It is so exciting to have Courtney back writing! It is great fun for the two of us to get to relate to the articles and comments of one another.
Recently Courtney has been discussing the sticky situations that friends can get into when they begin discussing relationships. She talks of telling friends that husbands are cheating and how to handle it when a friend’s husband flirts.
I would like to take this situation into a little different direction. What happens when it is one of you and your mate’s mutual friends that flirts with you or propositions you with more than just a friendship?
Do you tell your mate? Do you break off the friendship? What do you do?
I think that if the proposition is quickly put down and dismissed by you and your friend understands that nothing more will happen, and then there may not be a need to tell anyone. Telling your mate will likely only cause tension between you.
As long as the two of you understand that nothing more than a friendship will take place, then there is no need to break off the friendship. While it may cause an awkward feeling for you in the beginning, things will probably be back to normal before long.
However if the flirting and propositions continue after you have made yourself clear of having no intentions, then you may want to discuss it with your mate and think about calling off your friendship. It is probably best to distance yourself from one another and let your mate in on what has been occurring.
Remember that the friend may or may not deny that anything took place or that he or she had any intentions of anything more than a friendship occurring.
Dilemmas: Friends and Inappropriate Behavior
Dilemmas: Friends and Inappropriate Behaviors, Part 2