Not a member? Sign up now
November 18, 2011
I'd met Jess in psych class. She thought I was someone else she'd known in high school, so our quick friendship was something of an accident to begin with. Certain every-day stoner tendencies on my part landed us in the back row of the same class, making jokes about our prof. Classroom friendship soon progressed into frequently hanging out, catching movies, etc. One day, on the way to yet another flick, talk turned to baseball. I mentioned if we headed to the ballpark right at that moment, we would be there no later than the third inning.
As we sat there, I realized I could do this for the rest of my life: beer in one hand, arm around Jess, watching baseball.
Sure enough, we settled into the cheap seats with our beers as the Rangers were coming up to bat in the third. As we sat there, I realized I could do this for the rest of my life: beer in one hand, arm around Jess, watching baseball. I was on such a cloud I don't even remember who the Rangers played, much less who won the game.
We continued hanging out throughout the summer. I said not a word about my burgeoning love for her. I was (am) so scared of girls. Finally, as summer turned to fall, I got a weekend three-a.m. phone call out of the blue. I was acting weird lately, she said. What was up? It must've been the stupor of being woken up, but I blurted out that I was in love with her.
I don't remember the rest of the conversation. I do remember waking up the next morning desperately hoping it had all been a (bad) dream. It wasn't. It also didn't help that she never really addressed that wee-hours conversation, all the while dating a string of idiots that I knew all about. So there began a two-year period of psychological pain, which was exacerbated by her moving to California. I did end up visiting her a couple of times, platonically. But the unrequited crush remained just that. Over time, the sting began to wear off, and I did eventually become aware of other girls.
We remain very close friends to this day, despite a time zone and hundreds of miles between us. She's married and lives in Connecticut now. During a recent phone conversation, she revealed to me that if I'd just made a move on her, she likely would've never left Texas and that we probably would have ended up together and eventually married. I wasn't even angry at that revelation. I still love her too much to be mad at her. We'll never be together, but we'll never be apart.
— Ben
Submit to our next round-up: Getting Back Together With My Ex. Have you ever sworn you'd never get back together with someone, and then, well, did? How'd it happen, and how long did it last? Send us all the specifics in 300-500 words to submissions@nerve.com or click for more details.
Commentarium (36 Comments)
I liked all of them but the last one. "Brought me to orgasm" belongs in a bad romance novel or a racy biology textbook, but not here.
Twas my favorite story, and I'm still here.
i bet you expected something romantic , go figure
Number 3 was heartbreaking.
i'm so glad for the time i had.
I bet he was too. I'm really glad I read your story.
Definitely heartbreaking, but it's uplifting to know and be aware of this story. This happened to someone, it meant a great deal to them, and I'm grateful to know about it from across the world. I'm glad that people share their stories like this, when they mean so much to them. Cheers Bex, from the UK.
Pepper spray the bastard!
Bex, your story was beautiful and heartbreaking. I'm glad you shared it with us.
thanks guys, it means a lot to me.
I've been through the same thing Bex. Have you learned to love again, and how?
I guess no one's ever made the best friends to lovers shift work for very long.
Kinda late reading these stories but after 11 years, my husband and I still make it work.
Wonderful, wonderful stories.... achingly wonderful.
its kinda weird that Andrew's parents were in such a rush to throw his stuff into a dumpster?
they found the photos he took of people doing suspensions - like when you pierce your skin with hooks and hang - and i couldn't convince them that he didn't engage in that activity, so they flipped their shit
But was this right after he died? Why were you both rushing to his apartment? Wouldn't his parents have a lot of other stuff to deal with if their son has just died, besides going through his things all at once?
people have strange reactions to death. this happened right after the funeral; they wanted to hurry up and get the apt cleared out while his dad was still in town. it's something they just wanted to be over and done with and not have to deal with again, it was painful to be in his home
No one's ever made the best friends to lovers shift work for very long?
I married my best friend 16 years ago, and we're still married, and she's still my best friend.
These stories are very poignant, but I'm surprised there isn't a single "and we lived happily ever after" among them!
...and your children look surprisingly like... ME! That's right!
Ugh. I have a story that would have fit just right, only it's happening to me right now. Nerve, run this feature again in 6 months or a year?
Just go ahead and tell your story here in the comments Shaya...
My best friend and I adore each other. Everyone wants us to get married, and we've hooked up before. Well.. tried to hook up. "Tried" meaning that we got naked, tried to have sex, and just couldn't stop laughing at each other... hahaha
I don't get the last one. No sexual chemistry up until the point where she took her clothes off? What changed? Especially for her?
I met Paul during the first week of my sophomore year of college. He had transferred from community college, and as soon as I saw him I could feel electricity between us. I had a long-distance boyfriend (James), though, so Paul and I hung out as "just friends." We would talk for hours, and even though there was so much sexual tension between us my roommate complained and kicked me out (she was a bit crazy, but that's another story), we never acted on it, possibly because Paul had a new girlfriend/hookup every week, and I was a dutiful long-distance girlfriend.
My boyfriend often talked about his new friends, who were very religious, and I was supportive of his finding a spiritual life in the way that only an earnestly liberal 19 year-old could be. One day James told me that he had joined the cult (his words), was moving to a remote area to summon demons (again, his words), and I was welcome to join him. I really thought about it, but a week later I told him that I couldn't join him and that our romantic relationship was over. He was surprised, saying "I can't believe you're breaking up with me over my religion!"
I cried all night, but around 6 a.m. my new roommate said, "You know, I've never met James, but you and Paul really have something special." I realized that she was right, and I called Paul. He told me to come over, and we've now been married for almost nine years.
How's that for your "happy ending" best friends story?
Double like.
Thanks, that was the kind of thing I was trying to goad people into posting. :-)
Nice story but it seems like your relationship with "Paul" was never a "just friends" thing- the only reason you weren't dating was because you had a boyfriend. THat's kind of a different thing.
Does it matter?
My best friend turned out to be the man of my dreams :). I thank the alcohol that made us kiss for the first time 6 months ago!
Sadly, it makes me feel better that all of these "falling for my best friend" stories failed just a miserably as mine did.
I listened to this while listening to the 25 Greatest Love Songs of the 1990s. Not a good idea. I need ice cream.
Me & mine lasted for 5 years. It ended recently with a very mature, logical split. We're still living together due to finances and we're making it as comfortable for each other as possible. He was the best boyfriend I ever had and he's turned out to be the best ex I ever had, too. We split because of the recognition we were beginning to want very different things from life, which was tough to come to terms with because we are otherwise very compatible. There's really no "right" or "wrong" in that situation. I have no regrets & I sincerely hope he finds a woman who is more on the same path as him than I am. I instigated the break up but we both seem to be doing better than ever now. I think of mine as a happy ending even though it didn't work out. There are too many frightful breakups in the world and I'm glad we aren't among them.
wow..number 3..just wow..I teared up
Ahhhhhhh! This is only making it harder to profess my love for my best friend!
almost 8 years . but still hiding the feelings to my best friend because i dont want to ruin our long long time friendship over my stupid feelings for him .. but its very hard for me. specially whenever he tell story about how in love he was right now .. its hurt a lot ..