Ok, jokes aside now. A man that likes you secretly will show signs and will do certain things to give him off. For example, people around you will notice, or he’ll do some things subconsciously when he ‘forgets’ to pay attention to what he’s doing/saying. He’s a human after all. Let’s begin the exposing, shall we?
Why is he trying to hide it from you?
Fear A lot of men try to hide their feelings out of fear, mostly out of the fear of rejection, or just fear of getting hurt. They want to make sure that the ‘liking’ is reciprocated in order for them to feel safe and enter the environment of confessing or moving things further. The social environment he grew up in Men showing signs of sensitivity can often be considered as weakness and even demasculinized by a certain group of people. Liking someone takes some sensitivity to be shown at least to some extent. If he grew up with the ‘no sensitivity=masculinity’ mindset, he’ll have a hard time showing his feelings to you. Past experiences in the romantic ‘realm’ ‘Bitter’ experiences in this aspect of life often have some type of effect on people. He’s already got the pressure to be the one who makes the first move, but he also has those past experiences that showed him that not everything turns out with flower petals floating around while spreading their fragrance. Hence, he needs his time to come out of the place of fear. Could just be feeling not ready Whatever that could be going on in his life at the moment, or whatever he already went through in his life, can make him not feel ready to start something new. He can’t help but like you, but he’ll keep it a secret until he’s ready for something romantic in his life to start/start again. Lack of confidence Plain and simple, some men are not confident enough to tell a woman they like that they like her, or ask her out. Some just have that confidence built up in them, and they’re way more straightforward when it comes to romance. Here are the 23 obvious signs he secretly likes you but is hiding it:
1. He looks where you look
How do you know if he likes you but is hiding it? Well, that’s not easy, but this one might just answer a little bit of that question… So, it’s a way to know that they’re aware of your presence. You turn your head and look at the door, or clock, or an object, and you see him looking right where you were looking, well… Let’s say you know this guy at work, this could be one of the ways to tell if he’s attracted to you but hiding it. When he likes you, he’ll constantly be aware and curious about your presence. Even if he’s not looking directly at you, he’ll have that one angle in which he’ll feel your movements. So? Does he look where you look?
2. He doesn’t leave until you do
You’re the last one to leave the party, he’s tired, he’s exhausted, hell he almost fell asleep 3 times tonight, but he ain’t leaving until you do. His friends are insisting on leaving, but they’re speaking to a deaf ear, he’s not listening. He’s.Not.Leaving.Until.You.Do. Leaving or staying. He’ll find ways to be present where you are, and for as long as he can when you’re around. You can tell a man is attracted to you but is hiding it when you see him almost everywhere you go: In the cafe you always go to, in the hallway, in the printing room, he’ll be there.
3. Questions, questions… too many questions
He’ll ask things about you, but he’ll also shoot back questions at you, you know the ones you ask him. He might as well find stupid excuses to talk to you, like ask you what time it is, or a question about something that he can know himself without even asking you. Though the focus is more in knowing you better. If you already talk to one another, he’ll ask questions about you, your life, your likes and dislikes, AND he’ll find his ways to know your relationship status.
4. Protective of you
Someone said something negative to you directly in a group conversation, or is trying to offend you in a passive-aggressive way, he’ll defend you, and you’ll notice when he does. He’ll be protective when you’re crossing the street, you have the idea of his hand on your back type of thing? He does that when he likes you. Though this can be just a person being nice and caring, if combined with other signs, he’s totally into you!
5. He’s a happy happy fellow when you’re around
He is secretly attracted to you, but it’s so obvious that he can’t keep his face muscles straight when you look at him. He’s all smiling and laughing. He’s just an adorable happy fellow. It’s the love hormones kicking in: dopamine & oxytocin, he can’t really help it.
6. He doesn’t mind you invading his personal space
Here’s a scenario for a better understanding of this one: both of you are sitting not so far from each other, yet not as close. The distance keeps growing smaller as you two talk, or just be present, and there comes a moment where your arms touch… he doesn’t move, and neither do you. He’s good with that, he’s comfortable. Hand on the heart, he’s loving it. The fireworks are lit up. Ok, in short, he doesn’t pull away when you two touch even if it is accidental. He keeps that touch. He lets you become his personal space invader. Girl, he wants you. Or, better said, he secretly wants you.
