I would be *almost* completely honest with this new guy. Tell him the truth, that you like him, but you just need some time.
I was widowed last February, began dating again in May. Probably wayyy too soon (and please, no judgment calls. I've already been through this on another thread here) but I was honest with the guy who--on our first phone conversation--said that marriage was one thing he wanted. That scared the heck out of me hearing it so early in the relationship with him. But I was honest, telling him I wasn't ready yet. He and I had some ups and downs our first month, we both had misgivings. I felt he was moving too fast, he felt weird about being the first guy after my husband died. At the end of last August, he had to go out to work in New Jersey for a few months after the flooding from Hurricane Irene. In retrospect, it was a bit of a blessing because he and I were able to use that "time apart" to sort ourselves out while still being in a long distance relationship and talking frequently. I warned him early on that there was going to be an emotional roller coaster ride (which may have scared him off early) but we stuck it out and almost 7 months later, we're still together and going strong.
The two most important things in a relationship: HONESTY & COMMUNICATION
It doesn't matter how much you have in common or how good looking you guys are, if you can't be honest and can't communicate, then there is nothing. My relationship with my late husband was based on passive-aggressive manipulation on his part and silent martyrdom on mine. Though we loved one another, we weren't completely happy.
I was widowed last February, began dating again in May. Probably wayyy too soon (and please, no judgment calls. I've already been through this on another thread here) but I was honest with the guy who--on our first phone conversation--said that marriage was one thing he wanted. That scared the heck out of me hearing it so early in the relationship with him. But I was honest, telling him I wasn't ready yet. He and I had some ups and downs our first month, we both had misgivings. I felt he was moving too fast, he felt weird about being the first guy after my husband died. At the end of last August, he had to go out to work in New Jersey for a few months after the flooding from Hurricane Irene. In retrospect, it was a bit of a blessing because he and I were able to use that "time apart" to sort ourselves out while still being in a long distance relationship and talking frequently. I warned him early on that there was going to be an emotional roller coaster ride (which may have scared him off early) but we stuck it out and almost 7 months later, we're still together and going strong.
The two most important things in a relationship: HONESTY & COMMUNICATION
It doesn't matter how much you have in common or how good looking you guys are, if you can't be honest and can't communicate, then there is nothing. My relationship with my late husband was based on passive-aggressive manipulation on his part and silent martyrdom on mine. Though we loved one another, we weren't completely happy.