Best Friend or Future Cuddy Buddy?

It's an old age question that's been asked thousands of times by both men and women:

Can we just be friends?

Well guess what? I finally have an answer:
YES WE CAN!!

I've had plenty of platonic male friends over the years that I have never thought of going to that next level with.

I've always been the type of female that finds it easier to click with dudes than I can with other females. Maybe it's from being raised around older male cousins, maybe it's just the type of female that I am but I'll take hanging with a dude at the crib watching a b-ball game than chilling at home with one of my girlfriends gossiping. *shrugs* sorry that's just the way it is.


Earlier today, I had a conversation with my cousin when a friend of mine, Trey* called so after getting off the phone with her and talking to him for a while, I called her back. The first words out of her mouth were "so I take it you two have finally stopped playing that 'friend' game and hooked up huh?" I laughed it off and told her "hell nah cause Trey* is just my boy." After thinking about it for a little while, it hit me that it really is hard for some people to accept that women and men can be friends and keep it at a strictly platonic level.

Don't get me wrong my boy is a good guy. I mean he's in school, has a job, his own car and it helps that he's a looker lol okay? I mean in the beginning when we were introduced it crossed my mind to try and take it to that level but now... I can't see myself as trying to 'get at him' ya know? We click on so many other levels that I see him as an older brother now. We chill together when we get the chance, I've cried on his shoulder, we've been there for each other through family deaths and are a support system for one another. When I have male issues, his number is one of the first ones that I text or call. When we go out to the club, it's usually with a group of friends but we dance together every once in awhile and where I'm from the dancing can get..sexual but it never passes our established boundary line.

We had that talk one day and we both agreed that even though the thought crossed our minds, it was more important to us to stay friends than to see what else could come of it. We both know the issues we have when it comes to being in a committed relationship and ruining a wonderful friendship isn't worth it to us. At the end of the day: I'd rather have my boy there for me as a friend than anything else and that's all that matters.

My question to you guys is: do you feel like you can just be 'friends' with someone of the opposite sex or do you always have that 'what if' floating through the back of your mind?