What would you do if you are in my situation?
I have a guy friend, X. X and I, at the start, we do not get along very well. I thought of him as "hambog" and he thought of me as "entitled princess". Eventually, as time passes, we realized those impressions were incorrect. However, recently, we became friends. He would send me messages about his work. He would rant to me about his work. He would call me when he receives good news or bad news. Coincidentally, he became single. With the starting friendship and change in his status (haha!), I suddenly saw him in a new light. I saw that he is actually a nice guy inside. Then he admitted that he also changed his opinion of me.
Long story short, of course I am starting to like him more than a friend with the constant SMS and phone calls. Don't get me wrong. Those messages and calls are not "flirty" or "personal" conversations. It was more of me being a friend listening to his frustrations in his career, his complaints about his ex-girlfriend, his salary, future options in career. He would mention to me twice or thrice that he is on the "hunt" for a new gf.
Here I am falling for him. Yet, just a few days ago, while in the company of some common friends and officemates, he referred to me as his "best friend". I just laughed but deep inside, I was sad. I know I now have feelings for him. And now he is telling me and others that i am just his friend.
Still, his officemates started teasing us. He would just dismiss them and say "Busy ako sa career". Or sometimes, "best friends" kami.
I know I have a slim chance with him. He has several female friends kasi. He would label some of them also as his "sister" or "best friend".
In my desperate attempt to hide my feelings for him, I would tease him with one of his other female friends. Or really, to anyone else but me.
My problem now is, I want to keep our friendship and yet I don't want to be stuck in the "friend zone". Do I start distancing myself from him? Do I just keep everything civil?
Also, how do I respond to all the teasing? It would be awkward since though we work in two different departments, our company is small so we often see each other and even sometimes work together on the same project.
Any advice? thank you!
