What To Do About Steven? - Follow up question

If you have not yet read the first posting in this series of questions by this particular reader, please do so here first.

"Dear Housewife,

Hello again!Well, you were so helpful to me before, and I have to admit, I'm still very confusesd about Steven.

Well, I did take your advice and told him how I felt about him. He said in reply that he does like me and does want to date me, and he thought that he was ready to. But, Steven said, he's not ready to and he has to see what he's already in with Katherine through. Honourable, right?
Well, then I told him that I'd be willing to wait for him until he's ready. Steven said he doesn't want to keep me waiting, as he's ''planning'' on being with Katherine for a while.
Lastly, Steven said that if I'm there at the end, then that's great,because he does like me, but if I'm not, then he'll understand. And that was that.

Now then, I took your other advice and kind of kept my distance from him for a few days. Then I get a text from him in regards to a tattoo I told him I was planning on getting for my birthday. He asked me what it was of (a chalice surronded by a crown of thorns) he said, ''Ooh, sexy.'' Bit of a strange response, yes?

The thing that I'm completely unsure of is this: you see, my birthday is on Wednesday, and I'm having a party. Prior to these events taking place, I invited Steven, and he said that he would love to come; he said that he still wants to see me. I asked him after everything happened if he still wanted to come, and he said of course, like it was silly of me to ask. So he undoubtedly wants to come..so then, what should I do?"

Dear Reader,

If I were you, I wouldn't necessarily wait around for him. I would continue my life and date other people. If the two of you happen to be single at the same time in the future, then that would be great and you can go from there, but I would not put my life on hold for something that may never pan out.

Is is possible that you two could remain friends? If so, then I see no reason to not allow him to be at your party. If it is too painful for you to be around him, then I would not recommend it. You also need to be aware that he may bring Katherine to the party, since the two of them are dating.

I wouldn't put too much thought into the comment that he made in regards to the tattoo. He was probably just trying to be 'friendly flirty', and didn't really mean anything by it.

If it is too much pain to continue to have him as a friend without dating, then I would be honest with him and let him know how you feel.
Nothing is worse than having what you really want at arms' length, and yet not being able to have it... sort of like that piece of cake just sitting there on the counter when you are trying to lost those last 5 pounds. Sometimes it is just too much of a distraction.

I hope I have been able to help, and again.. don't hesitate if you need further assistance.

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