Phoebe: We can be guys. Come on, let us be guys.
Chandler: You don’t want to be guys, you’d be all hairy and you wouldn’t live as long. -Friends

I’ve been hanging out more and more with The Friend Zone and Birthday Twin. I love just kicking back the three of us. It’s nice to be one of the guys again, I haven’t had that in a long while. It’s also nice because having the trio keeps The Friend Zone from feeling like something is going to happen with us. The only problem I’m having is I can sense the chemistry between myself and Birthday Twin.

The nickname is fairly obvious, we have the same birthday. But it gets weirder; it’s even the same year! We both have a brother who is two years older, and we both suffer from nervous tummies. We have a lot of the same views and opinions on life in general, and when we figured out we had the same allergies to dust mite I just couldn’t stop laughing. It’s too weird to meet your male counterpart. Don’t get me wrong though, some of these similarities are the exact reasons I wouldn’t date him. The things I find to be annoying or problematic with myself I also see in him.

The trio thing was working out great, until the other day, when Friend Zone called me drunk. He said that he wasn’t blind and he knew that there was something between me and Birthday Twin. He then proceeded to give his blessing. He said that we should totally hook up and that it would be fine by him, and to have fun. Then he puts Birthday Twin on the phone, and I had no idea what to say. I just was sort of flabbergasted. I just laughed and said, maybe we can hang out, maybe not. So I’m not sure what’s going to happen there, but he would definitely be a fun guy to play with. So much for being just one of the guys.

You waited too long and now you’re in “The Friend Zone”.-Joey, Friends

The same weekend I met The One Night Stand I met another guy. We’ll call him The Friend Zone Guy. He was so great. We had a blast laughing and talking that night, and I gave him my number. I made it clear in my mind at least, that I wanted to just be friends. I thought it was obvious considering I was kissing his friend (One Night Stand Guy) on the couch right in front of him. Usually when a girl is making out with another, chances are she’s just not that into you.

So that said we hung out a few times, and had a blast together. The Friend Zone Guy was hilarious, kind of jolly, and a big goon. I could relax and be myself around him because I wasn’t looking for anything but friendship. I was living in blissful ignorance to his feelings.

Here’s where things start to get interesting. The Friend Zone Guy came to karaoke one night to meet up with some of my friends and myself. He brought along his roommate, who I will call The Birthday Twin Guy, (I’ll explain that part later). I was not prepared for his roommate to be such a cutie. He has these beautiful blue eyes and a little smirk that kind of makes a girl go humminahhh. We all got along fabulously, and spent the evening singing and cutting a rug on the dance floor. The three of us ended the night with a midnight run to a fast food joint and sat on the back of Birthday Twin’s truck talking about life. BT had a lot of the same views on life as I did, especially in regards to dating. I told the guys I was sick of fast forwarding to the comfort zone. Whatever happened to wining and dining? What happened to going on a date and getting to know someone before falling into their world? I also said I was at a point in my life where I don’t just want to date to date. If I see a dealbreaker, I’m not going to keep dating that person. I am old enough that if I call someone my boyfriend, I want it to lead somewhere. BT agreed completely, and I could see us connecting on some level.

The three of us hung out again at their house and I liked the feeling of the trio. We all just sat around drinking wine and talking. That’s when I realized The Friend Zone guy was into me. He even asked if I wanted to stay the night and that’s when it got awkward. I ended up telling him I just really want to be friends. He seemed ok with the idea, but I could tell he was disappointed. I felt terrible, because I thought I had been clear. I think my best friend may be right, unless very special circumstances are in place, guys in their twenties don’t just want to be friends. Ignorant bliss was so much better…