DR. WALLACE: My best girlfriend and I have known each other for seven years, and we've had a lot of fun times over the years. We get along great and have had each other's back for so long that I sometimes feel as though we are twin sisters.

However, all of that might change soon, unless I stay silent. Here's the skinny: Her boyfriend of a year made an unwarranted and unprovoked move on me recently. The three of us were out at a restaurant and on the way home, as the driver, he dropped my friend off at her dorm room first. We both attend the same college, but I live at home with my parents.

As he and I were driving to my home, he said he needed fuel and so he pulled into a gas station. When he returned to the car, he leaned over and put one hand on my thigh and slipped the other one behind my waist! I was so shocked that I froze for a moment.

Then as he tried to kiss me on the mouth, I simultaneously pushed him back and unbuckled my seatbelt. I quickly got out of his car and ignored his pleas to get back in. He started apologizing, and once he realized that I was not going to get back in, he finally begged me to not tell her about the incident. I just swiftly walked away. I called my parents and they picked me up.

My girlfriend and I are both 19, and this jerk is 20. I now don't know what to do. If I tell her, she might not believe me or may not want to hear anything bad about him. But I'm also worried about not telling her since last month she was telling me that he might be "marriage material." What do you think I should do? — Beyond Shocked, via email

BEYOND SHOCKED: I advise you to tell her exactly what happened immediately. If this type of thing had happened behind your back, I believe you'd want to know about it rather than remaining ignorant to the bad behavior of someone you were in a relationship with.

Explain calmly, and let her know right away that you'll be fully honest with her and give her all the details if she wants to hear them. Begin by letting her know that this will be a difficult conversation, but you realize that she deserves to know what you experienced, and as her friend, you feel you owe it to her to inform her.

Once you've given her the details, your conscience will be clear. You certainly didn't ask for this to happen, but it did. It's better for her to know about this and be able process it in real time, rather than to have her find out about it later and feel it may have been hidden from her for some reason.

LISTEN TO YOUR GUT FEELING

DR. WALLACE: Just because a drug or substance is legal in my state, should I try it? I'm constantly hounded by my friends to "lighten up" and give some of the newly legalized substances a try.

Their point is, "How are you going to know you don't like it or benefit from it if you don't try it?" So far, I've held them off, but I'll admit their constant chirping is starting to wear me down. Am I too worried, and should I lighten up as they say? — Not the Type To Try Things, via email

NOT THE TYPE TO TRY THINGS: Don't ever do anything because "others" are goading you to do so. Would you go skydiving at an unlicensed business in the desert on a small, rickety airplane?

Would you drive for a month without wearing your seatbelt, even if "people" were chirping at you to keep your clothes from getting wrinkled?

I'm not saying that whatever this is would cause you a definite problem, but I'm also not saying that it won't. Your gut feeling is to stay cautious and not try this. Often it is wise for us to listen to our gut feelings, especially instead of listening to others who want you to do something you're uncomfortable doing.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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