Cutting through the intro, I'm a male university student, and I've been getting close to this girl I know for a few months. We've both admitted that we have feelings for each other, and we have been sexually intimate. The exam season, and our proximity to summer break has taken its toll on things, and we've just talked it out, and she says that it's best for her if we don't get into a relationship now.
Typical "friend-zone" status, right? Hold on. There is more.
She told me that she wants to wants to be friends for longer than what we first thought, and that though she does have feelings for me, she thinks that getting into a relationship now is a bad idea since I would just end up getting hurt. She said that she wants us to be together because we both want it, but right now that isn't how things are. She also told me that, as a partner, I'm pretty much everything that she looks for, and that she essentially really trusts me with her emotions, despite how she felt guarded after her last break-up (was a bit messy). I'd also confided in her about some rather troublesome stuff that I have myself, and she said that she is there for me, and that I don't have to bottle things up anymore.
Bottom line: I've basically fallen in love with her, and though I have not said the words to her, I basically gave her a monologue about how I felt, and said that there is a much shorter way of saying what I did.
I still want to be friends with her - I really do. And I am prepared to wait for her, at least until the autumn term. However, I don't want to waste my time pining over someone who genuinely has just let me down gently.
Does this sound like something which could go somewhere, or is this just run-of-the-mill, thanks-but-no-thanks, friend-zoning? I've never been in a relationship before, so I guess I'm seeking the advice of people who are more experienced in these matters.
Thanks.