DR. WALLACE: I'm a girl who's 17 and enjoyed meeting a new guy this summer. We hung out three times, two of which I would consider to be dates.

Everything was looking good from my point of view, but then I think I made a technical mistake. I introduced him to a platonic guy friend of mine who happened to be over at our house one day helping my father with a project in the backyard.

To say that these two guys created a fast friendship would not be doing justice to the situation. They instantly became close friends. It's obvious that they became best friends and now they are virtually inseparable!

Two weeks have gone by, and I have yet to be asked out on another date! My guy has only texted me briefly and has not even spoken to me on the phone since he met his new BFF.

What can I do? I feel like a fool for hooking them up with each other. — Now He Has No Time for Me, via email

HE NOW HAS NO TIME FOR ME: Your current beau should at least have given you a big thank you for introducing him to a new friend that he obviously has a lot in common with.

Keep in mind this is a new relationship, and since it is still in the fledgling stage, I recommend that you be patient. At least you know that he's hanging out with a guy friend and not dating another girl.

Do keep in touch with him via calls and texts, and proactively invite him out to whatever event or opportunity you find soon. I trust at some point his focus will return to you, so don't burn any bridges in the meantime.

I GET TEASED FOR BEING SHORT

DR. WALLACE: I'm a guy who is 15 and I'm the shortest boy my age at my school. This is strange to me since my father and uncles are all of normal height or slightly above normal. Yet here I am looking up at everyone thus far.

What can I eat to get me to grow taller right away? I'd like to start a new diet that can give me a few more inches over the rest of this summer. — Vertically Challenged, via email

VERTICALLY CHALLENGED: I don't believe your diet will make any short-term impact on your height. An individual's height is typically driven by genetics, not diet.

The good news for you is that many males grow in "spurts," and you may well find yourself adding multiple inches at some point in your life between now and your 19th birthday or so.

There are also even documented cases of males who continued to grow taller into their mid-20s. Most growth spurts occur between the ages of 14 and 17, but by no means does this mean that you won't continue to grow taller over the next five years or so. Be patient and eat healthy, regular foods, and I trust that your growth spurt will show up at some point.

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 rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. 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.

Photo credit: Matheus Ferrero at Unsplash