7. He listens to EVERYTHING you have to say
Even the bullsh*t. Yes. He’ll take in as much information as he can. All ears and eyes when it comes to you. He doesn’t interrupt you and pays attention. He’s careful, he doesn’t want to mess this up by being impolite. It’s that type of conversation you’re both engaged in, and on the surface it looks very casual, but in the deeper levels you both feel “a thing” between you.
8. His face changes a little when it comes to ‘competition’
A mention of a guy that likes you, or anyone that could potentially be of his ‘competition’, his face will show his inner thoughts. Not the happy ones. If he likes you, he’s not going to be happy to know that you’re trying to mingle with someone else but him. His facial expressions will betray him, they’ll be a reflection of how he’s feeling inside. And you will definitely know when he’s trying to hide it, and act some type of way in order not to be ‘caught’.
9. He treats you differently – He puts more effort when it comes to you
Let’s say he says hi to everyone else, but to you he says hello. Or, he doesn’t smile very often but he smiles with you, or (weird one, but happens) he’s high fiving everyone and being all touchy but with you it’s different, he doesn’t touch you. He doesn’t laugh much with the lame jokes of other people, but when it comes to your lame jokes he can’t help but laugh. Another example would be if he lets you win at something ‘competitive’. Men in general have that competitive spirit in them, and if he lets you win(and it’s too noticeable)… he likes you, woman!
10. Does ‘big’ things when you’re around
He cracks jokes when you’re around, or at least he’ll try to. He’s so hyped up all of a sudden, he’s happy of course. He’ll find his ways to get attention. At times he might even seem a bit immature because of some weird moves or noises he makes, but it’s just instincts and you can’t really blame him that much for not being able to hold them back.
11. Your friends noticed
No, EVERYONE noticed, everyone but you. They’ve seen him blush, look at you, stare at you from a distance. Believe them when they tell you. Perhaps you’re friends, and you have common friends, they’ll tell you. It’s one of the signs he secretly likes you more than a friend. Secretly, ok? When there’s a thing going on, people around you will notice. If you’re lucky, some of those “around people” will be your friends, and boy, they’ll tell you what they’re seeing!
12. Everyone around laughs and he looks at you first
This is a behavior we do when we try to impress someone. I like to believe that you, too, are familiar with this: you crack a joke, everyone starts laughing, and you automatically look at the person you care to impress among that circle of people. So, he’ll do it if he likes you. Though, keep in mind, he doesn’t necessarily have to like you, or be attracted to you to want to impress you. Simply pay attention when hanging out with him, try to read him a bit.
13. He reflects your mood and energy
You’re sad, he’s sad. You’re happy, he’s happy. When he’s attracted to you, and when he likes you, he’ll be affected by your presence and your energy in the room. So, if he isn’t trying to calm you down, or cheer you up, he’ll be reflecting the exact same mood and energy of yours.
14. He looks away when you catch him looking at you
BUT, he looks again. It goes back and forth, as some sort of natural play that only the two of you know of. Like an inner thing between you two. He looks at you when you’re not aware of it – a way to know this is if your friends tell you so, or if you catch him every single time. At times, he might keep the look a little longer, not the creepy look, I’m talking about that “I notice you, I’m glad you’re noticing me too, let’s notice each other together” type of look.
15. Caring, kind, thoughtful, gentle
If he wants to keep it a secret he won’t be very obvious, but he’ll be kind and gentle when it comes to you. He might get something that you need, or something that you like. Though, if he doesn’t want you to know and wants to be super secretive about it, he might just not buy you things, or ‘flatter’ you with so much stuff. In each case he’ll be caring, kind, gentle, nice, you name it. Ok, now don’t go all suspicious on all your men friends. Look out for other signs and this one combined. He remembers, and he might just go out of his way to help you out when you need something.
16. He asks for your advice, and practices them
He’ll value your opinions, hence he’ll ask for your opinion, your advice and practice it. Let’s say, you made a comment on his appearance, he’ll take it close to heart (well, sort of), and either do it more often, or not do it ever, depending on what you said. Or, you said that you don’t appreciate a certain type of behavior towards you, he’ll respect that, and never do that around you.
