You've been friends for a long time. You tell each other everything, even who you're dating and how it's going. Then suddenly it happens. The change occurs without you even realizing it.
Suddenly, this comfortable, easy-going friendship takes on a new form and becomes a burgeoning romantic relationship. It's more cuddly, it's more endearing. Next thing you know, the two of you are a full-blown couple and are more than friends.
Here are 4 surefire signs he likes you more than a friend, according to psychology:
1. Your friends start making obvious comments
All of a sudden every time you go out with a group of friends (and you and your guy pal are there), comments slip out about how cute the two of you would look as a couple, how into each other you two are, and how compatible your personalities are.
Often your friends may see the romance spark before you do! So pay careful attention to the way other people perceive your interactions with your friend who might be growing to be more than a friend.
2. He calls or texts you daily, often right before bedtime
Gorodenkoff
Out of nowhere, before you even noticed, the two of you started talking every day, at length, about nothing, and you're secretly loving it. What did you have for lunch? How was your day? What are you doing right now? Research on romantic interactions of emerging adults shows this talking stage is a form of intimacy.
You chat together for hours without noticing the time goes past. One of you comments, "When did the sunset? Have we been talking for that long?!" Then, you are on another tangent talking more. You begin to look forward to these conversations with your guy "friend" and a day that goes by without a casual chat just doesn't seem right.
3. You've developed pet names for each other
It used to be a "Hey, you" kind of thing. Now, it's "Sweetie this" and "Hey babe" that. You start hearing, "Honey, love, or darling" regularly at the end of calls and conversations or added in the middle of a statement.
Research from Texas Tech University on personal idiom use and affect regulation in romantic relationships reinforces how the development of pet names in a relationship often indicates closeness. His texts now include the added "Sweetheart" and "Doll." You don't point it out and make things awkward. You just let your heart melt and start answering this new litany of adorable pet names.
4. You find yourself always touching
Whether it's watching the game on the big-screen TV or playing catch in the park, what used to be high-fiving and patting on the back friend-style becomes a softer, gentler hand-holding, draping arms on shoulders, sitting on laps, and hugging kind-of thing, as supported by an overview of the science of interpersonal touch.
Your playful interactions inevitably lead to your first little sweeter than a Hershey's kiss on the forehead. When all the signs are there it's bound to happen. Then, the little forehead kiss drifts down. You get a kiss on the nose. There's a lingering moment, and, Wham! The first legitimate kiss is shared, and both of you know you are in love.
Julie D. Andrews is a health writer and editor. Her articles have appeared in print and on websites such as Prevention, Shape, Fitness, Glamour, Elle, New York Magazine, Reader’s Digest, Yahoo!, and others.
