Guy friend says he doesn’t like me but treats me differently?

Anonymous
Been friends with guy at work for 8ish months now and he’s always treated me differently - teases me, jokes around, etc. We’ve gotten pretty close. Many people have thought he liked me and it was obvious but he would never say. People even now ask us if we’re together bc we’re always with one another. In the first few weeks of us knowing each other, he asked my friend if I liked him and she couldn’t hide it, but he did not confirm or deny feelings for me when she asked him. A few months later, the same friend asked him if he liked me and he said no. He went through a breakup about a year ago and said that wasn’t a great time for him and that if he ever gets with someone again he wants to be really good friends with them first.

However, he has said that he’ll treat me a certain way or say certain things to me that he wouldn’t say to anyone else. He makes comments all the time about guys I’ve said are cute and pokes fun at me that way (often times seeming jealous), and there’s been a few times he’ll mention girls or an ex, it’s almost like he wants a reaction out of me. He’s said he loves annoying and getting a reaction out of me and he does so 95% of the time.

Of course I want him to like me lol but I consider him one of my best friends, so I want honest opinions. He says he doesn’t like me but continues to do things and say things that make me think otherwise.
Guy friend says he doesn’t like me but treats me differently?
3 Opinion