Dear Miss Emily

My best friend, who's a guy, has been flirting with me a lot. Once he even told me he loved me. But I have a couple problems with this. 1) he's my best friend 2) he has a girlfriend who's also my friend and 3) I think were both way too young to be saying "I love you." So how do I let him down easily? I still wanna be friends with him when the day is over and, honestly, I don't mind the flirting when Im having a bad day. I just don't want him to take it the wrong way.

-------------------------------Miss Emily's advice------------------------


There's no quick fix when feelings are involved, but you have to set boundaries in the relationship in order for it to have any possibility of staying stable. Although you don't mind the flirting on your bad days, it does cross over the line and that kind of thing can only escalate when one of the parties is "in love." I sense you do have feelings for him, however, and if that's the case, these would be the rules: He breaks up with his girlfriend and, then, you and he can take it from there. But he's being duplicitous by professing love for you and, at the same time, telling his girlfriend he has feelings for her. Friendship is the basis for a quality romantic relationship, but friendship, alone, does not carry the day. Be honest with him, and with yourself, because that's what a best friend relationship should be all about.