Asklemmy

From what you've described, it sounds like she's a straight forward and direct person, which is good. Just be straight forward and direct (but tactful) with her. Something like, "I'm sorry, I think I misunderstood the situation. I'd like to hang out as friends, but I'm not looking for anything more." Optionally, "We can have that drink if it's just as friends, but I'm not going to lead you on if you want something more."

Be honest with her and expose things clearly, tactfully, and not bluntly. Tell her that you find her amazing but that that the only thing you can offer right now is friendship.

As for the age: (n/2)+7 is a suggestion, not a law. Take things on a case to case basis and a day at a time. I'm gonna turn 40 in march and would need a great amount of rapport with someone younger than 30 or older than 45 to be interested and have the energy to make it work on a long term.

First: as someone with a strong evangelical Christian background, I can sympathize with discussions about sex--and specifically about your sex life--being deeply uncomfortable. Unfortunately, that's something that you're going to have to discuss with any potential romantic partner, and sooner rather than later. (Because let me tell you, significant differences in sex drive and desire will tank every and any relationship).

Second: Drinks are not necessarily a commitment to anything more. I would prefer coffee (or tea) as a first date since it's even lower pressure, but many people prefer alcohol because it's a social lubricant. Your call there. My suggestion would be to start by getting to know the person. I'm autistic (seriously), and IMO the most honest approach is to be direct, despite how hard it is when you want to please people. Yes, being a people pleaser means that you're going to want to tell her what you think she wants to hear, rather than what you really feel, and that will bite you in the ass, repeatedly. And yeah, anxiety and things like rejection sensitive dysphoria are going to make that exceptionally hard.

Third: you said that she was a ride to a meeting; can you elaborate on what kind of meeting? I'm asking because if this is someone that you're going to have to see in a professional setting, you do need to proceed very carefully. Workplace relationships--or relationship rejections--can be very fraught.

Last: I'm not as immediately opposed to age gaps in relationships as some people. I do generally think that the (n/2)+7 rule is a decent rule of thumb, but it's not an absolute. The reason that rule generally exists, IMO, is that people in different generations have different cultural markers, things that were significant in the formation of their personality and worldview, and large differences there can make relationships more challenging. E.g., if you remember 11 September '01 and the political fallout, while she grew up fully immersed in the prevailing political climate, then it might be hard to see eye to eye on some things. There can also be imbalances of maturity and power that can result from larger age differences, e.g., you might be much more set both professionally and financially, which could make the relationship less equal. So it's something to be aware of and careful about.

Best to talk to her before anything else and explain that you're flattered, but not interested. Don't lead her on.

It sounds like you two share some traits, so it seems like being honest about your feelings might be somewhat low risk. If you both have depression and some form or anxiety, she might be having similar feelings. It could be that, while you go along as a coping mechanism, she blurts out what she's thinking to the same end.

In the end, if you value your relationship with her, honestly is always the best policy.

“Hey, I was wondering if you could help me figure something out. I was really flattered by your invite the other day, but I’m not interested in dating right now. I enjoy your friendship and I don’t want to jeopardize it. Is there a way we can comfortably set boundaries without ruining that?”

IMO this way you let them know you’re interested in maintaining a relationship but at a friendship level. You demonstrate that you care about their feelings while clearly establishing the need for specific boundaries.

If you're totally uninterested, independently of potential awkwardness, I'd basically explain as much. "I think you're cool and we have a lot in common, but I've been thinking and realized I might not be comfortable with the age difference and potentially changing the group dynamic."

If it's purely the potential external consequences that have you ready to cut off the possibility, and you could actually see yourself in a relationship with them, I'd say you could mention that concern, but don't let it make the decision for you. Sounds like this is someone likely to understand social anxiety and who also values the group dynamic, so I doubt they'd react super negatively to mentioning that you want to be careful about that and preserve it while seeing if there's more there between the two of you.

I can relate to what I'm hearing from you. All I can say is that you'll just have to bite the bullet and have the awkward situation now or have it be twice as bad later.

You could call her and have a conversation and say that you aren't interested in dating, that you don't want to give her the wrong idea, but you can be friends. (At 32/2+7=23, it's outside of what is generally considered an acceptable age gap.)

The lower limit is half your age plus seven, so if you're 32 years old then it makes sense to feel uncomfortable. Are you even attracted to her?