Weirded out.

So I have about an hour to post this one before my family comes over. Don't you love family gathering? Twenty people in one room talking at the same time plus a couple of noisy kids running around? Yes, I like it too. Not only I was woken up at 11:30am, but I also had to make a run to a store for some last-minute-I-forgot-we-didn't-have-it stuff. Finally, I am home and I figured I have to share what happened yesterday before I hop into the shower and go entertain my family. Who is pretty amusing and whom I love no matter what... most of the time... preferably in smaller doses.
I finally ventured out to this bar I heard about last night. I must admit, it was pretty damn good. Although it kind of reminded me of a frat party (oh, sweet college years) with an elevated quantities of college guys drinking enormous amounts of beer and dancing to a bad music. The good thing about this place? Their drinks are amazing. As in strong. It took me two to feel the buzz, and I was certainly impressed by that. I came there with a friend of mine and was supposed to meet another group of people, who turned out to be all guys and mostly boring. Big deal... I decided to stick to people who I know. And so I did. And so I asked one of them to come outside with me to have a cigarette (since apparently you can't smoke inside. Who do they think they are?) The moment we came out and I lit one up, I saw my co-worker standing close-by. It wouldn't have mattered if I wasn't smoking at a time (here's a little history. Very few people at work know I smoke and I prefer to keep it that way. Well, a lot of them know I smoke socially, but I don't want them to know I do it on a daily basis. I am playing nice at work. However, I may have to reconsider it taking into attention the fact that I saw my manager smoking and consuming excessive amounts of alcohol at our company outing). Anyhow, it was too late at that point since he has already seen me and I had to say hello. And to prove my point, during the first ten seconds of our conversation he glanced at my cigarette three times. No kidding, I counted. To my defense, he was shit-face-drunk and probably didn't care anyway. He also glanced at a guy I was with twice, so maybe it's just a habit of his. Glance at people or things while having a conversation with someone he knows... We didn't stay there much longer and my friend, her boyfriend, myself and a guy who kept me company while I was smoking (also a very good friend of mine whom I will further refer to as Mansur) decided to party further at a Latin club in downtown DC. Where I ran into another guy I work with... What is it? A company holiday where everyone runs into each other? Although I should've known I'd run into this guy since he was rumored to frequent this particular club. Long story short, the music was great, the crowd even better, my friend got hit on by a girl which totally freaked her out and we had to leave. Bummer. I was having a great time.
Now, the thing that freaked me out, or more like weirded me out, happened during our ride back. And here I have to share a little more history. Mansur and I have known each other for about year and a half and have become good friends, or so I think. It all started out with him liking me and trying to ask me out when we first met, but I was seeing someone else at first, and then didn't see him as a potential boyfriend, but just as a friend. He, however, kept pursuing me which, I have to admit, was a bit annoying at times but totally harmless. And then I started seeing another guy. He then met and fell for a friend of mine, which was a relief for me since I didn't have to explain myself. However, my friend rejected him and there was a big scene and it didn't work out... So now, just when I thought about us as friends, he asked me out. I swear, if I were walking at a time, I would have fell over. At first I thought he was joking. Apparently not. Haven't we been through this last year? Apparently, he switched back to liking me again and wanted to try it out. Seriously, I was speechless. I did not see it coming since I was positive he still liked my friend. Oh boy, was I wrong. The problem here is, this guy is probably the nicest one I know, but I don't see him as more than a friend. I am sure everyone's been in this situation before and knows exactly what I am talking about. Great guy, but only perceived as a friend. Definitely a bummer. Definitely weird and totally uncomfortable. I guess now we will have to pretend it didn't happen or downplay it and move on, since I definitely plan on talking to him in the future. See, if he were just another guy, I would've just moved on and stopped seeing him to avoid feeling uncomfortable. Unfortunately, I don't want to lose him as a friend hence I have to deal with it. Because that's what friend do. They stick together during good times and bad. Right? Right.