Red Lips, Black Heart

"Do you really want to look back at your life and wonder what might have happened if you only told him how you felt?"
That's what Beth's friend, Kate, was always telling her. For years, Beth had feelings for her friend Matt that she just didn't talk about. He'd been sort of a muse for her art and songwriting, and held a special place in Beth's heart. "What are you waiting for?" Kate would ask Beth. "Just tell him. What have you got to lose?"
Beth intended never to tell him. It just didn't feel right to do that. Then one night, after a movie and several cocktails, Matt was harassing her about how she never dates because no guy is ever good enough to meet her standards. In a moment she would come to regret, Beth explained that the real reason she didn't date is that nothing ever compared to her relationship with him, that dating was awkward and uncomfortable and completely the opposite of hanging out with him.
Turns out, he'd been feeling the same way, and their relationship took a turn that night. Two months later, they were living together. A month after that, they were done. They agreed to remain friends, but instead drifted apart.
The glue that had held them together was the dream of what might one day be. Reality ruined all of that, and Beth hasn't been able to write a song since.
Her advice: The next time someone asks, "Do you really want to look back and wonder what might have been?" ... think about it long and hard, because dreaming about what might have been, can be a beautiful thing.
Left Beth in the Unisex restroom at Carvel, in the Harbors Shops off 17th Street Causeway in Fort Lauderdale. She's trying to make friends with Fudgie the Whale.