u/Husky238

I recently engaged in a Friends with Benefits situation with a close friend of mine upon her suggestion. We both agreed we wouldn't catch feelings but that was easier said than done and I quickly began to hope that by taking our friendship to a new level it might lead to a relationship between us down the line. A month or two into the arrangement she expressed that she wanted to explore what else was out there while keeping the FWB open. I should've said something then but I still had hope it might work out. Eventually she met another guy and called me over to tell me she didn't think we should see each other in that capacity anymore and that she was more attracted to this other guy and had known for a couple of weeks now that it wasn't working out between us. I was heartbroken and felt like I had be strung along. We had a back and forth conversation about it that night and followed up briefly in subsequent days about how we were feeling. She expressed an interest in immediately going back to the strong friendship we had before and didn't seem to realize that her actions had hurt me and that their might be ramifications. It was almost like she wanted her cake and to eat it too. A relationship with this other guy and the same friendship we had before. I told her that I needed some space and thought we shouldn't see each other for a little while. It's only been a couple of days since then but I honestly really just miss my friend. It's not about jealousy anymore and it just made me realize how much I miss having someone to text with daily about my day and do things that I also like to do. Does anyone have any advice on how to reconcile our friendship moving forward? Boundaries that should be set, firsthand experience, what should be the first steps towards reestablishing contact/communication? I really don't want to lose this person as part of my life so only constructive answers please, Thanks!