Between A Walk And A Hard Place

I've had a seven-year crush on an acquaintance despite how, whenever I see him, he barely remembers he's met me before. I'm now eight months into a relationship with a wonderful man. While at a bar with him, I ran into my crush. He was all over me and emailed later to ask me on a hike. On one hand, it's just a hike. On the other hand, I'm terrified to risk losing what I have.

--Conflicted

Sure he wants to go on a hike -- a hike your skirt up over your head. It's tempting to have your shot at the one who got away. That one's usually more sparkly and exciting than the one who holds your hair back after a few-too-many at a party lands you on the roadside, giving what's left of the grapes back to nature. The question is, who really wants to go on this hiking date, you or your ego? You determine that by laying out the qualities you find essential in a man and seeing whether your boyfriend has them. Also consider that a relationship takes more than finding somebody with a blast of bar charisma; it's a "culture" two people create by being together. If your relationship is really good, you're gambling a lot. Much as you want to believe your crush has finally "seen" you, maybe he has just seen that you're taken and wants to engage in a little poaching -- the kind where the thing you bag in the woods gets to ride back in the truck cab instead of roped to the hood.