I've been chatting with this Chatango chatroom for a few months, and there's this guy who I flirt with and is flirting back with me. I know it's what got me into trouble a couple years ago, doing this same sort of thing, so I'm pretty damn cautious right now. However, the guy, who plays Magic the Gathering (a card based roleplaying strategy game), threw it out there that there was a tournament in my city he was already thinking of going to. I have told him several times that I'm single, and he's said that he's single and hinted that he is into my type (an older woman with long hair). He's 24 and I'm 32, so he's a good 8-9 years younger than me.

I just don't know what to make of it. Is he being serious? Or just having a flirtatiously good time? We both have had bad experiences with the opposite sex before, and I have openly asked him if he'll date me for real. His response is that the distance between us, seeing as he lives nearly 8 hours away from me, is a huge factor, and he needs to get to know me better, as he doesn't know much about me. He finally said he'd think about it.

That was last weekend, and I decided not to push the issue as I don't want to get into another mess, and I don't want him to be in a relationship he doesn't want to be in. I haven't told him about the last time I tried dating a guy I met on a dating site, or the downfall I went through, mostly because I don't want to freak him out or guilt him.

Maybe I should come clean with that. Either way, what do you think? Is this a budding romance, or purely harmless and meaningless flirting at it's finest?