he won't commit but won't let me go

She said she loves me and the time we spend together, but she needs space. She explained she doesn't want to commit to anything yet because she's so young.

It hurt, bad. I figured it was about wanting to sleep with other people, and I understood that, considering her age. She’s 23, works as a bartender, and has guys hitting on her nonstop.

Four or five months into seeing each other, I’d given her the option for space. I told her she could take it if she wanted, but she said she didn’t want to stop and that she wanted me. It felt like more than friends with benefits, even though we never called it anything else.

In the seven months since we started, she slept with two other guys—one at the beginning, one midway through. She told me about them, and I said as long as she was honest, I could handle it.

But after her recent text, I told her we probably shouldn’t keep going. It didn’t matter. The next day, she was FaceTiming and texting me again. We’re still having sex, still talking every day, like nothing changed.

I’m invested. I know for a fact that she really likes me, but she keeps saying we’re just friends. I don’t want to cut things off, but I don’t want to feel that pain again. I keep thinking about all the emotion and time I’ve put in, and the connection we have—great sex, great conversations. I wonder if I’m being strung along.

I don’t know if I should end it completely to protect myself, or keep going and risk getting hurt again. I haven’t decided. I’m just stuck here, not knowing what to do next.