This isn’t Let’s work this out of our systems. This is I could be very serious about a relationship with you if one of us had the slightest nudge to get there. “Are we friends?” I whisper. He studies me, and I find myself holding my breath like the fate of my entire life depends on his answer. But when he finally answers, it’s everything. “I want to be more than your friend, but I know it’s complicated, and I know we have to go slow, and I know there are people in your life who need to come before me.”
