Crossing the line and back to friends again?

[cm925]

I met a great guy a few months ago and we instantly clicked. We started out as friends but we really connected on a lot of levels, had the same interests, we got along really well and generally had a similar demeanor and ways of doing things (oh the chemistry). Anyways, one day a few weeks after we met, we just found ourselves holding hands while hanging out. He went away on a trip and started texting me, that he missed me, just a few weeks after we first met. At a party a week later, we ended up kissing and he spent the night (nothing happened other than some kissing). About a week after the party, he broke this whole thing off because of the age difference between us. He's still in a college and I've been out of college for 3 years. He said, for now it's best to be friends since we're in two different life stages. We didn't talk for a while, it got awkward for about a few weeks, and now all of a sudden he got a hold of me again lately and we've been hanging out a lot again... for hours at a time. It's always been really fun to see him. But I can't help but wonder if this is purely platonic. Is this a recipe for another incident like before? We weren't planning on dating in the beginning - it kind of just 'happened.' After you crossed the lines of being friends, can you really go back? I'm so confused right now.

[KelE]

It depends. If You are looking for a real relationship out of this, then you might get let down. It sounds to me like he wants to get close then push you away because he doesn't want a serious relationship and doesn't want to get tied down. At the same time, he wants to keep strings on you. Unfortunately this game he is playing is going to make you reach for him more. If you think you can be strong enough (I say this because it sounds like you want more from him), then it would be in your best interest to not hang out with him and play this game. In other words, he is unavailable. It will be like a merry-go-round. He'll keep trying to keep the relationship on this same level and it will be frustrating, but it will be even worse if you get intimate with him. If you do that you'll feel like you have to have him get of the fence and when/if he won't do it, you'll end up feeling really used and hurt. Think about it.