I recently met this guy, and we quickly became very attached. We joked that we had been secretly living each others' lives in different parts of the country--we had a lot in common and genuinely enjoyed spending time together. At first, I was extremely attracted to him, but I kept my distance because he has a long-term girlfriend and it's not right for me to cause any trouble.
We see each other every day, and on the days I don't see him face-to-face, he calls or shows up. Often, my phone will ring and it will be him, wanting to go flying or hang gliding or something ridiculous. I let him go for a little while, to figure out whether I could handle being friends without getting trapped in the anxiety, and eventually decided that I would rather be his friend.
He has briefly mentioned trouble with his girlfriend and I have given him my best advice. I don't want them broken up: I think they are good for each other.
He is an extremely friendly person. He talks to everyone. I didn't see our friendship as anything special at first and that sort of made me sad. I know that I am solidly in "the friend zone," but why would he insist on being such close friends if he doesn't even like me? Should I stick around and see if it turns into something romantic in a year or two if he and his girlfriend break it off? Or am I just setting myself up to get hurt?