Sue and Carol were enjoying one of their regular girl's-day-out, man-bashing lunches. This lunch was fueled by Carol's most recent disastrous interaction with the testosterone poisoned male of the species.

"Sue, I just can't believe I ever actually moved in with this creep," said Carol, who was doing most of the talking. "I actually though he might be mister right... yea right! As soon as I move in, the whole relationship started going down the flusher. Remember how I always commented on how neat he kept his place? Turns out he had a maid service, which he dropped the minute I moved in. Said he didn't need to waste his money with me living there. Do I look like fucking Molly Maid? And between sports bars, golf, fishing and poker night with that pack of Neanderthals he calls his buds, I saw more of him before I moved in. But that's not what really screwed the pooch and got me the hell outa there."

"Give, sister," begged Sue, "you gotta tell me, I'm dying over here. All I know is that I've never seen you as freaking mad, ever!"

"Oh, wait till I tell you, you're not going to fucking believe this, even coming from a male moron. See he comes up to me one day all touchy, feely, affectionate and sweet, so I already know he's after something. So he starts talking about his buddy Steve and how he's all busted up because his girlfriend dumped him. He says that Steve is despondent and depressed and he wants to know if I will help. So I asked him what he wanted me to do. And he says, you know just be "nice" to him. So I ask if he means to talk to him like a big sister, that kind of thing. And he gets all flustered and hems and haws, and he won't say until I finally get pissed, and just say dammit, tell me what you want me to do. And this asshole blurts out that he was kinda hoping maybe I'd be willing to give his friend a blow job, just to give him back his confidence. And then, here's the icing on the cake, wonders if I would mind if he watched."

"I went ballistic and tore him a new one, told him I was not his whore and he was not my pimp to pass me around to his buddies whenever he felt like it. That I was in charge of my body, and it wasn't his plaything. So he apologized, said it was really bad idea, and he was sorry. He was worried about his friend, and it popped in his head, and he blurted it out without thinking. I was plenty pissed, but hell, he is a guy, they think with their dicks. Sometimes their mouth starts up before the brain's in gear so I decided to let it go — after putting him through a few weeks of enforced celibacy and general synthetic PMS.

That is until I walked by his office and heard him on his phone, "I'm sorry Steve, she just up and changed her mind,... Hell, I don't why, you know woman they're likethat... what're going to do, they control all the pussy... "

I threw open the door and grabbed the phone out of his hands "Steve, this is Carol, I didn't change my mind, this chicken shit creep never had the balls to ask, but if he had, I wouldn't suck your sorry dick for a Gold Card with no limit. Just go to a titty bar and get a lap dance and take this fuck-off with you, cause guess what? His girlfriend just dumped him too!"

I handed him back the phone, grabbed my purse, went over to Jeff's for the night and cried on his shoulder. In the morning, Jeff borrowed a truck and moved me out. I haven't seen the sorry SOB since and he's had the good grace to give up calling after I ignored him for two days."

"Holy shit" said a stunned Sue, "that's an incredible story. It's hard to believe even a moronic macho male would think about loaning out his girl friend like that and without even asking. What the hell was he thinking? So how do you feel?"

"Me? I feel fine, I've known for quite a while that he wasn't the one and this was so gross that I don't miss him at all. Jeff helped me find a new place, and he helped me get settled. Sometimes I don't know what I would do without Jeff as a friend."

"Speaking of Jeff," Sue asked, "you guys have been friends what, six, seven years?"

"About six."

"And this is what, the third time he's moved you in and out of some guy's home?

"Hmmm, let's see... yeah third."

"And each time Jeff's been there to pick up the pieces?"

"Well yeah, it's like I said, he's a great friend; he's always there for me."

"Did you ever wonder if maybe you should have moved in with Jeff instead of those losers?"

Carol looked at her friend strangely, "you're kidding, right? You know I couldn't do that. I've told you I'm not ever going to have a male roommate; men are way too messy to keep around if you can't sleep with them. Jeff and I are just friends."

"And what does "JUST" a friend mean exactly?" asked Sue. "Here is a guy that's been there for you 24/7, never let you down for six years, and he's "JUST" a friend. Like he's somehow inferior to guys we fall madly in love with for a few weeks, find out that they are total assholes, end up hating and never see again."

"Jeff always jokes," said Carol "that a friend is a guy that has to put up with all of the same crap as a boyfriend but doesn't get any of the benefits."

