Do you find your guy best friend behaving wierd?
Do you find your friend with benefits getting too close?
Do you find new hope about him finally liking you back?
Do you find a guy putting in too much effort?
It is either your most wanted dream or your scariest nightmare coming true, but your non-romantic bond is not so anymore, emotions and love have conquered your man, or well, the guy who hopes to be your man.
When you know, you know!
But, don’t be too sure about it yet…
Sometimes, he just does it out of courtesy or because he doesn’t want to let you down.
But sometimes when he has recently realized his emotional inclination towards you… but knows how it will complicate things, he tries to fight those feelings.
How to be sure?
Read these signs and see if they are a match. If they are, well you are in trouble, for good or for bad!
10 Signs he likes you but is holding back
1. A step forward and then back
You’ll find yourself shaken up when he starts paying attention to you, instantly replies to your texts, asks you out for dates, pampers you, and plans surprises.
He does it all out of his honest feelings without even being aware that they mean more than just a platonic or sexual bond.
However, you’ll also find them taking a step back and stop being around for a bit.
The heart makes him grow fonder of you but his brains make him withdraw away. His affection for you gets filled with the fear of losing you.
It is always a sudden snap when he laughs and touches your hand, but suddenly pulls away.
He’ll bounce before you can ask him to stay around for dinner.
There might also be days when you’ll feel disappointed when he cancels plans or ditches you, but you must know, he doesn’t do it on purpose.
You’re just being a nice friend or secretly returning his affection, but he gets salty.
His mind is in a battle with his heart, a nasty fight indeed, and he is trying all that he can to hold back.
2. His memory doesn’t faulter
You are not ordinary when he is giving you his full attention.
…and knows everything about you.
Your conversations become important and he seeks every detail. Sometimes, you might forget what you said or who you mentioned, but he’ll recall it right and ask you about it.
Without realizing it, he becomes your go-to guy for answers. He seems to know more about you than you know about yourself.
A funny story indeed, when he randomly calls you and talks about your favorite book, when you can’t even recollect spilling the beans to him!
Let’s not forget about his knowledge about your social media, your friends, and your favorite food.
He’s trying to impress you and his memory supports him. It’s the little things that matter, when he really sees you, really listens to you and really understands what you say. The way he remembers it, shows the truth about him just getting it.
3. All the warm hugs
The goodbye hugs, the ‘Hi, welcome back’ hugs, the ‘great party’ hugs, and the ‘hey, congratulations’ hug, each one of those starts feeling different.
You’ll know it in your gut when the aura feels warmer and you see him have this giddy expression, all excited after he hugs you.
Every girl likes a long, warm hug but when a man honestly hugs his woman, you’ll know it in your heart, it’s genuine.
These small actions will give you the hints that you need.
There’s always one person who initiates these hugs… and if he is fighting his feelings for you, he will stop being the first one!
Sometimes, a hug says a lot more than words. You’ve started being important to him, even if he doesn’t realize it.
4. The Eyes never lie
You’ll find him looking away when you catch him looking at you, with those intense yet admiring eyes.
He desires you; he wants you around and he can’t stop staring at you.
….and tries his best to dodge the bullet, look everywhere but at you, then fails miserably.
Sometimes, even when you both are in a room filled with people, he only wants to find you.
Eyes reflect what the soul feels and his eyes show an endless kind of love for you. Infact, when he laughs or grabs you a cup of coffee, you notice his eyes sparkling along with that smile.
He’ll always look right into you when you’re talking and then get conscious when you ask him about it. After all, some kisses are given from the eyes.
You actually start wondering how you look in his eyes, because you feel valued. Moreover, his eye contact will never creep you out, because it is always filled with care and positivity.
5. A joyful helping hand
He starts staying around more often, even if that means over timing at work.
His lazy personality somehow turns into a workaholic being when he gets the window to be with you. He wants to help you paint, buy groceries, go shopping or even clean, or anything else that’s there.
He is just ALWAYS available for you!
Along the road, he helps and you find both of you spending some quality time together, laughing around while finishing tasks.
He always comes around, making you feel blessed to have him help.
But then again, there are mixed emotions involved but his actions prove that he is worth trusting.
He wants to be a friend in need, is a friend indeed, and can be something more too.
Hey girl, he is trying hard, really HARD but he is unable to hold himself back – now that he knows he has developed some feelings for you.
