A little about myself: I'm 31 and single, have been pretty much for my whole life. Never had a serious relationship with anyone. I'm lonely and am desperately wishing for the girl of my dreams to sweep me off my feet some day. But unfortunately, I'm not really an outgoing person so the chances of meeting anyone are pretty slim for me. I would consider myself average looking, not too thin, not overweight, and I try to take care of myself. anyway...
So here's my problem: I've met this girl online about a month ago and we've slowly been getting to know each other. What started out as just a casual chat here and there turned into what I think a good online friendship. We chat everyday, we text each other a lot and also talk on the phone. We have exchanged pictures as well. I'm the happiest guy on the planet when I talk with her or when I get a text message from her. I constantly think about her even when I am busy at work, or doing something with other people. She is always on my mind. Not being closer, not knowing her better, and not knowing what the future might bring is driving me insane. I sometimes feel sick to my stomach, can barely sleep at night - I'm pretty much an emotional wreck these days. And for the record, I'm not in love. I just know that there is this person out there that I get along with very well, a person that I would like to meet to see if there is more in store for us or not. And if there is not, that's ok. At least I tried and it just wasn't supposed to be. But without knowing this I can barely breathe.
I have been quiet to her, and people we both know, about my feelings because I don't want to scare her away or give her the wrong impression. I have been in similar situations before and as soon as I mentioned that I would like to meet the other person to get to know them better, everything went downhill and pretty much to shit. So I don't want to make that same mistake yet again. I really appreciate our friendship right now and I hate to lose that over me just acting stupid. I really couldn't ask for a better friend. But having all these emotions and unanswered questions is killing me. How can I tell her that I would like to meet her without sounding creepy? I'm not looking for a date, I'm not looking for sex, I'm not looking for a relationship. I just want to get to know her in person and have a cup of coffee or something. What am I supposed to do? I need help.
I forgot to mention, she lives quite a bit away from me, so it would require a long drive or a plane ride to visit her - both I would be willing to do.