This awkward moment is brought to you by the letters F, M and L

Now I'm sure most, if not all, people have had their fair share of awkward moments. I would like to introduce you to one of my more recent ones, particularly as it had me flashback to a similar previous experience.

On a recent gathering at a local establishment that offered both beverages and a dance floor I was confronted with a typical problem I encounter from time to time. The problem being that as I'm trying to enjoy my night, I look over and notice my most recent crush is really enjoying his. This particular individual had more than his share of drinks that night and as it turns out is a terrible drunk. A few weekends previously at another local establishment that served beverages, but lacked a dance floor I had in fact confessed my attraction to him. I was met with the standard "I don't think we should complicate things" and "I like you as a friend" speech. I will note that this is not the first time I've heard those words in this sort of context and had decided if I was woman enough to say something, I had to be woman enough to deal with either potential answer. So I responded casually that everything was cool and in all honestly I was relatively ok with the idea of remaining friends.

In fact, following the little "confession" of attraction, things were only minimally awkward. Possibly thanks to him not actually remembering that night, although given my previous experiences I long ago developed the ability to continue as if nothing had happened. Things were humming along and we carried on as we had previously, essential as we had classes together.

Well, I thought I was fine with everything, but it appears the combination of alcohol and the stress of the previous week with impending deadlines led to a rather emotional state for me Friday night. This was not helped when I looked over and saw him flirting like mad with various girls. One girl happens to be a good friend of mine and when she realized what was happening felt horrible and pushed him away. She then spent a good chunk of the rest of the night making sure I was distracted and in fact would position herself so I couldn't see his antics.

This is all fine and dandy, but it doesn't help when at the end of the night when I'm waiting at the coat check he appears, with a girl in tow. A girl who happens to be a friend of a friend I had talked to earlier in the evening before heading out about the whole thing who knew he was the guy in question from my story. They were to my right and to my left was another couple, including the guy who was friends with this other girl and lives in the same house as her. The guy also happens to have been a previous flame from some months earlier. However, that had been relatively resolved in November and we'd drifted soundly into the good friends category.

Still, it's kind of a slap in the face to see the two guys you've talked about the potential for more with in the past few months, only to have both opt for friends only, leaving with different girls. One couple on either side. Ouch. At the time it sucked. Actually, it really sucked. However, after a few days it's rather amusing - especially since this isn't the first time I've had something like this happen at a coat check.

About two years ago I was living abroad for a year and had in fact talked to a guy I happened to fancy and had him opt for friends only as well. Well, roughly a month later I was at the coat check, as was he with a girl who was friends with a mutual friend of ours. They were clearly leaving together and actually ended up dating for about two months after that initial night.

Now, I'm left with a question though as to what the proper etiquette is for this particular situation. I've had it happen twice now which leads me to believe it is likely to happen again. Am I supposed to make casual small talk? If the case warrants should I make a point of commenting on the gentleman's ability (or lack thereof)? Do I ignore it and become fascinated by my phone and the pretend text messages I seem to be receiving?

Thoughts?