15 Sure Signs He Likes You But Is Hiding It

A guy can decide to hide his feelings for you for different reasons.

The most common reason is the fear of rejection.

But he could also do it because he doesn’t want to cause any awkwardness between the two of you. There’s no faster way to ruin a great friendship with a girl you like than being turned down by her when you ask her out.

Things never go back the same after that.

It’s either she says “Yes” and you become romantic partners, or she says “No” and things become awkward.

So if you think a guy likes you but is hiding it, don’t quickly dismiss his behavior as cowardly. Rejection stings — especially when it comes from someone you already like.

If he’s a guy you also find attractive, then knowing these tips will give you a heads-up. You could even decide to ease up the process for him.

1. He’s jealous but pretends not to be

You can see it in the way he looks at you whenever you’re with other guys. He wants to have you by his side all the time.

He likes it when he makes you laugh. It makes him feel good. But when another guy is cracking you up, he wishes it was him doing it. And you sense it by the sudden change in his behavior when it appears like another is dominating your attention.

But he’ll always blame his sudden change of attitude on something else. For instance, he might try to make the guy look bad by telling you he wants something from you.

Even if you confront him about the fact that he’s acting jealous, he’ll plunge into self-defense mode, saying that he’s just looking out for you as a good friend.

If you see these subtle signs of jealousy frequently, it’s an unmistakable sign that someone is into you.

We are hard-wired to get emotional when the attention of someone we want is being dominated by someone else. We want it to be us who can make them laugh. We want them to spend time with us. It’s human instinct.

2. He wants to see more of you

He seizes every chance he gets to spend more time with you. He’ll walk you to long distances, and help you out at every opportunity he gets, call you, text you, etc.

And when you’re together, you’ll see how he lights up. He genuinely enjoys spending time with you. He’ll ask interesting questions about you, and he’ll have zero urge to leave anytime soon.

If you notice this trend with him, there are probably several things he likes about you. It could be your smile, your sense of humor, your attractiveness, your personality, etc.

The bottom line is that there’s something he sees in you that fascinates him so much he can’t get enough of it. This is why we all love to spend time with people we find attractive.

Being around them and seeing those qualities we like lights up our brains and makes us feel good. It’s rewarding. Seeing beautiful things we like has the same effect on the brain as eating our best meal or perceiving a great fragrance. It floods our brains with dopamine.

This is why someone who likes you will want to spend as much time with you as possible.

3. He likes to look at you

When you walk past a fashion store and see a shoe you like, you find it difficult to take your eyes off it.

Even if you don’t have the money to buy it right there, you’ll just find enjoyment in looking at it, appreciating its beauty, and probably imagining how great it will look on you.

Here’s why.

According to studies, our brain releases dopamine when we see something (or someone) we find attractive (or visually stimulating).

We enjoy looking at people we find attractive. This is why you’ll likely first catch glimpses of a guy across the room before he walks over to talk to you. He’s been looking at you, enjoying the view because he’s seeing someone he likes.

Hence, when you constantly catch a guy staring at you, especially in a seductive way, there’s a high chance he likes you. He may not open up to you about his feelings, but his eyes say it all.

4. He initiates contact frequently

He’s constantly checking up on you, calling, texting, and coming over to talk whenever he sets his eyes on you.

The reason he’s doing this is simple: When we like someone, we love to spend time with them.

He may not come clean about wanting a relationship with you, but his actions prove that he wants to always stay in touch.

I see a lot of guys chase a girl exhaustively because they believe in the idea that they’ll eventually get the girl in the end if they don’t give up. Even when she makes it clear by not replying to their texts and calls that she isn’t interested, they keep chasing her.

The simple truth is that people who want you will make time for you. Be it a guy or a girl. No one who wants you will make you go through unnecessary stress just to see them.

Instead, they’ll be eager to see you and spend time with you.

Interesting: 9 Signs Someone Secretly Likes You

5. He respects and admires you

You see this in how he treats you differently from other girls.

When you’re in the picture, his attention is always on you, wanting to know your take on things and complimenting you about almost everything.

Instinctively, he can’t help but admire certain things about you. And the things we admire about people often lead us to also respect them, and vice versa.

6. Subtle flirting

When you’re together, he might subtly attempt to steer the conversation toward romance and watch how you’ll react.

If you don’t take it so well, he’ll quickly back down and change the subject. If you respond well, he’ll light up and explore further.

He might also attempt to touch you or tell you sweet things to see your reactions.

And the reason he is subtly flirting with you is that he doesn’t want to take any major risks that might jeopardize his valuable friendship with you. He’s testing the water to see if he can take the next step with you.

