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Speaker 1: It's time for the letter. Buckle up, hold on tight.

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Speaker 1: We got it, but you here. It is the Strawberry Letter.

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Speaker 1: Thank you Tommy. Subject dating the best friends X. Dear

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Speaker 1: Stephen Shirley, I am writing to get your opinion on

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Speaker 1: friends dating their best friends X. I'm a forty three

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Speaker 1: year old woman who was really a good male friend

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Speaker 1: of thirty years. We have always been very close and

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Speaker 1: always took get good care of each other. We have

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Speaker 1: amazing chemistry and a very good bond, very strong bond,

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Speaker 1: but we continue to say we are just friends. Friends.

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Speaker 1: Would hear us say love you and think there was

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Speaker 1: more between us than we were saying. One day two

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Speaker 1: years ago, the words I love you sounded and felt different.

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Speaker 1: We both knew what was happening, and we expressed our

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Speaker 1: love for each other and began to take our friendship

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Speaker 1: to another level. After much conversation about our future and

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Speaker 1: much love making, he realized he couldn't pursue a relationship

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Speaker 1: with me because I dated his best friend in high school. Well,

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Speaker 1: they are still best friends today and this best friend

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Speaker 1: has been married for seventeen years with three children. I

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Speaker 1: didn't understand the sudden change. We discussed this in the beginning,

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Speaker 1: and he said it wouldn't be an issue. Apparently the

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Speaker 1: best friend still has feelings for me, and he tells

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Speaker 1: him this on a regular basis. He feels like he

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Speaker 1: would be betraying a childhood friend. I was heartbroken. I

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Speaker 1: told him we were just children when we dated, but

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Speaker 1: I still respect but I will respect his decision now.

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Speaker 1: I don't see him often, but when I do, we

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Speaker 1: share some very passionate and intimate moment. Every morning he

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Speaker 1: sends me a good morning text, and every night he

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Speaker 1: sends me good night. I love you. It is very

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Speaker 1: clear that he loves me, but he has chosen his

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Speaker 1: friendship over our love. Should this even be an issue?

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Speaker 1: Should I still be considered the ex of his best

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Speaker 1: friend even though we dated twenty six years ago? Do

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Speaker 1: you think that he should talk to his best friend

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Speaker 1: about the situation? Sincerely between friends? Well, I don't think

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Speaker 1: he he that he loves you like you. Think he

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Speaker 1: loves you um or he wouldn't be ashamed to go

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Speaker 1: public with you. I just don't think he loves you

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Speaker 1: like you. You think he does best friend or not? Sure?

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Speaker 1: He may be feeling a little guilty about doing his

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Speaker 1: best friends girl or his ex girl. But there was

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Speaker 1: not enough loyalty uh to his best friend for him

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Speaker 1: not to sleep with you in the first place, now,

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Speaker 1: was there? I mean you got to think about that,

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Speaker 1: and you guys, like you say, are continuing to do it.

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Speaker 1: You have very passionate and intimate moments, that's what you said.

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Speaker 1: So I think this whole thing is up to you.

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Speaker 1: Even though this was twenty six years ago and all

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Speaker 1: of that, you have a choice to make. That is

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Speaker 1: to face reality that this man likes you being his

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Speaker 1: friend with benefits, and that's about as far as it goes.

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Speaker 1: He's not planning on taking it any farther. He's just

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Speaker 1: not he he's using his best friend as an excuse,

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Speaker 1: in my opinion, So I think you should get out now.

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Speaker 1: I don't see this relationship going any anywhere else. It's

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Speaker 1: gone as far as it can go. He's sleeping with you,

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Speaker 1: and and that's what he wants. Steve Um, as I see,

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Speaker 1: I see, I see it a little differently here. I

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Speaker 1: have to tell you this, Um. First of all, you've

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Speaker 1: been She's forty three years old, she's been a good

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Speaker 1: male friend. Her and guy have been friends for thirty years. Um.

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Speaker 1: The guy has a friend that she used to date

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Speaker 1: uh twenty six years ago, which means she dated this

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Speaker 1: guy's best friend when she was seventeen. She forty three now.

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Speaker 1: Because the two guys are best friends. Here, we have

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Speaker 1: this dilemma, uh friends would hear us say we love

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Speaker 1: you and we think there's more between us than we

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Speaker 1: were saying. One day two years ago, the word I

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Speaker 1: love you sounded and felt different. We both knew what

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Speaker 1: was happening. We expressed I loved each other and begin

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Speaker 1: to take our friendship to another level. I didn't told

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Speaker 1: you all women a thousand times a man ain't being

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Speaker 1: your friend for no read. I keep telling you. I

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Speaker 1: don't know why you think that this guy just hanging

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Speaker 1: on the outskirts telling you he loved you every day

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Speaker 1: because he didn't see a crack in the arm of

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Speaker 1: where he could move In the moment the crack was shown,

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Speaker 1: he stepped his foot right in there. You fell right

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Speaker 1: into it too. Okay, so far, ain't nothing really wrong

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Speaker 1: with that. But then, after much conversation about our future

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Speaker 1: and much love making, he realized he couldn't pursue a

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Speaker 1: relationship with me because I dated his friend in high

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Speaker 1: school when you were seventeen. They are still best friends

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Speaker 1: a day and the best friend has been married for

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Speaker 1: seventeen years with three children. I don't understand the sudden change.

