Some women like "bad boys." Actually, scratch that. Most women like bad boys. There is something about a man with an "edge" that is just alluring to us all. He's mysterious, angry, confident, and full of swagger.
Still, marrying a bad boy is a bad, bad move. It's one thing to have a rollercoaster dating life with ups and downs and drinking and fighting (and hot sex) and passion. It's another to have a marriage like that. The former is sexy. The latter? Not so much.
Most of us grownup women give up the bad boys for the nice boys once we start looking at marriage, and there is no doubt, that's the smart way to go. But here are five bad boy qualities we all want even our good boys to have:
1. Backbone: Even a good guy needs to know when to say no and stand up for himself. No one wants a doormat and a man who can't stand up and say what he feels isn't a man.
2. Unpredictability: Sometimes a woman just needs to be surprised. Bad boys are great at leaving us guessing, but a good boy can have a bit of that same quality without delving into jerk territory. For instance, my husband isn't really an uber-romantic type, but one time he came back from wandering around Manhattan with a beautiful necklace that made him think of me. No occasion. No reason. Just spontaneous and out of character. Naturally, I loved it.
3. Passion/Anger: We aren't talking irrational short fuse here, but we ARE talking passion. A guy who gets upset at injustice and picks good battles and fights them hard. No one wants a happy go lucky sweetheart all the time. To me, anger shows you care.
4. Sense of humor: A guy who has better funny names for people than I do and knows how to mock and tease like even the meanest of the mean girls can get my heart. I don't want a guy who is always full of sunshine and rainbows. Be a standup guy, but also know when to mock people. It's fun, don't you know?
5. Confidence: No matter how much we like a guy, a lack of confidence is the fastest way to squelch a budding relationship. Whether they are good or bad, a man must have confidence. Period.
What "bad boy" qualities do you think good men need?
Image via Greg Neate/Flickr