If you notice that a guy frequently steers conversations with you towards romance and then watches hopefully how you’ll react, he likes you more than just a friend. (Or, he could just be trying to get some benefits from the friendship.) Check for clusters of other signs to be sure.

7. Subtle acts of service

No one likes to give you a helping hand more than someone who sincerely likes you.

Even if he’s hiding his affection, you’ll see how he’ll willingly volunteer to help you out when you need help. This is partly because he truly cares, and he’s happy that he’s able to help ease your stress.

But it’s also partly because when he helps you out, he also gets to spend time with you and create a good impression.

For instance, he might quickly opt to walk you home, give you a hand on some extra work you have to do, help you out with an assignment, reach out when you miss a class — or any meet-up, etc.

8. He’s curious about you

He wants to know where you’re from, how you’re so pretty, where you developed such a great sense of humor, who your parents are, why you do what you do, your passions, etc.

When we find someone charming, everything about them fascinates us.

This is why people can create a whole business by blogging about the lives of celebrities. We want to know what they’re up to, who they’re dating, what they eat, what they’re wearing, how they started, etc.

Curiosity is a natural response we give to those we find fascinating.

9. He remembers the tiny details

He isn’t just curious, he also remembers tiny details about you.

For instance, he might show up on your birthday with a gift about something you merely casually mentioned during your conversation. This means that he wasn’t just listening, his instincts kicked in when you told him.

And because he frequently thinks about you, he won’t forget.

He imagined how it would be if he was the one to make your undying wish come true. He pictured how rewarding it will be to see you smile because of something he did. And the thought of being able to make you happy made him remember that one tiny detail.

10. He wants to know your relationship status

This is a huge sign. And it’s kind of obvious what his intentions are when this happens.

When a guy starts stylishly asking if you have a boyfriend, you know he’s up to something.

Even if you tell him you have a boyfriend, he may keep asking him from time to time, not because he cares for him, but because he wants to check if you’re still together.

11. Generous compliments

His compliments are not your average compliments. They show attention and admiration.

You’ll see how his face will light up as he talks about your hairstyle. Sometimes his eyes will give the compliment even before the words come out. When you see these signs, a guy might be trying hard to hide his admiration for you.

When someone likes you, compliments are one of the most common ways they give themselves away. When they say, “You always look amazing in every dress,” it’s their closest way of saying, “I like you.”

12. Undeniable chemistry

His eye contact usually lingers when he locks eyes with you. And sometimes he gives you that smile of admiration.

When you’re both with friends, conversations are natural, playful, and easy. But with the two of you, it’s something else. You suddenly feel the tension, like you both suddenly become self-conscious, like you never knew each other before.

These are all signs of undeniable chemistry. If you’re both feeling it for each other, great. But if he’s the only one feeling it, you might consider him awkward in those moments.

13. He tries to impress you

Whenever you’re around, he puts in extra effort to look dope.

When you’re together, he might try to make you laugh or sound more interesting and fun to be with.

He might even do some humble bragging, telling you about some interesting things he’s been able to achieve and then give you some interesting traits he likes in a woman to show you he has good taste.

These are all signs he’s trying to impress you. And he does it because he cares a great deal about what you think of him. Plus, when you like someone, you’ll instinctively do things to make them like you back.

14. His friends give him away

Most times a guy’s friends will be the first to know a guy has a crush on you.

Why?

They know him more than anyone else. They understand how he normally behaves around girls. And they’ll also notice any change in his behavior and call him out just for the fun of it.

If a guy likes you but hides it from you, his friends might use it to tease him when you’re around. Almost any guy with close friends has experienced this at some point.

You’ll notice some funny, awkward behavior from them. And from the things they’ll be saying about him, you should be able to easily decipher what’s going on.

15. Acts extra self-conscious around you

As Jordan Peterson wrote in 12 Rules For Life

“Women have been making men self-conscious since the beginning of time.”

When you like someone, you want to put your best foot forward primarily to increase the probability of them liking you back. And this quest to put ourselves in a good light often makes us more self-conscious.

This is often why first dates are often the most nerve-wracking.

When you’re meeting someone for the first time, the pressure is higher because they don’t know anything about you yet, and you’re not sure if they’ll like you — and it matters to you that they do, so you become extra self-conscious.

But if the first date goes well, the self-consciousness drastically goes down.

Notice how a guy suddenly becomes extra self-conscious around you. If he has a big nose, for instance, you might find that he touches it often. He might suddenly become so self-conscious of his social skills that he asks you if he’s boring.

Final words

Of course, none of these cues alone, happening one time means anything. But if you see a cluster of four or more, happening frequently with a guy, then there’s a high chance he’s hiding how he truly feels about you.

Also read: 8 Signs He’s Slowly Falling In Love With You