Hey there, I’ll give as much detail as I can without making things too identifying, but I’ve got this stupid crush on a coworker. She’s taken, but from what she’s told me, it’s basically on borrowed time. They’re in different parts of the country and neither of them want to move to where the other is, among other things. We work in close proximity to each other so I can’t really just physically distance myself either.
I’ve worked with her for a little over a year now. Over time, I started to realize that I have some very real feelings towards her.
What’s dumb is that this crush makes me feel like I’m back in high school. I haven’t felt this tender towards someone in a long while. Our sense of humor is really similar, we laugh all the time at work. Even when my jokes can get a little dark she laughs at them when others might cringe a bit. One time, a coworker even made a comment about us being the “dynamic duo” when we were working an event together.
She’s shared things with me that she’s specifically told me that she doesn’t really share with many people. We text from time to time or send memes to each other both at work and outside of work, if more infrequently outside of work. She’s beautiful and seeing her get into work makes my day just a little % better, and I just hope that my presence does that same.
I love her personality and have really enjoyed her sharing stories with me about her life, her family, etc. We work in separate departments and at the same authority level, so there’s no power dynamic in play to muddy things. We’ve hung out together with others outside of work, too.
I IN NO MEANS want to be the “other guy” and I want to respect her current relationship. I’m not going to be the person to push her to end things. But I don’t know how to reconcile my feelings, too. I really haven’t felt this way in a long while and I don’t want to mess things up.
I just want to be someone she really likes being around, and if she becomes single, then hope to foster that naturally into something more.
I’d just like to ask for suggestions from people here on what I do? How do I proceed? Christmas is coming up too and I’d like to get her a small, but meaningful gift as well. Something that I know she’s mentioned to me before that would be a small, but sweet gift.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post and provide some guidance here. Have a wonderful day.