i've been hanging with a younger girl for about 5-6 months now, and recently she's been attempting to communicate that she wants to be my girlfriend.

this culminated today in the following text exchange:

her: i like you.
me: i like you too (neg-nickname)
her: you're good and i want to be with you for a while
me: (smirk emoji)

i then changed the subject without ever addressing her saying that. i'd like to be in a relationship with her, but i'm having difficulty figuring out how to communicate that effectively, as part of me fears it will somehow kill attraction or end "the chase." also, the whole "for a while" part kinda irked me, but she's never been in a serious relationship and is pretty guarded, so i'm assuming this is her just trying not to seem as into me as she really is or not scare me off, as i've avoided this topic regularly.

any advice on how to communicate that i accept the idea of us being in a relationship in the right frame? what is the best thing to say in this scenario? should i just be straightforward and honest (something that rarely is advised in the PUA world)?

also, texting this to her seems absolutely ridiculous. i'm definitely gonna talk face to face.

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You must be overconfident and cocksure, even if you haven't got a god damn thing in the world going for you. And you must fail with women until you do not fear the possibility of failure, whereupon you will succeed wildly.

You could have just sealed it right there if you want to be in a relationship with her...

her: you're good and i want to be with you for a while
me: I suppose you're in then. Probationary status only

Face to face - way better... I'm surprised she would do that over text, but I don't know your ages... Maybe she's more comfortable with that shit.

If/When she brings it up in person, take the same approach and play it to the situation -- like the example above (though that one may not fit, depending what she says).

If it's what you want, all you have to do is say yes. You're playing it like someone who doesn't want that.