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Speaker 1: We discussed it in the beginning and he said it

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Speaker 1: wouldn't be an issue. Apparently the best friend still has

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Speaker 1: feeling for me and tells him this on a regular basis. Okay,

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Speaker 1: here's the part that's not true. This is the part

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Speaker 1: that's not true. You have not heard from your ex

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Speaker 1: to tell you he still has feeling from you. You're

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Speaker 1: hearing that he has feelings from you from the guy

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Speaker 1: that don't want to be committed right now. But does

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Speaker 1: he love you? Absolutely? Does he love you the way

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Speaker 1: you think he does? Absolutely? But let me tell you

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Speaker 1: where it's all going wrong at right now. See when

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Speaker 1: guys don't want to commit, if they throw a little

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Speaker 1: sauce in the game, and then you can still you

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Speaker 1: still continue to put out for this man even after

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Speaker 1: y'all haven't had this discussion, and he didn't say that

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Speaker 1: he can't pursue a relationship, but he still gets to

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Speaker 1: come by and tap on you every now and then.

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Speaker 1: This is something you're allowing. But let me tell you something.

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Speaker 1: This man would have a relationship with you if you

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Speaker 1: put a stop to the momentary tappings. See that's all

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Speaker 1: this is right here. This guy does love you. He

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Speaker 1: has always loved you from afar. Now he up close.

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Speaker 1: He didn't got a little cold feet here, a little

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Speaker 1: nervous about it, you know, and he got little something

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Speaker 1: else going on. He don't want to knock it out

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Speaker 1: to box yet, because you don't think he ain't been

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Speaker 1: sleeping with nobody for thirty years, d you. He's been

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Speaker 1: sleeping with somebody and he don't wanna lose it now.

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Speaker 1: He didn't find a way to keep you at bay

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Speaker 1: and still come by and get it too, for real.

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Speaker 1: I'll tell you the rest. All right parts here coming up.

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Speaker 1: Give us five minutes, we'll be right back. It's part

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Speaker 1: two of Steve's response to today's Strawberry letter, Dating the

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Speaker 1: Best Friends X. You know, lady, you've gotten yourself in

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Speaker 1: a situation here that can actually still work out in

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Speaker 1: your favor. But you have to understand your power as

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Speaker 1: the woman here. See, first of all, you're dating this

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Speaker 1: guy who you've been friends with for thirty years. I

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Speaker 1: keep telling y'all, women ain't no man hanging around you

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Speaker 1: for thirty years to be your buddy. We is waiting

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Speaker 1: on the crack in the armor so we can make

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Speaker 1: a move. Okay, now there wasn't crack in the armor

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Speaker 1: for whatever, But I want you to understand something. For

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Speaker 1: the thirty years that y'all been friends, he'd been sleeping

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Speaker 1: with somebody. Okay, so now you all say I love you.

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Speaker 1: One day, next thing you know, y'all in bed together.

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Speaker 1: Now guess what. He comes back to you and tells

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Speaker 1: you he can't really continue this because you used to

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Speaker 1: date his best friend. But check this out, because he

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Speaker 1: told you apparently the best friend still has feelings for you,

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Speaker 1: and and and he tells him this on a regular basis.

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Speaker 1: This isn't true. The friend don't matter. He just can't

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Speaker 1: find a way to break him from this other thing

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Speaker 1: he hidden. Why he hidding you? So now guess what.

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Speaker 1: Now you don't see him often, but when we do

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Speaker 1: we have some very passionate and intimate moments. Every morning

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Speaker 1: he sends me a good morning text, and every night

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Speaker 1: he says good night. That's what he's been doing for you.

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Speaker 1: He's found a way to get from you what he's

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Speaker 1: always wanted and don't have to do nothing but send

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Speaker 1: you some texts is in the morning to get it.

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Speaker 1: So he found out what it cost to had to

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Speaker 1: get you, and it cost some texas. So now that's

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Speaker 1: all he doing. Is he steady texting you? Now? He

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Speaker 1: keeping you hooked with these texas? And let me tell

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Speaker 1: you something. This ain't got nothing to do with his

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Speaker 1: damn boy. Because if he cared about his boy so much,

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Speaker 1: if you're loyal to your boy, you loyal to your

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Speaker 1: boy behind his back, So it ain't his boy. Stop

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Speaker 1: the loyalty conversation, partner, because if you really know the deal,

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Speaker 1: if you loved your boy like that and it was

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Speaker 1: about your boy, you wouldn't do your boy behind his back.

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Speaker 1: He just don't want his boy to know that he

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Speaker 1: doing his ex girl. Now he got feelings for you,

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Speaker 1: I promise you that's true, but he don't know how

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Speaker 1: to tell his boy. Hey man, I'm into your ex girl.

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Speaker 1: Now your ex dude been married seventeen years, got three kids.

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Speaker 1: Didn't he think about your ass no more? When he

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Speaker 1: got time for this hill? No, we ain't got we

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Speaker 1: ain't gotta go. I get so sick. I can really

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Speaker 1: sat on his roll. Damn lot a go until all

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Speaker 1: of it all right, we gotta go this crazy letter.

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Speaker 1: Email us your Instagram. That's your thoughts on today's Strawberry

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Speaker 1: Letter at My Girl Shirley