Old friend flirts, but he has a girlfriend

Q I’ve known this guy since I was a child. He’s about five years older than me, and one of my best friends.

I’ve always had a little crush on him.

In the past couple years, whenever I see him, he flirts with me, and it’s hard not to flirt back. But he has a girlfriend, and I know she hates me because she thinks I want him.

When I came home from college, he told me he has feelings for me.

But my dad’s the issue right now (they’re very close, almost like father and son).

Neither my dad nor anyone else knows he said this.

I don’t know what to do. I told him he has a girlfriend so this can’t be a thing. Yet I don’t want to lose him as a friend.

Also, he’s the only guy who’s ever made me feel truly beautiful and accepted. The way he looks at me makes me weak. Confused Girl

A He may be older than you, but he’s clearly not more mature.

So you have to be the one to set the bar about what is and isn’t acceptable.

Tell him that as long as he has a girlfriend, you can’t date him, especially not secretly.

If he does have real “feelings” for you, he should break off with that girlfriend — and also tell your father that he’d like to date you.

Otherwise, he’s not a good friend to you because he’s teasing you, playing with your emotions — and he knows it.