It happens to the best of us. You have a dude friend who you swear up and down is your “bro.” You look at him as a buddy, he looks at you as one of the guys. You guys are such platonic partners in crime that you’re practically starring in your own cop movie.

Then you get bored or lonely or just plain horny. Suddenly, you find yourself wondering if there’s anything good under that hoodie he always wears and whether it would be such a bad thing if you found out firsthand. Conventional wisdom states that hooking up with a guy friend is a terrible idea -- you could ruin a valuable friendship, or whatever.

Realistic wisdom, however, states that the occasional mistake will be made. The good news? It’s not that big of a deal. Here's why it’s totally fine to just go for it even though you’re “just friends.”

You know he’s not a total jerk

Unlike the legion of randoms on Tinder, you have some background information on this guy. You’ve seen how he treats other girls that he’s hooked up with, and you know that at the very least, he’s a decent person. Bonus: you also know what he looks like without sunglasses and a baseball cap on.

He’s already thought about it

Dude, he’s a dude. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s incapable of being friends with a girl, but it does mean that he has absolutely pictured you topless, brah.

It could turn into an awesome relationship

You guys are friends for a reason. You clearly have compatible personalities. What if you discover that you also have compatible sexual preferences? Good sex and good conversation? What more do you need in life?

It'll only be weird if one of you makes it weird

Needless to say, sex can complicate things -- but only if you let it. If you walk into a hook-up with a friend knowing it'll be just that, chances are you’ll be able to stay cool after the fact. If you’ve been friends with him for a while, you should be able to have an honest conversation about any feelings that crop up, and you should also be able to respectfully deal with whatever feelings he expresses to you.

If nothing else, it'll be a funny story down the road

If this is an isolated incident, it'll blow over quickly and soon you two will be back to giving each other noogies in no time. Once this situation is far enough in your past, you guys will have almost as much fun joking about that time you made out as you did that time you made out.

You can skip the forced conversation B.S.

Sometimes you just need a little nookie. Unfortunately, common courtesy dictates that even with a random hook-up, you should spend some time getting to know the person. Hook up with a pal and all you really need to say beforehand is “Are we going to do this or what?” If both parties say an enthusiastic "Yes!" then it's go time.

You have other friends

All of this said, there will always be an inherent risk in totally ruining a friendship with someone who you cross the sexytime line with. Maybe he’ll act like a jerk or get needy, or maybe you will. If you two are really meant to be friends, you’ll eventually figure it out and move past this. If not, you’ll keep hanging out with one of the many other pals you have whose genitals you haven’t come face-to-face with.