Every once in a while she says she loves me, and that just makes me feel awful…

Because she’s dating someone else. What am I supposed to do about that?

And I know she doesn’t mean as a friend because she asked me out on a date the one time they broke up, but then my bad luck struck and her ex was at the same restaurant. They ended up getting an Uber home together and soon after they worked things out and got together again, and have been together for like two to three years now. She has cheated on her girlfriend with other people since though,for what it’s worth. Not with me though, I wouldn’t want to be “the other guy”.

We still talk and even hang out every once in a while, sometimes just the two (her idea) and those times felt like dates in all but name. We never made out, but she’s affectionate and I’m lonely so we hug and it feels so intimate.

Other times she has invited me to stuff where her girlfriend is there too, and then it’s kind of awkward, as she obviously stays closer to her but still shows some affection to me every once in a while, which then just feels awkward as her girlfriend is usually within earshot.

I’ve tried being distant, but then she tells me she loves me and misses me and I end up responding politely cause I know we could be just good friends if she made up her mind, I’d be fine with that as I also like her girlfriend and would like being friends with her too, but we rarely talk outside of these seemingly pointless displays of affection.

I don’t know what to do anymore. No one’s ever really shown me affection like that before, I can’t say I don’t like the attention, but it just seems so hollow. The worst part is that I do still like her, but how could I plan a relationship with her if she’s already in one? I feel lost.