“Cue, awkward cuddling.”

“One summer we started hanging out, always as friends, but flirty nonetheless. I loved the confidence he gave me. I had this notion of myself that I was the cool, no-drama-gal. That must be why he liked me, right? Then he visited me in college. I knew he wanted me but I felt the urge to not seem interested. Cue, awkward cuddling. Flash forward a few years, out with old friends, he shows up, and we have WONDERFUL sex. It's 5am, he's sound asleep, I escape. He doesn't want to see me when he wakes up, right? After growing up a bit I ran into him at a wedding. After some small talk he asked, ‘Why’d you leave?’ I reverted to my old ‘cool’ self, ‘When?’ At this moment, it clicked. He had talked to me for years, even visited me in college. When I left that morning after sex I hurt him, and I had been hurting him all along because I didn’t realize that he thought I was cool regardless of how cool I acted. Damn. Why did it take me so long to figure that out?”