I have been dating my boyfriend for nine months now, and I love him to death, but sometimes I don’t get the emotional love and attention I would like from him. I have been taking a class at our university this summer, and my lab GTA has been increasingly flirting with me over the course of the class.

My boyfriend encouraged me to flirt back and even offered up a “hall pass” to help me pass the class (I thought he was joking – he’s not). I feel incredibly uncomfortable that he would suggest that, because I would never cheat in class (let alone get involved with a teacher) or on my boyfriend.

My problem is that I don’t know what to think about how my boyfriend is acting towards the situation. My other problem is that I genuinely like my GTA as a person, and I would really like to be friends with him. He is obviously flirting with me, and I don’t know how to pursue a friendly relationship without him thinking I was leading him on or using him for a good grade.