I have a girlfriend of three years. I fully intend to marry her. The ring has been in my sock drawer for over a year. She is my dream girl. But we're 6-7 hours of driving apart, and due to career conflicts we're 2-3 years from being apart. I'm close to my boss, and he moved me to the top of the list for transfers. Our jobs are both way too good to quit - we got our lives together just a year too early and didn't calculate for meeting each other.

But that's not what I'm here for. It's just necessary background information. Here's what I need to say, and must have advice on - There's another woman, kind of. I am, for all intents and purposes, emotionally cheating on my girlfriend. There's a girl I met recently. I've known her dad for a long time - he was one of my closest teachers in college - and she is incredibly engaging on an intellectual level for me. I asked her out for coffee one day after figuring out that she was related to my teacher, and that just turned into something a little more. I talk to her a lot. She knows nothing of my girlfriend, and I have no physical contact with her in any way - we've hugged at most. I take her places - the theater, art exhibits, etc.

Her dad is a literature teacher, she is a literature teacher, and I am a literary scholar. We all get along. I just don't know what to do. I feel it is far too late to let her know my interest in her is as a friend. I admit I wasn't even sure at first. There was a part of me that had to overcome the idea that letting her know I had a GF may be a mistake, but now obviously I realize the opposite is true.

I don't know guys. This is really hard. This other girl has become my friend in a very strange way. She has never questioned why I don't kiss her after what should be considered a date, she has truthfully never done anything but be an outstanding friend.

cont.