You know when you’re watching a TV series and they start with a “previously on” montage? One that shows you clips from previous episodes and you know they’ll be important?
Well if I could do that I’d take you back to the post of Brian* the Builder.
A quick recap for those who may have forgotten.
Brian was someone I dated for about 3 months. He called me a 4 out of 10 and told me I’d have a decent body if I went to the gym. If you remember correctly, he also used to talk about and talk to a girl called Laura*.
Well Laura is the important previously on part of this story…
Adam* and I have been friends for years; good friends actually. We’ve pretty much been in the same group of friends who have ended up growing up together. We know each other well. Adam also knows the ins and outs of my history with Brian and as a result, Laura.
He knows that Brian didn’t treat me very well and that he used to text Laura all the time. He also knows that Brian ended up with Laura for a while after he ended things with me.
You must get where I’m going with this now?
Laura decides to make a special guest appearance in another one of my dating stories.
Let me take you back to the start.
Adam and I started becoming closer than our usual friendship. Over a few months, it became clear that we’d moved past the ‘just friends’ barrier. But when this happened after only a few months, we panicked. We both agreed that our friendship was more important than anything else so we decided to just go back to being friends. Adam was one of my closest friends. I cared about him a lot (yes, that is past tense) so I figured he probably felt the same about me.
Neither of us wanted to ruin our friendship. However on one fateful night out, I discovered he didn’t feel the same way about it and obviously didn’t care very much about me.
Adam, myself and a few of our other friends all got the train into town for a much needed night out. My best friend of about 18 years jokingly bet me £10 that I would get with Adam again tonight – he still owes me that £10.
We went to a few bars where drinks were flowing and we were having a good laugh.
One of the boys suggested we head to a student bar because they have a dance floor so we could spend the rest of the night there and it would be easier. We never go to this particular bar but we figured we might as well give it a go. Once there we went upstairs and started getting some more drinks. I was looking around the dance floor to see if I recognised anyone and who came into focus but Laura herself.
Once, I was friends with Laura but after everything with Brian, I had deleted her on social media and hadn’t spoken to her. I didn’t blame her or hate her or anything petty; I just didn’t want her relationship with Brian rubbed in my face everyday. So I chose to remove them from view and continue with my life. Besides she knew I was with Brian every time she decided to text him or ask to see him. She knew when she would flirt with him so I just didn’t need that type of person in my life. Anyway, back to the here and now in the club where I’m looking at Laura. I did as I always do, smiled politely at her before continuing to scan the place for familiar faces.
Before I know it, Laura has come over and starts hugging all my friends saying hello.
I appreciate that completely because she does know them all too. Maturely, I take the opportunity to go to the toilet to avoid anything feeling uncomfortable. When I come back, Laura is all over Adam which is fine. He is single after all but still feels a little annoying. Laura goes to the bar and I take Adam to one side.
What I asked him isn’t something I would ever ask of my friends normally because I have no right to do so. But given my previous history with both Adam and Laura I felt he would be able to see why I asked him,
“Adam, I hate to ask this but please don’t get with Laura tonight. Get with anyone else here, anyone at all but just not her”.
He agreed and we resumed the night. I know what you’re thinking and I completely agree with you, I have no right at all to ask my friend not to get with someone. Under any other circumstances I would never ask but just for tonight I was being selfish and I didn’t want Laura invading my night with my friends. In hindsight I’m glad she did.
Before I know it, Laura has come over to me.
Oh god what do I do?
Imagine if the girl who broke up your first ever, sort of relationship walked over to you in a club and you knew you would have to talk to her. This is the girl who was considered a 9 out of 10 by the guy I trusted the most at the time while I was a 4. She’s the girl who was texting the guy lying in bed next to me and his attention was fully focused on her at the time rather than me.
Imagine how you would feel. I can tell you, I was absolutely terrified!
My stomach was in knots and I was doing everything I could not to vomit angry words out. I decide to climb up the high road which looks like Everest right now and politely say hi. She says it back and then asks me “Why aren’t we friends anymore?”
