Friends....erm kind of

Where does the line between 'I love you' and 'I am in love with you' begin and end? If a relationshio begins as platonic is it forever destined to be only that or can it evolve from love to LOVE? One of my best(and hardest to walk away from) relationships began in a true friendship. The kind where you tell each other everything, hang out when you can't be asked to go on a date, give one another advice on the opposite sex and don't care if they stop by unannounced first thing in the morning for coffee. The thing is, if you take that to another level, will you ever get what you had back if the romance doesn't work? And if you do, will it forever be tainted? Once you cross a certain line with a friend, there's no dipping your toes in the water to test the temperature before a dive. It's all or nothing, you know each other too well to ask about sybllings and Uni studies over a pint. It then becomes futures. Kids or no kids, dog or cat, home or abroad. But is the risk worth the reward? I guess that depends on your nature. Are you a risk taker who lives life on the edge and puts it all on red 23? Or are you prone to take the comfortable route and play it safe? To those in my life who are asking themselves these questions at the moment, I wouldn't change my decision for anything and neither should you.