Hugs and (a little) Heartbreak - Take Two

A few days ago, Little Red  (for those of you who don't know about her, this post will fill you in) and I met up for our date.  We had a nice, informal lunch together, and I did a much better job of making conversation than I did before.  It seemed that Little Red had been having a bad day up to that point, so I was glad to give her a listening ear.  We talked for a while in a sort of shy, quiet way.  It was nice to see her again, and I felt more comfortable with her than I had the first time, which seemed to be a good sign.
After lunch, we went to my apartment, which was incidentally very close by.  We sat and talked a while longer.  She told me more about her ex, who had broken up with her in a really awful way, leaving her with a lot of self-image issues.  (Little Red has something of a curvy body type)  For my part, I told her I thought she was beautiful many times while she was with me.  Eventually, we kissed.  It was a good feeling to be kissed by someone after going so long without that sort of thing, and I think it was something she needed as well.  Kissing led to french kissing and wandering hands, which led to other things adults do behind closed doors.  Unfortunately, this intensity was short lived.  We stopped partially because we tired ourselves out, but, more to the point, I think we realized what we were doing was out of character for both of us.  Even while we were being physical, I couldn't help noticing the little flashes of worry and sadness in her eyes, and it made my heart hurt to see it happening.  Shortly after that, she started to cry, because of the aforementioned realizations, as well as various other troubles she'd been facing.  I held her, and whispered kind words in her ear until she calmed down.  She told me that she was very unsure of what she wanted.  Once again, I told her I was willing to wait for her until she sorted things out.  I walked her to her car, and we kissed again before she left.  We shared three tiny, special kisses, like some sort of secret Morse code for lonely hearts.  As I walked back to my apartment, it started to rain, and it seemed the most appropriate end to our meeting.
A day later, she sent me an email, explaining her position on things, which I agreed with completely.  She said it would be best if we didn't get involved with each other until she sorted herself out.  She said I was a nice guy, and I deserve the love I'm searching for, so it would be unfair to have me wait around for her when I could be out meeting other people.  I told her that unless I met someone else, I would remain 'on call' if she wanted to see me again.  In any case, we've chosen to stay friends, which could be what we were supposed to be doing all along.
I think what happened between Little Red and I was a case of lonely hearts trying to make a connection, but in a wrong-headed sort of way.  On a certain level, I think we both knew that it wouldn't work, but we wanted to feel in love, even if we were tricking ourselves.  I still don't know where that feeling of needing someone comes from, but I've had it for a long time, and I don't know if I can get rid of it.  Perhaps Little Red and I are alike that way.  I'm glad we both came to a sensible conclusion, even if we're not totally happy with how things turned out.  I think if we both take the time to work on ourselves and become how we want to be, we can get what we deserve in the end.  It could be that our story isn't even over yet, but time will tell.  I'm not going to hold my breath though, because she asked me not to.