Really??
Even though I know full well that she knows the reason, I decide the truth is my best option here. I explain, again politely, that we never weren’t friends anymore really; I just needed to cut her and Brian out of my line of sight to protect myself. Continuing, I told her that I knew about her messaging him all the time while we were together and that I was happy for them but it wasn’t any of my business and I had moved on.
I mentally gave myself a pat on the back for taking that mountainous high road and listened to her tell me that her and Brian weren’t together – apparently it had been a short lived relationship, surprise surprise. So for the next few minutes, we passed pleasantries and caught up on stuff. She asked me if I seeing anyone and I looked over at Adam, “I’m not seeing anyone but Adam and I have just recently finished something”.
You know what’s coming don’t you?
Laura looks me dead in the eye and says “What? Me and Adam have been seeing each other for months now. He stays at my house all the time”.
Of course you’ve been seeing Adam.
Of course my dating life has just exploded in my face yet again.
Naturally one of my best friends couldn’t see me as being worth more than this.
I’m speechless. Laura calls over Adam and asks him if it’s true. He can only muster up the strength to say “Well” and look like a rabbit in head lights. He’s been caught out.
I feel absolutely humiliated. One of my closest friends has treated me like a fool. I’m not one for drama. As you can imagine, I’ve had my fair share of it throughout my time so I simply put my drink down on the table next to me and without saying a word to anyone, I turn around and leave. I don’t want to argue with anyone. I don’t want to listen to excuses. As you can imagine, I don’t want to deal with a girl crying or any kind of drama. Right now, I just want to get in a taxi and go home to bed.
I’ll sleep on this all and deal with it in the morning when my head is clear.
I walk for the taxi rank and explain that I only have £50 cash and give them my destination. He finds a driver that will take me for the reduced amount and I go. My phone starts vibrating in my bag and I see Adam’s name calling. I reject the call. I reject every attempt from him to call me the entire 20 minute taxi journey home. Really, I don’t need the drama right now.
The taxi driver stops about a 10 minute walk from my house and tells me this is as far as he’ll take me.
Excellent. I get out, remove my heels and start walking barefoot down the road towards my house. My phone starts buzzing again only this time I see Brian’s name!!
What the hell is he calling me for? Bearing in mind it’s about 2am, I answer the phone to see what’s happening. Brian explains to me that he’s just woken up to Laura ringing him and crying down the phone saying she’s had a big argument with me!
I might not like the drama but it appears quite clear that she does.
I apologise to Brian and tell him that she’s lied to him because we haven’t had an argument. Then I give him a quick run down of what really happened and leave him to get back to sleep. Once I’m home finally, I change, take my make up off and climb into my safe, cosy bed for the night.
The reality of the previous night hits me in the morning. So Adam was messing around with the two of us at the same time? He flat out to my face in that club agreed not to get with Laura when he knew he’d already been doing it. I can’t describe how humiliated I felt. Some of my friends knew about it and none of them told me. Not one of them felt I should know that I’d been completely played a fool.
Men will always stick by each other no matter what. I’m not sure I can trust some of my closest friends again because I know they’ll always hide things from me to protect their fellow men. My female anatomy means I will always come second to them, even if I am being treated badly.
I explained the story to my Mum and couldn’t help but laugh. Two guys, who don’t know each other had completely treated me like a mug for the same girl!
Does she have some kind of magical vagina?
Is she the fountain of youth that everyone craves? What is it about Laura that men can’t seem to resist? And why does she continue to worm her way between me and men? Unfortunately no one can give me answers for those questions. Even more unfortunately I also can’t be angry at Laura for this one because it looks like she was a fool here too.
I’ve learned a lot from this. Adam and I will never have the same friendship we had. I don’t think I’ll ever have the same friendship with the other guys out that night because they knew what was going on all along. I did make an ally that night. The only other girl in our friendship group became my only trustworthy confidante after that. She made sure I was ok and gave me a comforting ear who would listen.
I also learned that I should never ever get with any guy who knows Laura!
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