Hey, genie.

I have this friend, I'll call her Julie. Julie and I aren't that close, but I still consider her a friend. I've had a hunch for a while that Julie is lesbian. But now, I think she has a crush on me, and it's becoming weird. I was at my locker one day, and it was only me and this guy in the hall. Suddenly, I felt someone slap my butt! I turned around, ready to smack the guy, but I was frozen in shock when I saw it was Julie. I had no idea how to react, and she just giggled, and walked off with a wave. And this has been happening all the time with her! At least three times a week.

I've told her to stop, but she doesn't, and it's getting on my nerves.

The problem isn't really the fact that I think she's lesbian. It wouldn't make me act any different around her if she was. The problem, she's becoming awfully touchy-feely. And I'm just not comfortable with that. If it were a boy who pinched my butt every time I passed by him in the hall, he'd have been slapped so many times by now! But I just don't know how to react with Julie. I want her to come out of the closet, but I also need her to understand that I'm really not ok with her touching me like that. I also don't want the friendship to become awkward if she likes me. I'm straight, and she knows that, but I wouldn't let a guy touch my butt, and I don't think I should act differently if it's a girl.

I'm just so lost and confused right now... I have no idea what to do...

Please help me genie

~sincerely, Ms. Extremely Uncomfortable

::

Okay okay so you might kill me for having a short reply but I think it's the best thing you can do:

Tell her. Again. Seriously this time.

I'm not telling you to confront her about being lesbian (if she is, she'll come out when she's ready), but just tell her that this whole touchy thing is weird. Don't ask her any questions and don't corner her as if you're trying to get her to admit she has a crush on you or something.

Don't giggle when she does it, because that encourages her to keep doing it. Just straight out be honest about how you feel weird that she keeps touching you.

Of course, this is risky because she may take it the wrong way and everything. But if you don't like it then you shouldn't let her keep doing it to you just because you don't want to hurt her feelings.

Also, try not to drill it into your head that she's lesbian or more importantly, that she has a crush on you. In assuming this, you're just making yourself paranoid and you may fail to see the reality; that neither is the case at all! Whether or not it's true, making assumptions and jumping to conclusions isn't the way to go about it.

I can't think of anything else you can do for this one, though. If any one else is reading this, be sure to drop a comment on what you think she should do about Julie!

Good luck babe!

- genie_us x