[UPDATE] My best friend (20M) asked me (20M) out. I said yes. I didn’t know it was a date.

A Redditor shares a follow-up about his situation with his best friend, Noah, who had asked him out on a date. After the initial confusion and discomfort, the two have managed to strengthen their friendship.

With Noah moving on to explore relationships of his own. The Redditor reflects on the valuable lessons learned and the deeper bond that has emerged from their experience. Read the original story below for more details.

For those who want to read the previous part: https://aita.pics/ERPRQ

‘ [UPDATE] My best friend (20M) asked me (20M) out. I said yes. I didn’t know it was a date.’

First of all, I wanted to thank people for responding. I was majorly panicking when I wrote the post, and the comments I got helped a ton to get me to relax before talking to Noah. I wasn’t expecting such a huge response at the time and I was amazed, but looking back now I can see why it got so much attention. It was a pretty weird situation.

Next, I want to say we are both men (apparently this makes a big difference for some people in terms of advice). Some of the people who assumed I was a woman also made some weird comments and sent me some pretty gross messages. If you did this, please stop. That’s not cool.

I gave a bit of an update as an edit to the original post, but now since it’s been 3 months I thought I’d give you all an update about how things have been going since then, since it seems like there’s been a bit of interest, and I’m still really thankful to all of you for helping me out.

Noah is doing really well. I could tell he was still a bit embarrassed for the first couple weeks, but after that he told me again that he was still happy he asked me because now he knew how I felt and he could get over it.

He also thanked me for taking it so well, which is definitely thanks to what a lot of you said, so I guess I’m sort of passing his thanks on to you :P. One of the commenters said I should be careful not to do anything that seemed like flirting with him,

so I tried keep that in check (we used to hug a lot, sit really close together, and tell each other flirty jokes, you get the idea, but I toned those all down a lot to give him space and not mess with his feelings). I honestly think I see now why he thought I might be into him, because my relationship with him was very affectionate.

It’s been a lesson for me on how to be more aware of how other people are interpreting my signals. About a month after he asked me out, he asked me if I wanted to go to a gay bar with him. He made it super clear that it wasn’t a date, but he did it in a really sarcastic way,

which was a little embarrassing for me but also I think it was good that he could joke about it. So we went to a local gay bar together and we had a really good time. He’s a bit introverted, so I played the wingman, and he ended up flirting with this really cute guy and he just seemed really happy.

That was like two months ago and we’ve gone to the same bar a couple more times since then. He’s been getting a bit more comfortable putting himself out there which is really cool to see, and he’s just been more open and happy for the last two months, always smiling and eager to go do stuff.

Not sure how it’s related but it’s a noticeable change from before he asked me out. I’m doing great too. I’m just really happy that I didn’t hurt our relationship and that he’s so happy. I also learned some important things from this whole situation about communication and being aware of how I present myself.

Important lessons. I actually think I feel more confident now too, since he asked me out. Getting asked out feels good man. It sounds kind of weird, but I think it made us closer. We’ve started talking about relationships more, which isn’t something we really talked about before.

He’s gone on a few dates and he tells me about them, and the most recent guy he went out with he was really excited about, and I think he might be headed for his first serious relationship, which is amazing! That’s actually what made me think of this post and decide to give you all an update.

Here’s the feedback from the Reddit community:

donnablonde −  What a lovely happy update – and I had to go back and check your ages because the maturity and self awareness you have both shown is pretty impressive. Big smile from this mom 🙂 Happy holidays!

LimeyTart −  If you’d like to share those messages you received, you can pass them along so that I can take care of it for you.

SAHM42 −  That’s great news. I remember your original post so it is good to get an update. And thank you for calling out the idiots who thought they would send gross messages to a woman. You didn’t have to mention that in your update, but it is cool that you did.

ValuableTravel −  This is so wholesome. Thanks for the lift! Glad both you and your friend are happy.

floating_bells_down −  I remember reading the original. I love this so much.

tshirtnosleeves −  You two are precious darlings and such an amazing example of how to handle r**ection and move forward. It sounds like he was “waiting” for you but once he finally realized it wasn’t happening,

he was able to readjust his perspective. It’s wonderful to hear how healthy your friendship is and how supportive you both are of each other. Good personal growth! Thank you for updating us!

APerfectCircle0 −  You are both awesomely mature for 20 year olds! Great job OP and happy friendships

CowboyBebopCrew −  I love this update. Had a similar experience with my best friend who is also gay. Dude is like a brother to me and our relationship definitely evolved as we went out to gay bars to help him find someone,

talked more openly about our dating experiences, and were able to give each other advice on how to proceed with our respective relationships.

d0mr448 −  Some of the people who assumed I was a woman also made some weird comments and sent me some pretty gross messages. If you did this, please stop. That’s not cool.. Please report those people.

[Reddit User] −  I didn’t see the original but this update made me so happy. You seem like a real sweetheart. If I were 20 and single I’d ask you out too!

What started as an awkward moment has led to growth for both friends. Their story shows how open communication and respect for each other’s feelings can strengthen even the most challenging relationships. Have you had a moment where you learned something new about a close friend? Share your experiences below!