6. A sprinkle of jealousy
His attitude seems to be changing… and his face just seems off when you’re out with another guy.
Sometimes, he might get upset without even knowing the true reason himself.
He is lowkey jealous when you don’t give him time or chill with other friends.
He doesn’t want to seem like he is into you and might not say it aloud, but his questions, him throwing shade on the guy who met on Tinder or finding excuses to tag along with you, he can’t avoid revealing his hidden secrets.
He’ll keep asking you about your dating life, stay single himself and always wonder, what if he asks you out?
Don’t get mad at him for being jealous, cut him some slack, and enjoy the laughs.
7. Your in-house protector
When he is around, he wants to make you feel safe.
He’ll be the one holding your hand when you get afraid, he’ll give you a warm hug when you had a bad day and he’ll always know how to make you smile.
When you go out to meet someone new, even though he’ll be jealous, his first instinct would be to keep you protected.
He’ll even do his own share of stalking of your date or if you’re planning to go on a trip with friends. And before you know it, he’ll start defending you.
He wants to be the only one that can make jokes on you and will grill anyone else who has even meekly attempted it.
Always there to drop you home, makes sure you don’t pass out at parties, gives you aspirin when you’re sick, and knows what you like.
8. Fidgeting is the new normal
You can’t help but notice him dodging your looks, playing with his fingers, and blinking way too much.
He becomes fidgety with you by his side, impatient to know his true feelings, curious about why he is acting up differently.
When a guy is confused, his body language is the first place to look. He’ll shake his leg when he’s dining with you, he’ll tap his hand in class, he’ll trip over his own feet or he’ll keep blabbering without recognizing these signs.
He’s just nervous and unconsciously tries to hide it this way.
A mind’s way to calm down, notice all you want but give him the space to figure it out, get rid of the fidget.
He’ll keep fixing his hair and his shirt, just because he wants to look as great as you do.
As long as his feelings are unresolved and you both don’t have THE talk, you’ll simply have to bear with it, not every guy has the experience with love.
9. Special deep conversations have become a thing!
Your bond seems to evolve and grow with time, especially when he initiates deep conversations, some even out of the blue.
While girls are known to be more emotionally intricate with their feelings and conversations, men are known to zone out of a heart-to-heart.
So, don’t find it surprising if he likes to get personal, ask questions, and give you a chance to know him better, those are priceless moments for him to remember.
Most of it being unintentional, he can’t stop texting you, calling you, or going for lunch dates.
Infact, you might just find him saying no for movies, even though that could have been your jam as friends because he wants to spend time with you, for you, to talk about anything and everything under the sun.
After all, to have someone understand your mind is a different kind of intimacy.
10. The awkwardness is serious
He has a thing for you and tries his level best to hide it, but when he can’t… It gets awkward.
Somewhere along the road, when you figure it out, know what his true feelings are for you but you don’t want to jump in too soon, the most adorable moment can turn out to be the most awkward one.
He gets a rose for you when you finish your work project and sneaks in a compliment, but dodges eye contact and suddenly says bye when you give him a hug.
It just proves that he values your current relationship status with him but he is also fighting his own demons.
Love should never be a war, for anyone.
You’ll find these moments cute but sometimes, it can mean a long period of cold talk, ignorance when he puts efforts to move on. This is the time for you to take the lead, be honest with him, and bring back your equation with him.
Bonus: If you are confused whether he is really in love or it’s just a crush, here’s something that will help you figure out the difference: Crush v/s Love
What to do next?
If you like a guy and when you see these signs, you know it’s time to slay and confess your feelings for him. Ofcourse, only if you like him too.
It could be the start of something new, something perfect, because he likes you back.
You both would be the perfect couple in town… Let him know that he doesn’t need to fight his feelings and you both can be the best #OTP ever!
But, if you only see him as a friend, we understand, the struggle is real.
You don’t want to mess things up and lose out on your lit friendship or a partner in bed. Then again, you don’t want to forever be in this stage where he is hiding things from himself and from you.
So, take a moment, let him know what you feel and make sure that your bond doesn’t fizzle out. Love is tough, but a confession is tougher.
Let him know that you’re there for him always, whatever be it.
Infact, it is good for him to figure out his true feelings before looping you into the storm. This way, things won’t turn ugly and there will still be a happy ending (if there’s an ending at all! 😉)
No matter how long it takes, true love is worth waiting for!
