For about a year and a half, I had feelings for my friend from uni. We hung out a lot and did a lot of “couple things”, such as cuddle and hold hands and stuff, but never anything more. Anytime I would ask her out, she would decline and say she wasn’t looking for a relationship right now. Totally understandable.

A month and a half ago, I met another girl and immediately fell for her. We started a relationship. During this time, me and my friend stopped talking as much. We would still run into each other at school and say hey and occasionally text but nothing like before. 

About a week ago she waited for me at my car and confronted me, asking me why I was avoiding her and not treating her how I used to. I told her the truth, that I was in a relationship now. She said something like “I thought you liked me?” And I told her that I did, but she never seemed interested so I backed off and moved on. She seemed to accept it and that was that, but then she texted me later in the day that she liked me a lot and that she didn’t expect me to just give up on her, etc. She said I should at least give us a chance before being with someone else.

The other day, she texted me and invited me to go out with her and some friends, and when she told me who was going, it sounded like it was like a triple date kind of thing, with us being the third couple. Not wanting to be paired off with the girl who rejected me for a year and a half and only suddenly showed interest in me when I’m no longer available, I asked my girlfriend if she wanted to go out with me and some friends, she said sure, so I texted back my friend that I’d be there. 

Last night was the outing and I showed up with my girlfriend. My friend was left being the odd man out and spent the entire night being clearly upset. She spent the night being pissy while looking at her phone. She texted me in the middle of dinner “I didn’t think you’d bring her. I invited you, not her”, but I didn’t care. It was shitty of her to try to force us into a date-like situation when she knows I’m taken now. 

When we were in the car to leave, my girlfriend called the situation before I could even say anything, and said I was an asshole for dragging her into it. She said I should’ve just declined the invite and that she felt bad for my friend because I embarrassed her in front of her friends. I didn’t think she’d side with a girl who was actively trying to make me leave her but she did. 

I really liked my friend. For a year and a half and she never seemed interested in me the way I was in her, which is fine. But now that I have someone else, she suddenly has feelings and wants me. It’s super shitty on her part. But now she’s mad, and my girlfriend’s mad, and yeah, it would’ve been more mature just to not go, but I don’t think what I did was that bad. What my friend is/was doing is much worse. 

So, AITA? 