Why You Should Update Your Relationship Status

Story Submitted by Don:

Nicole and I met while we were in college. We began by just hanging out in my apartment, smoking pot and doing a little drinking. I was 21, she just turned 19.

Every once in a while she would get a phone call from a guy who I presumed was her boyfriend at a different college. There were times over the phone that he would say, "I love you," and she'd reply, "Aww," or "Me too," or "Uh-huh."

Finally, right before winter finals, Nicole and I hooked up. Since I didn’t get laid too much, I waited until after the hookup to bring up her boyfriend (dick move, I know).

She assured me that she made it clear to him that when they graduated high school and went to different colleges that they were done dating but still friends. She also said that he didn’t take that too well and still hoped that they could continue dating.  She vehemently claimed to be broken up and that was enough for me.

After finals, we all went home to visit family for Christmas. I found out that her family only lived about 25 minutes from mine, so we agreed to see each other at least once over the holidays.

One day over the break, she called and said, “My parents and younger sister are out shopping for a few hours. Want to come by?”

Twenty-five minutes later, I rang her doorbell.  Her father answered the door.

Nicole pulled me in and apologized profusely. She said that if I wanted to leave I could, but she would like it if I stayed to help her wrap holiday gifts.  Her family and I ended up in the living room, watching a movie when the doorbell rang.

Who was it?  The aforementioned and uninvited “ex”-boyfriend.

Now, Nicole had told me that they had broken up, but she apparently hadn't told her parents.  They welcomed him in as if he and Nicole were still together.

"This is Stan, Nicole's boyfriend," they said.

Nicole and I had been sitting and wrapping right next to each other, and Stan had to bring a chair from the kitchen so he would have a place to sit.  He kept giving me a very smoldering stare while Nicole's mom and dad kept telling me how amazing he was.

After the wrapping was complete, I thought that the situation had become awkward enough. I made an excuse to leave and went home to relay this story to my brother over a beer and have a good laugh.

Nicole and I have been together for seven years and her parents (and mine) couldn’t be happier. I still make fun of her for that night, but sometimes it’s just fun to remember how we started.