Last night, I found myself hanging at a rooftop bar with my closest group of friends.
It was, for us, a fairly average Friday night. We were at a local bar, with our best friends, having a quiet but night. Traditionally, it’s my favourite kind of night, surrounded by the people I love the most.
Though it’s my husband’s group of friends, they’ve come to be some of my best friends too. For example, I’ve always been close to my husband’s closest childhood mate. After all, they grew up together – a little bit like brothers – so I never actually had a choice. Let’s just say I was lucky that he was such an easy guy to get along with.
At 28, I’ve known him for as long as I’ve known my husband – nearly seven years.
But as we sat around a big table, and my husband hopped up to go to the bathroom, he approached me, sitting himself down next to me. He was drunk, this much I could tell. Some glistening eyes and a big grin can give away even the best actors.
“I’ve always had a thing for you in the background,” he told me.
I laughed it off. Of course you haven’t, I said, making light of what had the beginnings of an uncomfortable conversation.
“I’ve always thought that if I wasn’t with my fiancé, and you weren’t with Jacob, we’d be together,” he went on.
I laughed again, looking around nervously for my husband. Were other people listening? Did I look guilty? Was I guilty by association?
I did my best to change the subject. It didn’t work.
“A lot of things would have to fall into place for us to be a thing, but I do think about it every time I see you,” he added.