Okay this is somewhat of a long story and may not seem very complicated to outsiders so I thought I'd ask.

I met this girl about 6 or 7 years ago when she was dating one of my good guy friends. They broke it off about a year after I met her and we lost touch with each other. Then about a year ago we just started talking normally and that eventually grew into a great friendship. I found out she had been dating this guy and about 2 months ago he broke it off after a 4 year relationship. She believed this was the guy she was going to marry and still somewhat believes it. I was there for her and listened to her and talked with her about it. Then about a month ago we decided to just hang out and help her get her mind off things. This meeting eventually led to kissing and my feelings grew for her from just a best friend to someone I would consider dating.

Now I am past the part which most people say is hardest. I have told her about my feelings and she said she would love to date me but needs time to get over the past relationship. Now I understand this because she still believes the other guy was the one for her even though he was a complete jerk to her, I know all his stories.

Like I said, I have told her my feelings and she did somewhat return them, but me and this girl are so close that I protect her like a little sister. She is also an ex of one of my good friends, who still wants her by the way. I just don't know if actually dating her would turn out well or not. We've been best friends for over a year now and tell each other everything, and I do mean everything. Like I also said we did end up kissing when she was here but in my head I thought that she was just feeling lonely now after a 4 year relationship. I think this because she tried to get further with me that night but me being the overly nice guy that I am, just couldn't go further knowing that she was just feeling lonely. (epic case of blue balls) I could have had sex with her if I was just into having sex for the hell of it.

What do you think I should do? Should i attempt to date her or just let her go? We constantly skype and have gone on a few dates (I wouldn't really call them dates but just hanging out) and they have turned out well. The main issue is that her ex still contacts her and she keeps thinking about him sometimes wanting to get back with him and other times just saying **** him. She tells me everything so I know that she is starting to have feelings for me, she has admitted that. We would probably be "official" if her ex wouldn't keep contacting her because sometimes he says things that piss her off and pus her away and other times say things that make her think of him again.

Please give me some of your opinions. I think either way I will keep going for her because I am winning her over slowly and I know that is true even though many of you may not think that she is falling for me. I just thought I'd read some of your opinions and see if the responses may change my mind even though this girl is definitely girlfriend material. Sorry this post was so long, I warned you before you started reading hahahaha. I may have left some stuff out because it did take me a while to write this so ask any questions you may have if you need more information.