What should I do about this girl?

[jjmcray]

So here's the story... I went off to college last year (Fall 2010), and now I'm back home for the summer. There's this girl that's one year below me that just graduated high school, and she's going off to the same college as me next year. I never really talked to her or had any interest in her during high school, but all the sudden she started texting me a few days ago and basically we've been having a 3 day long (and counting) conversation.

I'm going through a lot of financial trouble and family drama right now, so I'm not really interested in trying to get a girlfriend or anything. So basically I'm not sure if I'm interested in talking to this girl or not. It started out with her texting me and asking for help with something, then it gradually transitioned to more flirty texts. She would also tell me that she had no one to hang out with and had nothing to do that night or whatever, which I'm assuming were attempts to get me to ask her to hang out or something). I didn't really try to flirt back and avoided asking her to hang out because of my indifference. Sometimes when she texts me I'll take forever to reply (because I just plain old didn't feel like talking to her at that moment) or give her a really plain, boring, and generic response, one that would normally signal the end of a conversation. But she just keeps texting back and it's fairly obvious that she's putting in at least some effort to keep the conversation going with me.

But here's the problem. Because of my situation right now, I'm pretty indifferent about all this. Sometimes her texting can be annoying and I feel obligated to respond in order not to be rude, but at the same time it's nice having someone to talk to basically whenever I want. (It's summer and a lot of people are off doing there own things so I don't really get to communicate with my old friends anymore.) I feel like there could definitely be some potential between us but I just don't know if I want to act on it, and I don't want to accidentally start leading her on by responding to all these texts.

I haven't had a lot of experience with dating and stuff, or maybe I'm just over-analyzing the situation, but either way, what should I do? How can I politely drop a hint that I'm not interested in her in that kind of way at the moment? (key phrase: at the moment, because I could see this going somewhere once I have all my personal issues sorted out)

Sorry if this was too long or confusing, I'm not very good at explaining situations like this, especially over the internet, but I just felt like I had to ask someone for advice.

[Magenta]

Well, the easiest way is obviously to ask her but that might be a tad awkward. Maybe text her back and tell her you've got some stuff going on right now and tell her you'll get in touch with her soon? It's casual, doesn't specify anything and may give you some room to think for a little bit. It must be a lot more pressured if she's always texting you and so it keeps coming up.

If you're not ready for anything, obviously you don't have to start anything. After a little break, you can always keep talking to as if you're just friends. If the opportunity comes up and you're ready to start something go for it and if you're still not, maybe explain a little bit to her and hopefully she will be receptive and understand. You could also slowly introduce her to your situation in a casual and friendly way and she may catch the hint that you've got a lot on your plate.

Hope this helps at all. Never had much experience with this sort of issue. It'll work out. :)

[LuckyLuke]

You could be upfront about it.

"Hey, so I'm really going to be frank here and it's because I care about you and I don't want your feelings to get hurt. You're a great girl; you're pretty, intelligent, (etc), and although I'd really like to go out with you, I'm just going through a lot at the moment and I can't handle a relationship. I hope we can stay friends and maybe more once everything settles out."

[Derek951]

You don't have to go into detail with her, but I would def tell her you have stuff going on in your life. If she likes you, u don't want to blow her off completely. Can say you either need a break from texting, or tell her you're not looking for a gf so she'll at least cut down on the "flirty" stuff.