Lately, you've been a little more attracted to your guy friend; he is suddenly funnier, smarter and oddly better looking as if it just happened overnight. You are starting to have feelings that you have never felt toward him and you are wondering if you should try and take your friendship to the next level. Before you go and jump head first into cloud nine it is important to consider the different relationship scenarios you might encounter when entering this relationship. Looking at these three scenarios will help you discover if your best friend might be the best mate for you.
Scenario 1: You could tell your best friend that you are starting to have feelings for him and he could tell you he doesn't feel the same way. Obviously, this is the most feared of all the scenarios because no one wants to be rejected, especially by someone they thought loved them. If this happens it can result in strain on your friendship because you feel one way and your friend feels another. When you try to hang out with your best again it can make for an awkward situation to be with someone who rejected you. I feel this situation can only occur if you read your friend's flirt signs wrong. For example, if your guy friend is dating other girls or always talking about other women when he is with you, then most likely he only has interest in being your friend. Trying to capture him when he is clearly not interested is never going to work no matter what your feelings are. Signs that your guy friend has thought about dating you are: he never talks about other women or dates other girls, he calls or texts often and he always makes some effort to touch you when you are together. If you are picking up any of those signs then it is a green light and you should ask him about being more than just friends. Two friends who are invested in each other's lives and are both willing to take their friendship to the next level can definitely work.
Scenario 2: You could tell your best friend that you are having feelings for him and he would feel the same way you do. You decide to try dating for a while and have fun but then something goes south. The relationship does not work out and you end up breaking up. You could feel better than those who experience Scenario 1 because it's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. You might wish you never got into Scenario 2 because now you are not only down a boyfriend but you have lost a friend. It might not have worked because there are just too many differences in values, lifestyle or goals to work through when you became a couple. Things that do not matter much when you are friends often are important when you are considering sharing your life with someone. In this Scenario dating a friend does not work and you can end up hurt and crushed but at least you gave it a shot!
Scenario 3: You tell your best friend you are interested in having a relationship with him and the feelings are reciprocated. This is more of the fairytale scenario where you date, fall in love and live happily ever after. In this case dating a friend can work and work well. There is no reason that people with like interests and who have been friends for years could not have a successful relationship. Often, it is best to try and be friends with someone you date first so you have a solid foundation to build your relationship on. Dating a friend can definitely work, you just have to both understand that your relationship that you once had will change into something new. Many times that might be why couples that were friend’s first fail at having a lasting love because they do not realize how much things change once they are committed to each other.
Take it from me, dating your best friend can definitely work, I know from experience. At the end of this year I will be marrying my best friend. We met my freshman year in college and we were best friends for three years and did everything together. It was only after we started dating that we both realized that we had liked each other all along. If we would have been brave enough to take the chance and share our feelings with one another we might have been together long before. We were both afraid of risking the friendship we had but if we had only known what it would lead to we might have shared our feelings much earlier.
Dating your friend can happen, you just have to ask yourself if you have the courage to risk it all: your friendship, your emotions and your heart. If you never risk anything in your life you can be sure you will never gain anything either. If you think you love your friend then why not go for it! The only time you should hold back your feelings is if you read his body language and you don't pick up any signs that he is interested in you. The last thing you want to do is open your feelings up to someone who just wants to be your friend and that's all. Also, make sure this guy has a great personality and holds the same general viewpoints about the world as you do or else your relationship will never work.
My three pieces of advice for you on dating your friend is to go for it, never settle and always be yourself. If you do all those three things you cannot go wrong even if the relationship doesn't work out in the end because you will still be you and that's beautiful.
