I had a realization while at a performance of the ballet Cinderella — I’m Prince Charming. No, no not literally (and no not a man), but in spirit.

You see, Prince Charming’s wingman (Yes, he had one; you didn’t know?) the Duke kept trying to hook him up with every girl at in town. And there were a lot of them, all lovely, but Prince Charming just couldn’t seem to like any of them beyond one twirl on the dance floor. In fact, he’d rather be reading a book. Yep, that was me most of my life. That should have been my bumper sticker — I’d rather be reading a book. More recently books have been replaced by reading subtitles.

We all have that friend that you try to fix up and either they’re picky or somehow just don’t click with who you think they would, or the timing just isn’t right. I’m the friend in that scenario. Of course, poor unmoved Prince Charming eventually meets the lovely Cinderella and it’s happily ever after for them. I’m a tad too cynical to count on that part for my life. Which led me to realization #2: I prefer the flirtatious and more charming Duke over Prince Charming. If you compare it to modern monarchy, I’d be Team Harry over Team William, or Team Andrew over Team Charles.

It could have been that I was just smitten with dancer Rammaru Shindo’s portrayal, but I definitely was drawn to the Duke’s vibe from the moment he leapt on stage. My first thought was, “The heck with Prince Charming, this guy is hot! Cinderella should go after him.”

Beyond the dancer’s luscious, shiny black hair, the character was a great host. After all, he even gave attention to those tacky and horribly rude stepsisters and their equally atrocious mother. Although truth be told the younger sister was such a hoochie mama that honestly he was probably thinking she would be an easy one night stand. If she were in modern times, she’d be twerking in a club. As it was, she was practically trying to give our Prince a lap dance in between fighting with her sister. (Yes, all of this was happening at the ballet.) I also liked the Duke’s loyalty by trying to find his brother a nice girl and helping him track the elusive lady down later on. Like I said, he was a hottie. I’m sure he could have had many of those ladies for himself.

The Duke was that good-looking, life-of-the-party guy who makes everyone feel good and is pleasant to be around. But he’s committed to no one. Doesn’t make a good personality for a until-death-do-we-part happy ending. That’s another reason why I’m single.