"I'm not sure that's joking" said Sue," "I've had male friends like Jeff and I wish I had one now, but I've never known why they do it."

"I guess Jeff just likes me," said Carol.

"Likes you, my ass," laughed Sue, "are you blind girlfriend? I watch Jeff around you; that man is, and always has been in love with you. That's why he's always there."

Carol looked at her friend as though she had been slapped, "No, that's not possible! If there's chemistry between two people it happens in the first few weeks, otherwise you are just friends. Besides, it's been six years, six years for God's sake, if he loved me, he would have told me before now. Jeff's just too sweet and kind to be a boyfriend, there's not enough bad boy in him."

"Listen to yourself," Sue said,"The great mythology of romance. I think in some ways we're as bad as men are. The "magic window" of opportunity, if you don't fall head over heels in a certain period of time, you never will. Bull shit! As though we never change, circumstances never change, or we never get to know someone better. What rubbish, I think love happens when it happens. A man will always tell you if he loves you. NOT! Men get afraid too. I'll bet that the longer Jeff has waited to tell you how he feels, the harder it has become until now I don't think it's even possible for him, unless you help. And the last one, the great hypocrisy of the modern woman. We SAY we want men to be sensitive, gentle and affectionate but we always go home and fuck the macho bad boys, so if there aren't enough sensitive sweet guys around, it's probably because we punish men for being sweet and reward them for being bad."

Carol just stared at her friend, "Jesus Sue, I don't know where all this is coming from, but I can't believe Jeff's been in love with me for six years and I never noticed. Besides once someone's a friend that's that. I don't think it's possible to become romantically involved with a friend, it just doesn't happen."

"Well you had better consider it Carol. Your luck in men hasn't been that great. Jeff's a sweetheart and he's nice looking. Rachel used to date him and she said he was hot, and a lot of fun."

"Forget it Sue! Not happening, Jeff's just a friend, and that's what he's gonna stay."

Over the next few days Carol did think about what Sue had said. It got her to look at Jeff in a different light. He really was a nice looking guy. He worked out and stayed fit. He treated her like a princess; he was always there for her. He never forgot her birthday, and he knew her tastes, and needs, and whims almost better than she knew herself. Carol had her own test to measure her feelings about someone. She imagined that they had just told her they were moving far away so that she would probably never see them again. How did that make her feel? When she thought about Jeff moving away it opened up a huge chasm in her life. The sheer immensity of the feeling of loss surprised and frightened her. It made her wonder if she might have fallen in love with Jeff at some point, without even realizing it.

Finally Carol made a decision. She was going to break a fundamental law of love, maybe the sky would fall, maybe the ground would open and swallow her up, but she was going to make love to someone who was JUST a friend.

"Jeff, this is Carol, can you make it for dinner Friday?"

"Sure, what's up, computer acting up again?

"No, Jeff, everything's fine, I just wanted to have dinner with you."

"OK, I'll pick up Chinese on the way over."

"Jeff, listen carefully, this is an invitation to dinner, as in I am cooking the dinner and you are a guest. You just come and enjoy the dinner and be prepared to entertain me with your wit and charm. Got it?"

Jeff got it though he was still puzzled. In the six years they had been friends, they had shared many meals together, but this formal invitation was somehow different. He was both excited and a little nervous when Friday finally rolled around. Though casual, his clothes were chosen with great care, because Jeff really wanted to look his very best. You see, Jeff was very much in love with Carol, but he would never tell her. He arrived at her apartment exactly on time carrying a bottle of wine and a little bouquet of wild flowers. Carol opened the door, and he almost dropped the wine. She was wearing an extremely hot little sheer black cocktail dress. It had spaghetti straps securing a top low enough to show a generous amount of creamy breasts and sheer enough to give a hint of the nipple and areole. The knee length skirt was cut very high on the side, high enough to guarantee that if she wore panties at all, they were definitely not full on the side.

"Jesus Carol, You look incredible" he stammered. "But I didn't know it was a fancy party with other guests; I didn't really dress..."

"Relax Jeff," she said grabbing his arm and bringing him inside by the dining room table, "count the place settings Jeff, one, two. See, it's just the two of us. I just felt like dressing up for you for once. Would you like a glass of wine?"

"Yes please."

"Jeff, do you like to dance?"

