Dear Prudence,
My best friend and I are in our late 20s and have known each other
almost all our lives. We’re roommates and I think of him like a brother.
He's been dating a girl for a little more than a year, and he's talking
about getting her a ring. She’s always been cool to me, if also a
little flirty, but I guessed that was just her personality. Then last
week out of the blue she emailed me a crazy explicit video of her naked
and touching herself and propositioned me. I swear I haven't done
anything to lead this girl on, but I don’t know what to do because of
two extenuating circumstances. My best friend was depressed a while back
and tried to commit suicide. This girl seemed to bring him out of that
funk. Also, a few years ago I committed the worst best-friend sin there
is: I messed with his then girlfriend. I was drunk (and have since quit
drinking entirely) and I know it was a horrible mistake. But because of
this history I'm afraid if I tell him about what his girlfriend just
did, he'll think I lead her on. So what do I do? Tell him about the
video? Don’t tell him, but tell her to get away from me (and hope she
doesn't go after anyone else)?
—Afraid to Check My Phone