If you have been hanging out with someone for awhile as friends, it is only natural that eventually you may begin to develop a crush on that person, as half the foundation for having a good relationship is in being able to be friends as well. The problem you may face, is that while you have started to feel this way, the other person may not. They may think of you as a safety or just another one of the “girls” or “guys” depending on what your sex may be, so it may be hard to win their attraction and make dating viable.

Every so often, the transition will run smoothly when the passion builds into a kiss and instantly you are dating instead of being just friends, but this happens very rarely, and chances are higher that you have to deal with the awkwardness of trying to establish yourself as dateable material instead of just a friend. It can be very hard to deal with the waiting time here while trying to get a good read on the other person, because most likely you will hear him or her comment on other people’s attractiveness and you will feel your stomach turn as you get a little jealous. Also, those little comments and jokes about you two dating, that use to be funny and laughable, are now going to hurt when he or she laughs at someone’s assumption and says “just friends’ while you would love to jump in with saying you are together.

There are ways to make the transition smoothly from just friends to more though, if you are patient and start following some general guidelines. First of all, if you want your “friend” to look at you as someone he or she could date, you have to ease up on being so comfortable around them. This does not mean you can’t be easy to get along with, but you have to pass up the sweats and try and make yourself look more attractive while hanging out. The “friend” is never going to feel a rise in temperature towards you if they have gotten use to seeing to seeing you in slacker mode.

You also might try to make a few more comments than usual about other people and start asking if so and so is available for a date. While it may be cruel, and seem completely against what you want to be pursuing other dates, there is nothing like a little innocent jealousy to get the other person wondering why they feel jealous. Once they realize they are starting to feel jealous, you may even get the privilege of them making the first move! Basically what you are doing is testing the waters, and this will help you make the situation a lot easier as you gently move from being friends into something more serious. If you prompt the situation along, nature will kick in for your “friend” as well as you, and then you should have clear sailing waters ahead.