ExposedNYC

If you’ve made it to your twenties and are single, chances are you’ve discussed a backup plan. My Best Friend’s Wedding documented the idea, Hollywood style, that if you reach a certain age unmarried, you have someone waiting on the back burner that you can imagine spending the rest of your life with and not murdering.

Lee has always been mine. We met in high school, and for the first few years I knew him, he was a total player. He discarded women like empty beer bottles, but I somehow managed friend status which allowed us to maintain a relationship much longer than his flavor of the week.

Inevitably, we had a few beers one night and were driving in his car, when I became curious what all the fuss was about. As we pulled up to a red light, I looked at him and said, “So, are you ever gonna kiss me, or what?” Yes, I was such a classy, eloquent adolescent. He did, until the light changed and the cars behind us started to honk, and the moment was broken.

When I turned twenty-one, I went to meet him and a group of friends at a bar. Minutes after walking in, they took my keys and my wallet and swore that I wasn’t buying a drink, or driving that night. They held that promise, and I woke up the next morning wearing an ARMY t-shirt (that I successfully stole from him to this day) and puking in his bathroom, and he still didn’t lay a hand on me.

It wasn’t until years later that we got a full-on make out session. I couldn’t even tell you how it came about, but I think we had both just reached the brink of curiosity. One night we managed to leave the bar simultaneously without all of our friends questioning our destination and headed back to his house. We had an excellent night of PG-13 fun, and went back to being good buddies in the morning.

When the discussion first came up, we thought that thirty would be a good cutoff age. We were young and optimistic. As we got older, we realized that we both had a lot more living to do before we settled down, so we decided on my turning thirty-five (because he’s a year older, buying us all the time we can get), before throwing in the towel.

Honestly, after hanging out with Lee last night, I’ve considered that it may not be a bad option. My family knows and loves him. He’s known me through awkward stages, bratty behavior, and puts up with all of my crazy habits. Sometimes I wonder if marriage isn’t just a friendship that’s lucky if some chemistry is involved. Thankfully, I’ve got quite a few years before decision time rolls around. That is, of course, if Lee doesn’t beat me to the alter.

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