The Third Wheel

That's what I have been my entire life.  I'm always the friend of the girl who's got the admirer/boyfriend that doesn't want me hanging around so he can make his moves.

When I was in high school, my best friend and I were kind of inseparable.  I learned several months after she and her boyfriend broke up that he blamed me for the split.  I'd had no idea and hated it.  I was single up until I met the ex-husband when I was 24.  Before that I had always been the tag along, the one who got the pity invite.

A couple of years ago the roommate and I were supposed to be having dinner together, then she informed me that she had invited her boyfriend.  She asked if I was cool with it after the fact, and what was I supposed to say?  No, not at all?  Technically he was the third party, but it didn't work out that way.  I sat in the back seat and watched them hold hands while he tried to guess the private location of her newest tattoo.  Throughout dinner I watched them.  It sucked.  The past couple of years I've had to endure it from time to time, and eventually I just decided to not put myself in those kind of situations anymore.

Last night the roommate had a friend over, and we all hung out talking.  It was nice feeling equal.  She came home tonight and said he was coming back over in a bit to watch a movie we'd talked about yesterday.  One I really want to see.  I asked if it was cool if I watched it with them, or if they wanted to be alone.  I asked just to be on the safe side.  She then told me that he actually came back over last night at midnight, they just slept (yeah, sure) in the same bed together, and he left at 6am.  Awesome.

I said I would not be watching the movie with them because it would be awkward.  She insisted that it wouldn't be and that she wanted me to watch it with them, but I refused.  She may pretend not to know it, but if he stayed in her bed last night, he definitely doesn't want me watching the movie with them.

So he arrived a few minutes ago, and I've purposely stayed here writing this.  I hate being a third wheel in my own house.

Oh, yeah... She also told me tonight that her alcoholic ex-boyfriend crashed his car today and called her to rescue him.  And because he lives twenty minutes from his job and we live about five, she invited him to crash with us and that she wasn't going to let him drink in the house.  So he'll be detoxing while crashing on my couch.  Actually it'll probably be in her bed, but whatever.  More awesome.