Q - Dear Annabelle, Before, we're just "Hi...Bye" friends. 2 weeks ago, I confessed to a girl I like her. And she has agreed that we try out a relationship. We're very close ever since, so much so that anyone who sees us thinks that we are already together for months. Then, she asked me to reconsider whether we're going too fast. From "Hi..Bye" friends to really close friends. How would 'too fast' be? Should I control myself from expressing all my feelings for her or should I let nature take its course? A - Dear Ivan, By all means..........slow down! Remember it is YOU who have all the emotion about this. Sheās telling you that sheās still at the starting gate while YOU are far ahead of her. If she gets overwhelmed by your attentions and interest, she wonāt be able to Īattachā, as you have, and the relationship will not Ītakeā. YOU have lived the relationship in your head, give HER some space on this. Now, that YOU have made so much of the situation on what is, essentially, a fantasy level, indicates that it may not be Īaboutā HER at all, but that she reminds you of someone from your infancy. For a relationship to grow and to develop, a good slow warmup of about 6 months is needed just to align the partners similarities and areas of interest. You stand a better chance of having this work successfully if you attune yourself to her signals, rather than rushing in as though the whole thing were a accompli. You actually can work wonders if you just back off a bit and let her begin to come to you! - Annabelle