So here in the last couple of weeks I, a single 24 year old man that has some trust issues ane is not real good at expressing emotions or feelings has been talking to a 22 year old girl that i have known for some time now. I believe she is moving things quickly, but maybe not since it generally takes me a while to get comfortable with someone.

So I have known said girl, that I will call Ashley for about 10 years now. I worked for her father while I was in high school and that's how we became acquainted. She's very sweet and truly the nicest person that I have ever met. We kind of talked off and on several times over the last 10 years but we never really went on a true date or anything like that. Mostly just flirting around for fun. The main thing that kept me from being serious about dating her was because I felt that she was a bit immature, which was fine but I really need someone who is more on the mature side and is more of a independent person.

So up until the last month we hadn't seen or talked to each other in about a year and a half. Last month my best friend got married, and I was the best man, and Ashley happened to be the maid of honor. So naturally we ended up talking quite a bit during the event. I was very impressed by her that evening, she has matured a substantial amount over the last year, which she went through some rough times which is probably a big reason for that. So after talking to her that night I knew that I was definitely interested in seriously going out with her. After the wedding was over I called her to make sure that she made it home okay, and I also asked her out on a date. She said yes, so the next weekend we went out and had a really good time.

After the first date we texted for a bit and then agreed to plan another date at some point. At that time my schedule was a bit hectic and I didnt know when we could go out again for sure, so I told her I would let her know later on in the week if I was free the next weekend. Well I woke up to a good morning text, which was very nice. I've been single for quite some time and it's been a while since someone texted me just to check in. We texted pretty much the whole day, and I called her on my way home from work. I have about an hour commute so it was nice to have someone to talk to. We didn't really talk about anything serious and was mostly chatting about different things we each had going on. We eventually got off the phone and we didn't text much that evening.

So the next day is kind of the same. She sends me a screenshot of a notification that she wanted me to see, but I noticed that she had changed her screen to a picture of the two of us. I didn't think much about it, but I though it was bit odd to change her lock screen that quickly, considering we haven't been on a 2nd date yet. So on my way home I call her again and tell her that I'm free to go out for the coming weekend and I ask if she would like to go out. So she's in college and that weekend happened to be the homecoming game, and she was running for homecoming queen, so I plan to go watch the game with her parents and watch her do her thing (excuse my ignorance since I'm not real familiar with this type of thing and im not sure what the technical term is). After the game I go out to eat with her and her parents, which isn't a big deal because I've known her parents for a long time and they knew we were talking.

After we left from dinner me and Ashley drove around for a bit and talked. She mentioned that she had already told her family (aunts/uncles/cousins) about me and that they were excited to meet me. Which I started to feel smothered, but I stuck it out and went along with it. Then I mentioned that my family was having a cookout the next day, and I told her that I would more than likely skip it. She asked if I would like to take her and introduce her to everyone, and I politely declined. I explained that I never really introduced anyone to my family and I would like to make the relationship official before doing that. She seemed a little disappointed but we moved on and still had a good rest of our night.

So the next few days goes by and we're still talking and texting, not really getting into anything to serious. One day I happen to get off of work pretty early so I asked Ashley if she would like to meet me for dinner later, and we did. After eating we decide to go back to my place and watch a movie, so we head towards my place. After getting home we were chatting about our future plans and she mentioned she had been looking at jobs for me in city her grad school is located at. She's in her senior year of college and I'd going to a veterinarian school about 4 hours away after she graduates. Which we discussed it, mostly about the both of us being okay knowing she would have to spend most of her time 4 hours away if we decided to stay together, But we didn't talk about both of us moving. I really like my job and the job I currently have is hard to get and I would likely not get it back if I left for 4 years and then tried to come back. And honestly that's the only thing I really see holding me back from moving with her if we stay together, but I never discussed that with her. She also informed me that she was looking at apartments for us, which i feel like is alot considered were not officially together yet.

So right now I feel like she is moving way to fast for me but I really don't want to hurt her feelings or cause trouble by bringing it up. I've tried to give her some hints that things are going to quickly for me, but she doesn't really seem to pick up on them. I really want this to work out because I honestly love the girl, I just need her to turn things down a notch. I'm not the best at dealing with emotions and feelings, so I would appreciate any advice on bringing this up to her without hurting her feelings, thanks!

TLDR: I'm talking to a girl that's taking things quicker than I am comfortable with, would like advice on bringing it up without hurting her feelings.