mmm, let's be friends.

Have you ever had that one guy.... you know the one, you keep him on the back burner because he's fun to have around when you're bored or in a rut?

Oh. Get rid of him.

Why you ask?

Because it will backfire so goddamn fast on you, you won't even be able to handle it. Chances are, this guy is probably a friend, and you've probably known him long enough that you are close enough that you would feel bad if you hurt him. (I know, right? shocker!)

One of two things will happen:

First we'll discuss number one. After a while, either a couple months or a couple years, this guy will have feelings for you. He will say something along the lines of "I like you and I think you like me too, things don't go on like this for so long without there being something there blah blah blah puke." What are you going to do? Be like, nah, I just really like making out with you. Right.

You have to be careful in this situation! Be nice to him, tell him something that will do the least damage to his ego, even if it's a lie. You can even say, "I don't really have feelings for you, I think you are just confused because we are such good friends/ we are too close, and I don't want to ruin our friendship, which will ultimately happen if we date/ I can't handle the emotional responsibility of having a boyfriend at this point, I just really need a friend/ I'm a lesbian, sorry.... The list of things like this goes on! Proceed with caution though, sometimes these will only buy you time. (Except for the lesbian thing.) After you let him down gently, find a new guy! He'll get the picture. And, if you can, set him up with someone else. That way, you guys can still be friends with less awkwardness.

Of course, even worse, number two could happen- you could develop feelings for him! If this is the case, you have a couple of options. If you really think he might have the same feelings, then tell him. Worst that could happen is that he would reject you and things would be awkward for the rest of your life. (yeah, not the best.) Or, you could stop fooling around with him, and focus on a new guy instead. (This option is best if you are confused about things, which if you are me tends to be a lot.) Personally, I think the best option is to say something along these lines: "(Friend-Boy's Name), I don't think we can fool around anymore. I'm finding I sometimes have trouble separating the physical from the emotional and I don't want things to be weird between us." That way, if he doesn't have feelings for you, he can simply opt out of it and there is relatively low awkwardness. If he does have feelings, then he can lay it out on the table with out being afraid of rejection.

If he doesn't understand what you're saying, then he's a dumbass anyway. Why do you even like him?