<human>: Can you provide a brief overview of the text?

Throwaway because my friend is a redditor.

My girlfriend had to leave the country for a temporary job and I won't see her for another 8 months. Around the time she left I befriended a lady and we've really hit things off over the past few weeks. I don't have many friends and almost everything I used to do I would do with my girlfriend whether it's grabbing froyo late at night or a quiet night out with a glass of wine. 

The issue is that with the girlfriend out of the picture this new friend has suddenly been part of these activities and we spend a LOT of time together now. I love my girlfriend and I don't want to do anything that would compromise our relationship (whether perceived or actual) but I feel like I'm spending too much time with this girl and am getting too emotionally attached to her. This may be problematic for me because right now I'm faced with a lot of stress from work, family, and my own health which leaves me with a sense of emotional vulnerability which might lead me to compromise my friendship with this girl and my relationship. I don't consider myself to be the most charming man by any stretch but this girl looks up to me and thinks very highly of me as a man; she's made remarks in the past such as "you're a perfect and well-rounded guy" or "I wish more men could be like you" and I feel this may be something I could exploit if things were to ever escalate. The likelihood of any of this happening is very low but I'm not one to take risks.

What I feel is the best course of action is to prevent things from going further and to ease up on how much time I spend with her and try to place certain conditions on what I can/cannot do with her (for example, avoid spending time with her alone at her place). My question is two fold, would it be an appropriate move to limit how much time I spend with her? If I do, should I try to do this quietly or have a sit down with her and explain all of this?
<bot>: Girlfriend gone, getting close to new lady friend, scared I might get too close. Should I try to distance myself, how, and if I do should I tell her?