Search Results: looking older than i am

I'm not sure if this guy in class likes me back so maybe you can help me figure it out.

A few things to keep in mind

• We sit next to each other, so a lot of what I see is from my peripheral
• We're 17, (I know It says otherwise I thought you had to be 18 and over to sign up so I made it older than I was)
• There was this one time when we were playing trivia in class and I was 1 point ahead of him and I think he was flirting/making banter because he basically said "I'll pay you to lose" or something like that but then after he said that he kept looking at me then down then back up at me and at one point he gazed into my eyes for like a good 5 seconds and I was kinda taken aback and made me a bit nervous.
• Another time we were doing a video project that required us to ask some of our classmates for help so basically he was going around the room asking everyone up else for help filming his video and every time he would sit back down at his desk he would look at me and when I would look at him he would look back at his laptop. When he did finally ask me he seemed a bit red in the face but it was kind of hot in the classroom so it could have been that.
• Sometimes my teacher likes to sit in the same row as us and grade work, so naturally I would ask her questions and when I would he would look at me while I was talking but I only would he look at me he would sort of guess into my eyes sort of dreamy like, (which I think is unnecessary like why are you looking at me right now focus on your work) but anyway

But at the same time I don't think that he likes me that way because sometimes when I talk to him he won't look at me directly : (

If he does like me back what should I do? Should I write him a letter? Should I try to talk to him more, I'm kinda playing hard to get right now.

Sorry for the long read, thanks for any help in advance!

Me and my friend have had similar age preferences for years and that was to stick to men our age. I’m 40, she’s 39. People have been telling us for years to date men who were several years older than us. This includes our parents, aunts and uncles, each other’s parents, family friends, church members, etc. she’s even had friends our own age tell her that she should be dating older men (or so she says). I decided to give it try last spring after my same age boyfriend who had two kids and massive debt dumped me for being “too good” for him (I supported his broke ass financially), and I can say my luck changed drastically. Current guy is 55 years old and we both agreed we’re stuck with each other. At the end of summer, I had a party and invited my friend (recently heartbroken about being dumped but a guy our age for a younger girl), my boyfriend, all of his friends and all of their wives LOVED her. Every one of them and myself all thought she was perfect for a friend of theirs who was looking for someone just like her, so we agree to try to fix them up (the friend had met her once before at a charity event we were working). BF’s friend is also 55, retired, financially secure, gets a pension every month, good Christian, still works part time, has his house paid off and is looking for a woman to spoil rotten. So we pitch the idea to his friend, and the friend’s response is “that girl is a catch! She’s a nice girl with a good heart, she’s doing something with her life and she’s ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! Yes, please fix me up with her.” I mention it to her and try to convince her to no avail, she won’t date him just because he’s 16 years older than her. I told her she needs to be dating men in their 50’s and early 60’s, not our age. She said NEVER. I told her then that she’s a stubborn asshole who’s throwing away a good guy. Opinions? I want to show this to her to make her realize this is true. Women have been marrying older men for years so it clearly works.