<human>: Yes this again. Hopefully my case is interesting enough to warrant some replies haha.

Bit of backstory: (I'm 24, girls are 23)
I was friends with my ex for a few years before we finally started dating. It was a bit of a roller coaster and we ended up breaking up about a year later. We maintained casually seeing each other and hooking up for about 6 months after that until she completely ended things (spring last year) and started dating a guy (and a few guys since). I later found out that while we were dating she had cheated on me on several occasions, but after a lengthy cooling down period we decided we were friends for so long we'd try the just friends thing. Which is fine since I have zero romantic feelings for this girl now and have said as much (and she said it as well). So far things have gone about as well as can be expected, no animosity now or anything.

During this whole ordeal  I maintained a friendship with one of her best friends. We had always gotten along exceedingly well and we texted frequently. The Ex knows we've hung out a few times doing things with groups of people, but what she doesn't know is we have since developed feelings for one another. However, we are ultimately unsure how to proceed without everything blowing up. We've been stuck in this sort of limbo for months now.

Ideally i'd like my ex to realize her friend makes me happy and that this isn't some personal attack on her or something, just moving on.
I figure i'll ask the ex next time we hangout that I was thinking of asking her friend on a date or that I like her, not sure. Either way, I figure if i ask then the blame lies on me if its not received well rather than hurt their friendship.

Can you provide a brief rundown of the text in within 3 sentences?
<bot>: My ex cheated on me. Its been a year and a half since we broke up. Her best friend and I click really well and would love to start a relationship, but we're afraid of potential fallout and messiness.