• "He's only your best friend because he wants to get with you!"
    "What?" I exclaimed.
    Lenny and I had been broken up for several weeks, but we decided to try it again starting with a date. Still, we were nothing close to official, and I couldn't believe he was starting this fight yet again.
    "I know you guys like each other. 'Best friend' is just a title giving you an excuse to hang out all the time."
    "But you know we've been best friends all year," I retorted. "Are you saying we can't be friends because he's male?"
    "Of course not. But that doesn't get rid of the fact that you like each other. Just tell me now if I'm wasting my time." He was trying to make himself the victim. And I was falling for it.
    "I'd like to say you're not. But that's you're own opinion. If I didn't want to be with you, I wouldn't be here right now. And don't you dare think I'm pitying you." We were almost to my house by now. It was silent as we waited for the crosswalk sign to change.
    Finally, he sighed.
    "I just don't want to lose you to the little p***k."
    "Would you stop calling him that? You know, he's never said a bad word against you. Ever. You could be a little nicer."
    "I just don't want to lose you..."
    My turn to sigh.
    No matter how I explained it, he never seemed to get it. He could never understand my undying need for him. How I couldn't be complete without him in my life. Without his love. So much of him was now a part of me that I wouldn't survive without him.
    "You won't lose me," I said gently. "You can't lose me."
    He smiled sheepishly at me. "You know I love you?"
    I smiled in return. "Yeah. I guess it's a good thing I love you too."
    He kissed my forehead as we walked across my porch and went inside.