I (26F) have the biggest crush on my cousins (28M) friend (30M). My cousin introduced me to his friend, let’s call him, Sam, back in 2023. He is a bartender but much to my surprise, he was actually pretty reserved and quiet. He’s a little “socially awkward” but he’s so handsome and incredibly kind. He’s the kind of guy who’s not really the life of the party, but the guy who makes sure everyone at the party gets home safely.
Anyways, we’ve had a few interactions in the late spring and when I would go to his bar with my friends, he wouldn’t charge me. After a few weeks of not paying for my drinks, I made a move and texted him. I said something casual but made it clear I was interested. I said something along the lines of “hey it was so nice seeing you the last couple weeks! I was wondering if you wanted to hangout sometime 🙃” and he answered by saying my name followed by a bunch of “🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽”’s. He then continued to say “I actually just started talking to someone. But I love when you guys come in and i promise to always take care of you.” This interaction was back in May.
I answered and kept it light hearted but I took it as he was rejecting me but letting me down easily since I think he appreciates our relationship dynamic. Or maybe I’m reading too much into it. I then texted him happy birthday and he said “thank you ‘my name’ ❤️❤️❤️” and has liked a couple of my insta posts which he never has before.
I kind of took his message as he was being friendly and letting me down easy, especially the part where he said he’ll always take care of me. To me, it felt like he was telling me not to read into his kindness as flirting but he still appreciates me being around. But my friends say the opposite and said I’m reading too much into what he said a few months ago and perhaps he was talking to/seeing someone and he kept his foot in the door a little by being overly kind. But not sure? I haven’t seen him all summer and was thinking about going to the bar he works at to say hey and see him again.
Also not sure if this is worth mentioning but his dad is a raging alcoholic and I ran into him at his bar a few months ago. I said hello and his dad was talking major sh** about Sam and saying some crazy things at 2pm on a Sunday. I told Sam I saw his dad and that he was really kind and Sam was really embarrassed and said “ohhh boy he’s a lot.” And was really uncomfortable. I brushed it off and didn’t tell Sam what exactly his dad was saying but I’m sure Sam could guess. I told my cousin and my cousin said he’s sure Sam appreciated how I didn’t make things awkward and made sure Sam was okay after.