Search Results: taking relationship slow

I live in dorms next door to a guy I met in August - we're good friends and have a solid group of mutual friends, and sober he's very intellectual and just a nice person to talk to.

A group of us went on a trip and one night he and I were up talking and he drunkenly kissed me on the forehead twice.
A few weeks later, he and I were with a small group and he was casually and very loosely taking my hand to hold it, putting his arm around my shoulders, as well as the front of my waist when we'd stop walking, etc. After sobering up a little he and I went found a way up onto the wall of a library and he made sure he was holding my hand the way up and the way down because I'm scared of heights.
That next night, three of us went on a walk mostly sober and he was doing a lot of the same things, as well as playing with my hair. It got to a point that the other girl who was with us wound up back at the building way quicker, because everytime I stopped to show him something we were even more delayed with him being slow and pretty touchy.
Once we got back to the building, we were sitting on a couch together and he was tracing circles on my knee cap as I talked to him, and at one point I could feel him staring at the side of my face, and when I asked "What?" he whispered "Nothing."
When he and I went to our rooms to go to sleep, he gestured for a hug, which I don't think we'd ever done before. It was like really long and stuff, and I felt like if I looked up he would kiss me - which I dont know if thats my own insecurity or a mutual tension, because when I pulled away he put his arms bakc, bringing us into a second hug.

He knows I'm in a long distance relationship, and I honestly cannot tell if he likes me and is trying to test the limits here, or if he's genuinely just a touchy guy. I dont want to make a wrong assumption and lose a good friend or my boyfriend.

Please help!!