Ok LadyGAf, I'd like your opinion on this...
My gf broke with her first boyfriend of 4 years (they lived together for 3) six months ago (we've been dating for two). I wasn't the rebound guy, and neither of us were really looking for a relationship when love hit us like a ton of bricks. She was the one to bring up the L word, and tells me how I'm better in every way than the ex, that she does with me things she never thought she would do, etc etc. She doesn't miss the ex (at least according to her) BUT...
She's still VERY angry about the break-up. She sais she did love him, and it was a good relationship. It was a case of him telling her how much he loved her, talking about marriage, being happy together, and the next day telling her that he didn't really love her, he said what she wanted to hear, and that he needs to go out there and experience life (aka bang other chicks probably). After the breakup they would still sleep together, and it would mess up with her head.
It affects me because she always says she is scared or having feelings for me (which is understandable), and scared that I would do the same thing. When she gets drunk, she tries to push me away, and of course I don't out up with it, so I only aggravate the situation. I tell her that the only solution is time, but am I deluding myself here? Is there any trigger that will finally go off that she'll forget about that fear?
It doesn't help that her best friends are also best friends with the guy. We ran into him on new year's eve, and he was at a party we went to Saturday. At least Saturday she felt really good that it didn't bother her that he was there, aside from a few awkward moments.
Any advice?
Observations based on what I'm reading:
Her friends being buddy-buddy with her ex means that those aren't friends she can confide in with respect to how she feels post-him. They can't help her get closure - not the way she wants, I suspect. As someone she trusts, you hear it.
From the sounds of it, she may be over her ex, but she isn't over the situation. The end of a relationship is like a death - you go through the same stages of mourning. She's still at "angry". Which is fine - but she's in a new relationship now, and if it's going to work, she's gotta get past it. And that's on her, not you.
You say that love has hit you like a ton of bricks - you may have been ready for it (however unexpected it was) but it doesn't sound like the timing is the same for her. She's told you in so many words why she's pushing you away - she fears she'll have the same experience with you as she did with her ex - and if you haven't given any indications that you are "that guy", then her head is getting the better of her.
So, cool your heels. You may love one another but she isn't done digesting/mourning/learning from her last relationship. Until she is, it's always going to be you, her, and the little gremlin on her shoulder chewing her ear off.
It's not fair to her to ask her to be fully in a relationship when she's not ready, and it's not fair to you to have to deal with a push-pull sequence that messes with your head - and it's really unfair that at every stage, she's comparing you with an ex (even if you come out the winner in most/all exchanges - it's just a losing game as a whole).
Talk to her in a calm moment. Work with her to figure out if the two of you would be more successful slowing down your relationship, taking a bit of a breather, or breaking until (at least)
both of you have your heads in the game.
This stage in your relationship should still be fun and exciting.