Sure, you may try, depending on context. But the reality is that you are not going to like the far most likely outcome.
First, do not be friends. You recently broke up and if you are young, let’s assume you are under the adorable misconception that you can still be friends with her if you love her. You are so wrong. Unless you like masochism, at which point, I sit corrected. Fair to say that both younger men and women do fall into this trap. This is not a gender thing, it is a maturity issue.
Let me tell you this, chances are that she wants to be friends with you because she is no longer interested in you. Therefore she can handle it. You cannot. Does not matter what you think, to stick around is going to be painful. I have seen it dozens upon dozens of times. And everyone claims that they are unique and are a special case somehow. They are not. LOL
Just to give you a taste:
How happy are you going to be when she tells you she met someone else? You are her good friend now, so she will tell you how much fun it was to go on that date and how romantic their first kiss was. Like, super hot. She probably won’t tell you when she sleeps with him, although you will be able to guess because she will become even more withdrawn. Due to both awkwardness and the fact that if she makes the mistake of telling the new guy that you used to date, he is likely to ask for her to stop or at least minimize hanging out with you. Which of course, you will be totally okay with, right? As just as a friend? And she will do it because chances are that she will put a higher priority to his opinion over yours. Meanwhile, you are stuck there, in love. Watching merrily and with front seating no less, as she looks forward to her next date. Great job, friend.
Second, you do not get her back. Real life is not like in the movies. You know how you *may* get her back? By giving both of you, but mostly you, some space. MAYBE… once you are out of her life she might miss you and think about what she has lost in your relationship and reach out to you. Because she wants to. Because she yearns to. You cannot force that.
There is literally nothing —either through honesty, or charm — that you can say to win her over if she has already made her mind that you are no longer good for her or cares about you romantically.
If you “stick” around like you obviously want to do, all you are going to accomplish is for her to start seeing you more and more like a friend in her mind. Since she will get all the positives that you bring, not to mention the special treatment people give when they love the other person, but with none of the complexities or reciprocity of actually dating you. For her it will be a win/win. For you it will be a lose/lose.
If she even remotely cares about you, and if she is mature, then she would send you away. So you can deal with your heartbreak and your emotions. If she does not, then chances are that either she does not know better OR she is aware that you like her, that you will stick around and again, not have to deal with you as a romantic partner.
This is what is going to happen if you stick around: Soon enough, you will be in emotional pain. Why? Because you will get pissed at her since she will act differently around you and you will not like it. How? She will treat you like just a friend and not the same way you were used to —and, you will see that as her being callous. But if you do that, then she will cut you off. Better yet, you might eventually slip, and act as a boyfriend somehow, and she will think you are being territorial or creepy. Either she or her new guy will request to cut you off. And chances are, and if she is under 25, that she will.
The reality is this and what is most likely to happen, you will never be really happy as her friend only. Since in the back of your mind you will long to be with her, to kiss her, etc. You will tire yourself out and eventually when —and it is likely that you will — decide to move on, you will still be where you are today. Missing her. You will have extended the pain longer for no reason whatsoever. Same goes if you have a fling. It is obvious that she has relationship issues, as per your text, so I do not see anything new changing at this point if she is young.
Long story short: you do not get people back, if they are the ones who did the break up. THEY come back if they realize they made a mistake or they still love you. Most movies in history have it wrong. Simply because well, it is more dramatic and makes for better plot arcs when you can simply win people back with grand gestures, poetry, expensive gifts, etc. That is not how real love —or lack of it — works.
Your best play is to excuse yourself from being friends, tell her the truth, that you still love her and that you need some space to work out your feelings. That you want to be mature, and do that. Then, after you can honestly look at the mirror and KNOW you are over her, THEN at that point, maybe, you can go back to being friends. Even GREAT friends. But NOT before.
Unless again, you are into masochism.
Good luck.
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