Arm on the back of your chair?

[swimqueen4848]

i always sit next to a male friend of mine in church...almost every week we sit next to each other...recently, however, he started putting his arm around the back of the bench as we sit together. initially, he started with just having his elbow there and kinda leaning on it but now he'll put his arm around me and several people have asked if we're a couple...

am I supposed to be making anything of this? is this normal? do guys do this with their good female friends or do they hope that itll eventually lead to more?

[Distant]

If his arm is around you, he's either the flirty, hands-on type of he's claiming you. Why else would someone put their arm around your chair? That's why people are inquiring about you two being a couple. I do not do this to my close female friends. Then again, I only flirt and am hands-on with girls I have a romantic interest in.