Your situation is very interesting. Tad, I think you are handling your situation well. Friendship is the first step in any relationship Your relationship w/your GF may remain a friendship and then again, who knows what the future holds...but for now, continue to be you.
I get the sense that your friend's boyfriend isn't all that and a bag a chips. Especially if she's telling you why she likes hanging out w/you. I would listen and validate for now. If she continues to invite you out and ask you to do things, you might want to take a rain check every once in a while...but that's far down the road. Okay?
BTW, I'm glad you had a good time.
Sit quietly, the answers will reveal themselves when you least expect them to. The past is gone, the present is a gift and you need to focus on today, allow the future to reveal itself when it is ready.
