Hi Dr NerdLove,
I’ve got a problem… I like this girl and we’re close friends but I want to tell her that I like her but not actually ask her out yet. Is there any way of doing this without sounding like an idiot?
This presents an interesting question: you want to tell her you’re interested, but you don’t want to ask her out…yet. Why the hell not? Absent more detail – you’re about to go to war? You want to make sure you beat this life-threatening disease? You want to defeat her seven evil exes first? – I’m forced to wonder why you want to tell her you like her in the first place.
Regardless, it’s pretty simple: you just tell her. She’s probably already got a clue that you’re interested in her; guys, especially younger ones, aren’t nearly as good at hiding their feelings as they like to think. Avoiding sounding like an idiot is just as easy: keep it short and simple. Any beating around the bush or hemming and hawwing is only going to come off as awkward and insecure; not the image you want to present when you’re trying to confess your feelings.
Take her aside and say “Listen, I just want to lay this out there: I like you and I want to be more than friends… later.” And then you’d better have a damn good reason for it ‘cuz otherwise you may not look like an idiot, but you’re definitely going to come across as weird.