I think i played this right but it still hurts....

[cdjackson]

Ok, I play in a .50/1.00 no limit hold em game ($20 cash in) with a group of my friends. This particular night i was down all night. I got down to something like 5 bucks. I fought my way back and was up 15 bucks when my buddy called his last hand. There were five of us in the game at this point. I was dealt Ad/9d and I was dealer. The table called to me and I called. The little blind called and the big blind (my buddy) raised 3 bucks. The table folded to me and I called. The small blind called. The flop was Ah 7h and 8s. My buddy bet 2 bucks, the small blind folds and I call. The turn was a Qc and my buddy checked and I checked (afraid of a check/raise). The river was a 2h. My buddy bet all in. I had top pair but there was a flush showing. I thought about it for 10 minutes before I folded. I thought about it because my buddy had been bluffing all night, and had gotten me 4 or 5 times. I called him on his big blind raise because he is known for raising in the big blind with nothing. I thought that he might be bluffing but I had fought back to get where I was and didn't want to loose it.
I folded and he flipped his card up with nothing. That hurt. I know that I made the right decision but it hurt. Could I have played this differently?