're living together, we have it framed in our bathroom."
--Rob, 25
31. "Cook me the kind of dinner at your place that you'd get in a fancy restaurant. Do the whole candlelight thing -- and let me enjoy it in my jeans and T-shirt."
--Frank, 26
34. "Think of a nickname...a really good one. My girlfriend knows mushy stuff irks me, but I love that she calls me Tumbleweed -- and the best part is, no one but the two of us knows why."
-- Tyler, 28
37. "Make me coffee in the morning, just the way I like it: strong, plain (none of that flavored crap), two sugars, and a little bit of real milk. It's nurturing and simple but totally appreciated."
--Max, 28
44. "Teri and I email at work constantly, but one day, she sent me a love letter -- as in snail mail. It made my day."
--Bob, 28