I have been friends with this guy (we’ll call him Mark) for two and a half years. We attended the same school, but he was a senior when I was a sophomore. 15 year old me thought he was FINE SHYT, so I eventually found mark’s instagram, followed him, slid up on his note and we conversed there on. However, he started talking to a different girl, completely oblivious to my crush on him. Ultimately, out of respect for that forming relationship, I gave up and started dating a different guy, who happened to be his cousin.
I dated his cousin for seven months about a year ago and then broke up with him because he was not emotionally mature enough for a relationship. Simple as that. After the relationship was over, Mark and I had grown closer and became more comfortable with each other. We’ve been texting almost everyday since then. It’s gotten to the point that we have confided to one another about personal issues that we haven’t told anyone else.
My ex however, doesn’t want Mark to have anything to do with me. So whenever Mark is with my ex, he tells me not to text him until he texts me first. Regardless of my ex, we started to hang out more.
At first, it was me, Mark and his other cousin (who we’ll call Daniel, 17 M). Fast forward, Mark and I started to hang out one on one either at my house or in his car in front of my house. Because of what had happened before with the other girl, I thought I had no chance with Mark, so I didn’t choose to pursue him romantically and rather treat him as a friend instead.
Eventually, Mark and I had started to hang out one on one. Our hangouts usually take place in the evening to about 2 in the morning. On several occasions Mark has told me that if he could stay out later with me he totally would.
Throughout these hangouts, I learned that Mark had known who I was before I ever heard of him. He told me that he saw me at the fair three summers ago, but never said anything because I hadn’t known who he was. I just find this interesting because…im not that popular.
After many times of him coming over and laying in the same bed as me, I noticed how much more touchy he had become. I must admit, I believe I made the first move by resting my head on his shoulder occasionally. We gradually warmed up to each other’s touch and started casually poking and tickling each other teasingly. Then we started doing something that I never would’ve thought anyone would do as just friends.
One night, we were on my bed and i was resting my head against his shoulder. All of a sudden, I feel a wet sensation against my forehead. I look up and he had licked my forehead as a joke. So duh Im going to do it back because you’re not just going to do that to me and get away with it. As the night progressed, the licking continued to happen but it was less friendly and more intimate. We would full on lick each other’s faces to the point that slobber was left behind on the other person’s face. Throughout this night, I don’t know if he noticed, but I could tell that our lips had come close to touching a few times. Finally, it was two in the morning when he had decided it was time for him to leave. I had walked him out to his car and we hugged (a recent new development; we don’t do side hugs). As I was walking up my driveway, he shouted from his car “we don’t talk about that”. When he got home, he texted me apologizing for initiating and claiming that he was the one that did the most. So clearly it was still on his mind even after it happened. The situation was never mentioned again from there onward.
Now, the thing that made me want to come on here and get advice was last night with him. Mark, Daniel and I were going out to eat at 8PM, but around 10PM daniel had to go home. Whenever the three of us hang out, Mark usually drops me off first (as he and Daniel live really close to each other making it more convenient for him as the driver of the trio). However, Mark dropped Daniel off first, then took me to my house. Instead of getting out of the car, we parked in front of my house and sat and talked until 2 in the morning.
During that time, the same thing had happened with the licking situation, except we had come really close to kissing unintentionally. For a moment, our lips grazed one another and we quickly backed away. He blamed it on me, saying I had moved my head when I wasn’t supposed to. But then we just kept licking each other after that like it was normal. When this situation first occurred, I chalked it up to be a one time thing, but now I’m not so sure.
Adding on, Mark has made it hard for me to view him as just a friend because of the things he does for me. Just to name a few, he’s bought me $30 worth of video games (he surprised me with them after he agreed to come over), he’s taken me to get flowers for my mom the day before mother’s day, bought my family pizza for dinner, and has even offered to take me to get new clothes for my senior year after I had mentioned I wanted to go shopping for a new style. Mark has done many things similar to these, but this was to just make a few.
Essentially, I’m coming here looking for advice, specifically from guys who have close friends that happen to be girls. Is this normal? Is mark just that comfortable with me? Does it seem like he wants me in a romantic aspect or is he just looking to mess around? I’ve asked my friends what their perspective is and they collectively agreed that it seems like he is into me, but they have a biased opinion. So let me know.
I also ask that this story doesn’t get posted ANYWHERE ELSE but here because I really don’t want Mark to see it. The details would make it obvious to him that this relates to us. Please and thank you😇
TL;DR: Guy best friend of two and a half years and I have been being touchy and comfortable enough in our friendship that we lick each other’s faces. We’ve never kissed, but came close once because we accidentally grazed lips. Is this normal for guy and girl friendships or does he have feelings for me and doesn’t want to admit them?