Guy Problems

Part 2, Chapter 2: The Promise

The next day, Carol texted me:

Carol: I heard all about what you did with Blake last night.

Me: I kissed him a few times. So what?

Carol: I heard you're dating him now too.

Me: We haven't gone on a date yet but we're planning on going on one soon.

Carol: He was my boyfriend! How could you do this to me?

Me: I'm sorry, but he's not your boyfriend anymore and he obviously likes me and I like him.

Carol: It doesn't matter! You should never date a friend's ex, regardless of if he likes you or not, or if you like him or not!

Me: I'm not going to blow him off if I actually like him back. That wouldn't make any sense.

Carol: Whatever. I guess your love life is more important than your friends. You couldn't even come stay with me last night like Britney.

Me: I didn't want to miss Will's party.

Carol: Which is another example of how you put your love life before your friends.

Me: Excuse me?! Will is one of my friends; he is not a part of my love life. If anything, this is a matter of me putting him over you. He would've been really upset if I missed his party.

Carol: Did you ever think of how upset I would be if you didn't come over?

Me: I'd rather have fun than sit around and listen to you go on about Blake for hours.

Carol: Wow. Thanks for caring. I think you like Will. You always want to spend time with him and you always blow me off for him. It's annoyed me for along time, and now you've taken Blake from me. We're not friends anymore.

Me: I didn't take Blake from you. He dumped you the other day, and then he came after me, and I decided to let him have me.

Carol: You're the reason he dumped me.

Me: I didn't make him fall in love with me.

Carol: Don't give me that shit! I saw the way you made eyes at him and flirted with him when I was around! What did you do with him when I wasn't around?!

Me: I never did that and I never even talked to him when you weren't around, unless he was with Will! Anyway, you're a hypocrite. Just a minute ago, you were saying I like Will and now you're saying that I was flirting with Blake while you were dating him? No. Just no. I'm fine with you being angry with me, because I don't want to be friends with you anyway if you're going to be like that to me. Bye, bitch.

Carol: Fuck you, slut.

After my conversation with Carol, I felt bad. I felt like the worst friend in the world for dating her ex and for saying all of the mean things I said to her, but I wasn't going to dump Blake after one day just because of her. There was a feeling in me that Blake was going to be different, that he was going to be better than the rest. I wasn't about to let go of that.

The next evening, Blake picked me up to take me to Starbuck's. It felt strange to go there with him, since Brett used to take me there all the time. I had to keep reminding myself that Blake wasn't like Brett, that he wouldn't ever cheat on me.

"Carol's pissed at me," I told Blake, after we sat down with our lattes.

"That's stupid," Blake said. "She didn't even care about me that much, so she shouldn't be mad."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "She did care about you, and she was crushed when you dumped her."

"Is that what you think?" Blake asked.