Why is he constantly teasing me about liking other guys?

Let's call him John. He'll pair me up with guys I have absolutely no interest in and he knows that.

Here are some of the things he has done:

John texted me one day when we were at work (we work together) and he said that he talked to "Pat" (another co-worker who is really weird and creepy) and Pat said pat and I were a thing. Turns out he never even spoke to pat and just made it up, but why?

I was talking to him on the phone one night after he called me and I mentioned that Kevin (co-worker of ours) kept asking me if I was going to go to this girls going away party. John said "maybe he wanted you to be his date"

John has also joked about me having a crush on this guy we know who is a big flirt and messes around with girls. I do not have a crush on him and I've told John this-- we've talked about how much of an a**hole he is but he still joked about it. When we were talking and both of us were being serious, he said he'd have to protect me from guys like ____.

I have a huge crush on John- the guy who is teasing me. My gut tells me he likes me back based on a number of things- like how he talks to me, treats me, always asks me if I'm alright if I seem "off," his tone with me simply seems softer gentler, always goes on break with me at work, remembers everything I say, seems interested in my life (asking me about school, vacations and my family). We text fairly often, more than I do with any other guy. We've never hung out outside of work but we recently discussed it and he mentioned he would like to hangout.

So why do you think he is doing this? Is he trying to get me to say "I like someone else... you?"

I'm scared to tell him I like him. Yes, I do think he likes me but there is still that little part of me that is unsure since he hasn't made a move yet. But that could be because he has never had a gf? I don't want to make things awkward between us since we work together.

So what are your opinions on this guy? Does he like me or not?