Dating A Close Friend

[Maximus]

Hello everyone. I'm new here and I already found lots of lessons on dating.

I need an advice on an specific thing, my title already says it. I have a childhood friend and we have been closed friends all these years. Now that we have matured, I think I'm falling for her.

How should I ask her out for a real date? We usually go out just to hang out.

[tikii]

Sometimes close friends like that work out well. Then again there are times when it ruins your relationship totally if things don`t work out. I would just ask what her feelings are about dating. If your that close it won`t be a hard subject to talk about. If she would rather stay friends then you have lost nothing but kept a great friend.

[sweet28]

I've always said that you should be friends first and it might last longer. The only problem with this is, what if it doesn't work out? How close are you? Are you willing to give up the friendship if the relationship doesn't work out?

[Claria]

Has she made any indications that she may possibly feel the same? If so you should just ask her out as usual then tell her how you have been feeling.

[Maximus]

I'm afraid that if I tell her how I feel about her, she would look at me in a different way. I don't like that to happen. I still want us to be friends. She knows about my previous relationships as I know of hers. And I don't want to ruin that trust between us.

From my perspective, she only looks at me as her close friend but I couldn't read her actions if she likes me as a romantic partner or just a close friend.

[Claria]

It can be hard to decipher what someone means with their gestures and such. It is understandable that you would be worried. Most times things do change between friends once something like this is mentioned.

[JamesP]

What I can suggest is to try to ask or answer her in a funny way. For example, if she asks for your opinion then you could jokingly answer, "if I'm your boyfriend, what would you do?" It's something like that, just be creative. You will know from her answer if she likes you as her boyfriend or just as a best friend.

[Maximus]

I'm not a good joker but I'm a good listener. Are there any other ways to know what she really feels about me? I guess sometimes she feels that I like her, like when I stare at her eyes. But then she just box or kick me to wake me up of my dream.