I dated quite a bit, screwed around a bit more, and found myself spending more and more time with a female friend, who happened to enjoy college football games, grilled foods, and didn't mind the guns (she went shooting a few times to see what it was like, but never came to enjoy it). Anyways, when my father went into a coma after brain surgery for an aneurism, I called her, cried on her shoulder over the phone, and the next day, she was there. She burned up two weeks vacation to be with me until my dad died. That's when I knew that if she was willing to hold my hand as I walked through hell, she'd be there for the long haul.
It'll be 10 years next May. We've got a house, two kids, bills to pay, and she's still holding my hand, watching college football with me on the weekends.
If you've been friends first, and it feels right, take a chance. It's better to know than to always wonder "what if..."