Being the girl before the girlfriend

**I don’t need any feedback for the choices I made while I was in this relationship, if I could go back and do things entirely differently, I would. This post is purely for those who can relate.

I made the mistake of dating my across the street neighbor for most of the year. He was utterly perfect on paper and we hit it off pretty much immediately.

Things were pretty smooth for about two months, until I asked him which direction our relationship was moving. He shut my question down pretty much immediately and said he was not ready for a relationship. He was at a pivotal moment in his career, so at the time I told myself that was why.

We continued to see each other in the same capacity. He would text me everyday, often sentimental and heartfelt messages. He even made the code to his garage the date that we met. We’d have deep conversations and amazing sex…

He also never let me sleep over at his house, except for twice (we dated for 10 months), never introduced me to his friends or family, rarely took me out. It became clear he didn’t want me.

Eventually, I worked up the strength to tell him I couldn’t continue this way and that I had real feelings for him. He pleaded with me to stay friends, but I told him I wasn’t in a position to watch him date someone else right now. He told me, word for word, he wasn’t actively dating anyone, wasn’t even on the apps.

A week later, I notice a car I didn’t recognize in his driveway. He had replaced me already, except he treats her exactly how I begged him to treat me. The best part? She looks exactly like me. Almost identical. She spends the night almost everyday of the week. I watched her unpack a closet worth of clothes into his house. I see him taking her out constantly. She invites her friends over to his house. Things I never could have dreamed of. They’ve been together for two months, and somehow she’s everything that I couldn’t be.