Let me be the first to share.
I had an infatuation with a friend’s younger sister, “Chrissy”, when I was 19 and she was 17.
One night I was invited to watch videos at a friend’s (“Mike’s”) apartment with a small group (6 or so people). On a whim, I call her and ask her if she’d like to join me. She says OK, but then she asks if my best friend “Jack” would be there. I said I didn’t know. She asked if I could see if he would be there.
Now, I was quite cluless and asked the host if Jack was going to be there. He said he hadn’t thought about asking him, but liked him and said to go ahead and invite him. So I did.
Well, Chrissy had a thing for Jack. However, Jack didn’t care for her. She spent the whole evening trying to get him to notice her, he tried to avoid her, and I moped in my wine cooler after I put 2 & 2 together.
Soon thereafter, Mike started dating Chrissy’s best friend “Jeri”. Also, Chrissy and I became “just friends”. The four of us started hanging out together; movies, dinner, parties, etc.
One night after a good round of wine coolers and videos, we were playing Truth or Dare. During this game, I revealed that Jack didn’t like Chrissy at all. Well, she started crying. Jeri took care of her, while Mike and I took a walk. He assured me that it was OK, that she needed to find out eventually.
Chrissy didn’t hold it against me, and we remained friends. After Mike and Jeri broke up, she, Chrissy, and I became a social trio. And of course, we were “just friends”.
This went on for almost 2 years. I was alternately attracted to either Chrissy or Jeri, but never pushed the romantic angle for fear of alienating the other.
I graduated college and moved away. Chrissy’s family moved too. Jeri stayed a few more years, but I lost track of her.
sigh
How’s that?
Wrong thinking is punished, right thinking is just as swiftly rewarded. You’ll find it an effective combination.