Search Results: holding back

In December 2024, I met a guy on an app and was instantly attracted to him. He expressed that he found me pretty, which made me feel special. Despite the age difference of 1 year and 10 months—me being older—I didn’t think it would lead anywhere serious. However, I was pleasantly surprised when we began talking every single day. He would text me at any moment, even while he was at school or at practice, sharing pictures of what he was doing. Our conversations often stretched late into the night, sometimes until 1:00 AM, and he consistently sent me good morning texts that brightened my day.

As our connection deepened over the months, I noticed that he was genuinely invested in my life, asking about my family and recommending places he thought I’d enjoy. His enthusiasm is evident in his texting style; he often double, triple, and even quadruple texts, which shows how much he enjoys communicating with me. However, about six months in, while he was on vacation, his good morning texts stopped, although he still reached out regularly.

Now, nearly a year into our relationship, I’m left wondering why he hasn’t asked me out. It feels like we have a strong bond, akin to a romantic relationship, yet there’s no official label. He has shown signs of jealousy when I mentioned dating someone else, which makes me think he has deeper feelings for me. Despite our closeness, I’m unsure if he sees me as just a close friend or if he’s hesitating to take the next step. Our dynamic is unique, filled with warmth and connection, but I can’t help but wonder what’s holding him back from making a move.

I was out with a group of friends, during the night my friend met up with her cousin and her friends, there was a guy in the group who was drop down my dream guy during the night I saw him looking over at our table and making eye contact with me and smiling. I presumed he was just being friendly.

Later in the night as we were all leaving his friend (who is also a girl) shouted across to say I was gorgeous, and she loved my hair, he was standing with her smiling and held eye contact. It could have been me but I felt he was interested, but I'm not sure if he is just a sweet and friendly guy. As we were leaving he hung back and walked across with me smiling while my friends joked about me being gorgeous (he was laughing and smiling the entire time). We didn't say much together when we walked alongside each other. I walked in behind him and he held the door for me, a guy came into my face to chat me up and he was holding the door for me smiling again and waited until I went in and brushed off the other guy and ran inside. As we went into the bar he stayed standing near me by the wall while his friends went to the bar, again another guy came up and he smiled again.

Throughout the night I would keep catching his eye but he never once tried to make a move or talk to me. My friends thought his friend was trying to give him a pep talk but he never did come up to me. What do ye think?