Searching For That Special Yum One

A nice-enough guy who's part of a group of friends I hang with sent me some "You looked delicious today" and "What a great butt you have"-type e-mails. I felt flattered, then got a case of the ickies. Should I ask a trusted male friend (also in our group) to lie and say I have a boyfriend?

--Skeeved

Chances are, the guy's just a doofus -- one who doesn't get that "You look beautiful" is a compliment and that what he wrote is basically "Hey, sex parts!" The moment a guy shows interest in you, decide whether you have any interest in him, and shut him down right away if you don't. Whatever you do, don't create boyfriend fiction you'll have to maintain. Assess this guy and the group dynamic, and either ignore his e-mails or respond with something like "I'm telling myself you were drinking when you wrote that, and we're both going to forget you ever sent it." That might sound mean, but it's actually the benevolent response: letting him know that he can't just haul off with "You looked delicious today" unless he's already getting it on with a girl or he bumped into her when she was dressed as a giant chocolate croissant.