What to do with female best friend?
I am a guy with a female best friend for over 8 years. She has 4 relatively young kids. Without getting into extreme detail we love each other deeply, she is just not attracted to me. I certainly could be attracted to her. We are like inseparable family and that includes her entire family. My family does not like her. I have been with her through a failed marriage and now a live-in who is like her domestic slave. I feel sorry for him. Not long ago she bragged to him about what a great time we will be having on our beach vacation in a few weeks. He will be the babysitter. I could feel his hurt. Our relationship is platonic but I think she is getting ideas to change that. This has been my sense for a while. I could get into her on that level but we have been together so long as friends that I do not want to change it. We are very close. I do not want to risk that. On a practical level she is not the one for me. In another life she definitely would have been. We both know that. I do not know how long I can keep myself from completely falling for her. We are definitely right for each other but our life circumstances are not right for us to do well. Can we be reborn and start over again? The situation is driving me crazy. I know the smart thing and I know what I feel. I could not function without her in my life. I sense that she just might have similar problems. What should we do?