17. Nervous movement
He won’t be able to even drink properly in front of you. Instead of getting the glass to his mouth, he’ll put it up to his nose and make a mess everywhere. This is a load of crap what I’m saying… Let’s get into the realsies. You notice his nervousness when you’re around. He’ll stutter, mess up the words or sentences, scratch his head, crack his knuckles, and other nervous movements that we’re so familiar with (because we do them a lot too). This is not crap. You can tell he’s trying to make a good impression on you, which is one of the reasons he’s nervous. Touching things, shaky hands, awkward eye contact, smiles here and there: NEEERVOUS!!
18. He doesn’t let you wait too long for texts
He’s not going to give you the impression of a creep to reply every single time at the exact moment you text him, but he’s not going to let you wait too long either. It’s one of the signs over text that he secretly likes you but is hiding it. You can tell when he likes you through text too. Though don’t confuse the signs, because at the end of the day he could just be a simple guy communicating without the intention of having you as more than a friend/colleague. It’s difficult to tell online, but it’s doable. Definitely doable.
19. When it comes to talking together about relationships, he makes it clear he’s single
You can tell if a guy likes you but is hiding it when he hits you with the ‘I’m single, I’m single, I’m single a thousand times!’ He won’t say it directly, he’ll say it indirectly in a lot of ways of communicating. He doesn’t mention any girl in his life, because he doesn’t want you to think that he’s involved with someone else, as that would most probably make you lose your interest in him. He won’t take that risk.
20. He likes your posts on socials
Now, this is a bit of a tricky one, because anyone can do that. He can be just a good friend, or a colleague showing signs of respect/admiration online. But if most of the signs resonate, and you combine them with this one too, then we have good news (if you like him back, of course).
21. He doesn’t look for ways to end the conversation faster
He’ll try, he’ll really try to start conversations with you personally. And whenever you two have the chance to talk, he won’t be looking for ways to end your conversation faster, on the contrary, he’ll be looking to find ways to talk to you longer. Though at times it can get a little awkward because he might get nervous at some point and say something that doesn’t really make sense, or won’t be able to say anything much and it’ll lead to that awkward silence. My point is not that, my point is that he’ll try to make the conversations longer. He tells you about himself, he asks to know more about you. He may hit you with the “Hmm… I see you’re the type of person to do this or that.” sometimes. In conclusion, he’ll be looking for excuses to stay around you longer, and to have more talks with you.
22. His body language is telling you
Since body language is more of a subconscious thing, he’ll show the signs he secretly likes you through his body language too. As a matter of fact, he won’t be able to hide it. Some of the body language cues that indicate he likes you include: frequent touching, preening, changes in his tone when he speaks to you, his mouth opening slightly when he sees you, his pupils dilating, his body turned towards you, etc.
23. You have a bit of a feeling about it, whenever you see him
The energy that surrounds you two, and when you look at him is kind of undeniable. There’s something inside you that’s pushing that alarm button which goes continuously ‘he likes you, he likes you, he likes you’. You want to trust it a little, not overdo it. It’d just be nice to consider it. This is usually your unconscious collecting the also unconscious signals he’s giving off through his presence. How do guys act when they are falling in love and are scared? Men falling in love. They give signs through body language, they are caring and kind towards you, at times they can get hot and cold, and they will try to hide what’s been going on. How do you know if a guy secretly likes you? Well, here: How to know if a guy loves you but is hiding it? Again, you can read a person a lot through their body language, especially the body language of a man secretly in love with you. You can know by the way he treats you, the way he approaches you. He’s thoughtful, kind, he touches you often, he kisses you as he means it, he looks you in the eye, he loves you he just hides it by not telling you. How do you tell if a guy likes you but doesn’t want to admit it? Well, if he doesn’t admit it when you ask him if he likes you, then he most probably doesn’t like you. If he’d like you, that would’ve been one of the best chances he could get to tell you. Unless he’s playing games, he’d admit it when you’d ask him. What are the signs he likes you but is afraid of getting hurt? He likes you, but could be scared of rejection, or just hurt in general if: Warm Regards, Callisto Does He Like Me Quiz? How to tell If a guy likes you?
