14 Signs He’s Interested (So You Can Stop Freaking Out)

Those first few weeks of dating someone who you’re actually into can be grueling. Even in the best case scenario, you’ll question if this could be something. You’ll wonder how often you’re supposed to hear from him, what he’s doing when he’s not hanging out with you and if it’s too early to be this nervous about someone. Take comfort in the fact that if he likes you, you’ll hear from him. While you’re pretending to sit back and enjoy the uncertainty – here are some telltale signs that things are moving in the right direction:

1. He’s in touch. And not just physically. Throughout your crazy, never-ending, can’t breathe or find time to pee kind of week, he finds ways to let you know that he’s thinking of you. He’ll send you a link to a video he thought would make you laugh. You’ll get a photo of something crazy he saw on his way to work. He doesn’t go missing for days on end because he’s trying to get to know you.

2. He’s asking for plans in the future and actually follows through. You’ve been out a couple of times and he’s following up for more time with you. These are not theoretical requests where you chat back and forth, but don’t make any actual decisions to meet up. FYI, calling to make plans after 11 PM for same day (night?) plans doesn’t count.

3. He’s talking about you to his friends. When you’re at a party together, one of his buddies mentions something that you and your new love interest did together, revealing that even if he’s playing it cool, his excitement about you is too much to keep to himself.

4. When he’s back from being away for the weekend, you’re one of the first people on his list to see. He may even have a little trinket or gift from where he’s been.

5. He asks about something you told him weeks ago. You most likely forgot that you even told him this story, but his question immediately indicates that he’s paying attention. Even to the small stuff.

6. He watches trashy TV with you when he hates trashy TV. You may not know that he hates trashy TV at this point. You assume he just likes to unwind with some mindless entertainment every now and then. You’ll find out months from now that he was just being polite when he accepted your suggestion of a Kardashian marathon.

7. He’s a gentleman. He takes special attention to open doors, hold your hand and figure out what you like to eat so he can order for you. You’re not especially used to these behaviors and wonder at first if he’s a bit too smooth. His consistency in showing these behaviors makes you feel special, though you may not want to admit it yet.

8. He doesn’t become a different person when you’re with a group of people. Whether with work colleagues, his childhood buddies or even a bunch of strangers, he’s himself – only he takes extra efforts to make you feel included. The only times he gets a bit timid is timid is when introducing you to his family – but by then you know he’s interested.

9. He seems just the slightest bit nervous when initially asking you for plans. Those first several weeks of determining whether a first date will lead to a second and a second to a third, are quite tricky. If you’re hearing some hesitancy or formality in his voice’s tone, blame it on nerves. That’s a good thing.

10. If he unintentionally upsets you, he apologizes and tries to make it up to you. He won’t throw his hands up in frustration and wait for things to blow over. He knows he messed up and will do whatever it takes to get your trust back.

11. He thinks of excuses to come over, other than to sleep over. To test the cookies that you just baked. To see if your internet service is faster than his. To make sure you don’t have any holes in your wall where mice can get in. His excuses are pretty pathetic, but you don’t mind.

12. You hear from him in daylight hours, when he’s sober.

13. It’s effortless to be with him. You don’t feel like you’re working hard to get a conversation going or need to entertain him. He’s self-sufficiently content because you’re there with him. That’s enough for him.

14. He tells you. This one may seem obvious, but many guys will do anything to avoid expressing what they’re actually thinking. Particularly if they’re interested – it may scare the hell out of them to let you know this because this makes them vulnerable. If a guy is willing to reveal that he’s into you, take that as a huge plus sign. (Unless, of course, he’s telling several other girls this at the same time). You’ll be able to sense his sincerity soon enough. When he’s ready to let that guard down, get ready – his interest will come at you full force.