[Lily-Thompson]

I (24F) have been best friends with him for years, and lately something feels different. We’ve always been close the kind of friendship where we can finish each other’s sentences but recently I’ve been picking up so many little signals that I can’t ignore. It’s confusing because we never talk about “us,” and I don’t want to ruin what we already have, but my heart is doing flips and I need outside perspective.
Here are the things that make me wonder: once, while we were sitting in his car a slow song came on and we both went quiet and it got awkward; we call each other cute nicknames; he teases me in a way that feels extra tender; at the movies I’ve caught him staring more than once and even copying the way I sit after a few minutes; he suddenly cares how he looks, saying he should’ve changed his shirt; I’ve met his parents and had dinner at his house after helping him with a flowerbed — his parents even acted like it was a “meet the girlfriend” kind of dinner. He’s sung to me in silly languages, hinted at wanting to do things and then made them happen, called me out of the blue asking if he should call me and hinting at plans. Most of our real conversations happen alone in his car. In groups his friends say hi but don’t stick around it’s like he wants us alone. If the idea of us being a couple comes up he gets defensive or shuts down, which makes me even more unsure.
I’m terrified of bringing it up and changing our friendship, but I also don’t want to keep pretending I don’t notice. I like him back and I’m tired of sitting on my feelings while the one person who might feel the same is right in front of me. I’ve tried dropping small hints and waiting to see if he reacts, but nothing direct has happened.
Has anyone else been in this position? How do you tell the difference between deep friendship and a crush in a lifelong friend? Should I say something directly, or gently ask him about how he feels in private? What are subtle, safe ways to open the conversati

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