Kudos to you for working up your nerve to ask this boy out! That must have been hard to do, and you should be proud of yourself for taking the initiative and being confident enough to make a move. You were certainly getting signs from him that he was into you (we doubt he plays footsie with everyone, right?). Still, and here comes the bad news, if he said no to the date and that he's still into his ex, then you have to respect that and assume that for right now, he is not into being your boyfriend. Does that mean someday he might be? Sure, but do you want to wait around to see, when you could be out there having fun and meeting other guys? That doesn't mean you can't still hang out with him, because from what you said, he seems really nice and there's no reason to ruin a friendship just because he's happier being solo, but as for trying to make a romance happen, it doesn't sound like it's in the cards, at least at this moment.

As for being friends with benefits with him, our concern is just that you might be setting yourself up to get hurt. You may hope that friends with benefits will lead to something more serious, but he may not feel the same way, and by entering into a situation that isn't what you want, just because it may possibly become something that you do, probably isn't the best choice. Instead, go ahead and keep flirting and spending time with him, but start looking around to see who else is out there, too. Plenty of guys would love to date someone like you, someone who is confident and friendly and willing to take a risk. Sorry it hasn't worked out with your crush, but we're sure that you'll find a guy who likes you the same way you like him.

—Andrea Pyros