So... I am 23 and have a daughter who is 2. In November of last year, I started dating this 20 year old girl that I went to high school with. Her daughter is 1. She is going through a divorce, and I began by helping her through it and being an overall friend. We kept texting and just hit it off.

She was seeing this other guy from out high school who is my age, but it was a school-girl crush (I think it was just for memories). She stopped seeing him and went with me until Feb. 15 of this year. Around the middle of Jan, she started becoming more and more distant. It was around the time she first talked to her lawyer about the divorce. Over the next month, she made it clear that she didn't want a relationship right now, but she started talking to that other guy again. After he realized what was going on, he stopped talking to her completely, though.

Now, she and I are friends, but I am still in love with her. We weren't friends right after the break-up, though. We still acted like we were dating, but it slowly started changing. First, the kissing stopped, followed by holding hands. Then, she didn't want "pet names" anymore. Now she doesn't even want to cuddle. It went downhill over the past couple of months.

We had a wonderful thing together. We like much of the same things, have similar interests, beliefs, etc., and I'm great with her daughter. I've been extremely good to her (I change her oil, helped her move twice, give her massages almost everyday, bought her a PS3, and I even paid the $2000 for her divorce), but she says she doesn't want anything more than a friendship with me. There are times when she kinda flirts, but they are getting further apart and less frequent. She told me that she is 97% sure we won't ever be a couple again, but it's hard to imagine something that genuine died so quickly. She says it's because the "newness" of the relationship has almost completely wore off, and now there's nothing there for her.

I just want her to be happy, but I want to be the one to make her happy. We still see each other almost everyday, and I help with her daughter a lot. I'm trying to help her, but sometimes she says I'm clingy. Could it be the stress of the divorce getting to her? I really want her back, because we have a lot of chemistry together, but I don't know how. I can't really do the "no contact" thing because we're friends and all. Plus, she lives right down the road from me. Please help... I don't know what to do, so I really need some advice on this. I don't want to lose this girl who really has almost everything I want in a girl.

I originally posted this in the "love advice" forum, but I'd like a female perspective on the matter. Thank you.