Search Results: should i call first

Over the past few months, my colleagues have been ruthlessly teasing me about another colleague (we'll call him John). John and I are both in administrator roles, the colleagues who are teasing us are teachers. If we all go out for drinks, they tell me not to worry about getting drunk because John will drive me home. If I request that someone assist me with something and John volunteers first, I'll tell other colleagues who later volunteer to never mind because John is already on it and they tease me because I don't need them since John (emphasis) responded. They glance at each other and smirk when John and I are together and one even obviously lingered to eavesdrop during our conversation. They also bring him up in conversation a lot and one of them (his closest friend) was watching like a hawk when John and I were speaking in the hallway (though she was too far away to hear our conversation I think). None of the teasing or eavesdropping seems malicious. Most of them are very good friends with John and have worked with him for a few years.

I'm not sure how it all started. I suspect that a couple of the paraprofessionals (who aren't a fan of me or John) started a rumor and it eventually reached the teachers. Either that or the teachers are just trying to play matchmaker. The thing is though, John has been extremely supportive of me in some of the challenges I've faced this year, and in the last month, he's grown on me in a way that's surprised me. I'm seeking employment elsewhere, and wondering if, when I leave, I should ask John on a date. I'm not sure if he feels the same way though. I would say that maybe my colleagues picked up on me developing feelings for John over the last month, but the teasing has been going on for months, and when I first started, my colleagues told me they were intimidated because I was difficult to read (RBF), but once they got to know me, they liked me a lot. Do you think their teasing me is a hint that he has feelings for me too?

I met this guy online a few years ago from a dating website. He is from England and I’m from USA, and we dated online at first for a little while. As time went on, he stated his mental health problems and how he couldn’t be in a long distance relationship anymore. I didn’t hold him back so he left, but we had been texting on and off throughout the years. He wishes me a happy birthday and holiday, stuff like that.

within the last few months, we reconnected a lot more like more phone calls to texting. He even admitted to realizing that I might be the girl for him since throughout all these years, no woman near him had made him feel the same as I made him feel. He even had a plan where if we meet up within the next 2 years then we can get married considering how much we both went through. I was flattered but concerned since I didn’t want to get hurt again if he wasn’t ready mentally, so I asked if he was sure. He said he wasn’t and then stopped talking to me for a couple of months for a mental break only to reappear as if nothing happened.

I asked him if he still wanted to do that 2 year plan and he said sure, we text somewhat often still now. But, he told me recently that he joined a dating app just because of boredom and was laughing at how women messaged him for sex. I was confused since based off what he confessed, i should be the only one he needs to be focused on. I’m just nervous now that he’s going to try to date other women before we actually meet up and then have his feelings confused on who he likes more, or just trying to have random encounters in the meantime. I mean I can’t control him but we do have a plan to meet up by the end of this year or next year so I don’t understand why would he do this. Please share your thoughts below, thanks.