According to Urban Dictionary, the side chick is defined as, “the other woman; also known as the mistress, a female that is neither a male’s girlfriend or wife who has relations with the male while he is in another relationship.”

Basically the girl who reaps the benefits of a relationship but doesn’t need to worry about actual aspects of a relationship such as texting, family dinners, date nights. On paper, it sounds like a dream come true for most young woman. Self-discovery and no strings attached sex.

But, at the end of the day there’s really only two outcomes.

One: The side chick falls for her forbidden lover.

Two: The girlfriend/wife finds out.

I guess I’ll entertain you with a short story about my friend. We’ll call her Nicole. Once upon a time, Nicole started hooking up with a guy. Turns out the guy had a girlfriend. Thus, a side chick was born.

And boy did she love it — the late nights, the secrets, the lies. Nicole was addicted to the thrilling lifestyle, addicted to the fake love drug.

She took pride in knowing that she called the shots. And she found comfort in the fact that she would never be forced to have “the talk” with her forbidden lover.

Some days it was a game to her, while others it was a thrilling action movie. The slight eye contact in a crowded room, mysteriously disappearing, small smirks at scandalous texts.

Plot twist: Nicole caught serious feels. Nicole thought the man she was sleeping with would leave his girlfriend to be with her.

Oh Nicole, so sweet and naive.

Long story short: He never left his girlfriend.

Long story even shorter: Nicole was a mess. However, she was most disappointed with herself. She knew exactly what she was walking into. Feelings were never part of the deal.

Moral of the story: You deserve better.

You deserve the world and more. It’s true. You deserve someone who is endlessly devoted to you and only thinks about you. You deserve more than secrets and lies and late night texts and calls. You deserve to bring your man home to your family and introduce him to your friends.

Yeah, at first, living in a commitment free world is fun and exciting. It fills a void. It’s a temporary band-aid for loneliness. Sooner or later, the band-aid falls off.

Don’t be like Nicole.

You deserve to be somebody’s number one.