"Sure, but I'm not great at it or anything"

"That's OK, Jeff, it's just the two of us." Carol went over to the stereo and started a pre-selected set of CDs. To Jeff's surprise they were all very romantic slow dances. He started out holding her at a very respectful distance but Carol was having no part of that. She pulled herself in until she could rest her head on his shoulder. Jeff could smell her perfume and was all too conscious of her breasts and pelvis rubbing against him as she swayed to the music. His reaction was predictable and perfectly natural, he immediately sprouted a full grown erection. It was aimed right at Carol's crotch and he didn't have a free hand to move it, so he tried to pull his lower body away from her so that she wouldn't notice his embarrassing display. Carol, who knew exactly what was happening, simply reached down and placed her hand on his butt and pulled him right back in so they were back rubbing together. Still taking the lead, Carol placed her hand on the back of his head and held it while she brought her own head around into position and kissed him firmly and warmly. Jeff thought his knees would buckle, and when she started to use her tongue on his lips he actually got a little dizzy.

"Carol, do you mind if we sit down for a while?"

"Not at all Jeff, lets sit on the couch over there, it's got room for both of us."

Carol thought that Jeff was looking for a place for seriously making out, while Jeff was looking for a place to recover from his dizzy spell. For awhile she was content to lie against Jeff while he just let his hands lay around her waist. Pretty soon Carol got restless and realized that if anything was going to happen, it was going to be up to her to make it happen. She took the spaghetti straps off her shoulders and pulled down the top of her dress to unveil the two perfect orbs of her breasts. The large nipple on each was already standing at attention and ready for active duty. She then reached down, took both of Jeff's hands and placed them directly on her magnificent mammeries. "There", she thought, "that should give him the idea."

Jeff was in shock. They were the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. These particular tits had guest-starred in his masturbation fantasies for years and yet the reality so far exceeded the fantasy. And now he had his hands on them, on the breasts of the love of his life and he was... was... scared shitless, that's what he was.

"Carol, I... I... listen I'm crazy about you... I mean... you mean a lot to me... this is sudden... but... this... ah... I don't know if I can do it."

"Come on Jeff, of course you can, it's easy. First we kiss a lot. Then I undress you, and you undress me. Then we play with each other's pee pees. Then we screw our brains out all night."

"Please Carol, don't make fun of me. I can't explain, but I can't do this. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. And I'm so sorry to spoil the evening. Good night." And looking like he might cry, Jeff kissed her on the cheek and rushed out of the apartment.

"Wait Jeff, don't go, please don't go" she pleaded, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you... we don't have to do anything... I want you back..." but it was too late and she threw her self on the couch face down and cried like someone who had lost their last friend on earth, and maybe she had.

Jeff ran downstairs to his car, not sure if he had just done the smartest thing or the absolute pea-brained dumbest thing in his life. He was beginning to suspect the latter. Carol had seemed really devastated when he ran out, and he had just run out on the very thing he wanted more than anything in the world... unless it lost him Carol forever. Maybe he already had lost her. He decided to call his best friend Mike and fill him in and get his opinion.

"So suddenly Mike, she just drops her top, shows me the most gorgeous tits in the world, and sticks my hands right on them!"

"And Jeff... I'm still waiting for the problem here, what's the problem? Carol wants you to fuck her. Great! I've always hoped you guys would get together. Go get her, Tiger, and quit wasting time on the phone with me."

"It's just not that simple Mike."

"Whaaat?, you need to borrow some condoms, you're too quick on the trigger, what?"

"Mike, Carol and I are friends."

"So? Fucking is friendly."

"No Mike, I mean we're "JUST" friends."

"Oh, you're "JUST" friends, correction pal, you were "JUST" friends. Carol has decided to free from the blue ball brigade of them that never get laid. You my lucky young horn dog should be down on your knees giving thanks. No one ever makes it back to pussyland from the cursed ranks of the "justfriends" but you are getting a chance. If you won't do it for yourself you gotta do it for those millions of other frustrated unhappy "justfriends" out there — give them hope, brother."

"Dammit, Mike, quit kidding, I'm serious here."

"Jeff, listen, I'm not really kidding, OK, I maybe used a bit of hyperbole but the truth is that you don't often get a second chance at romance, so take it. And if you're not ready to admit that you are head over fucking heels in love with that girl and have been for years, then you are a lost cause."