I would greatly appreciate any thoughts on my predicament. I am a 53-year-old woman. I have a crush on a 26-year-old colleague (we have been colleagues for about half a year). He is always ready to help me and I was beginning to think that he liked me back. We seemed to have a special connection and I blatantly flirted with him.
It wasn’t until a night of partying when he got a bit drunk that he tried to touch my hand and held my hand as he walked me home that I realised he also liked me in a romantic way. After that night, we acted like nothing had happened, though I could see that he held back a bit, perhaps because he thought he had made a mistake.
I tried to make him feel comfortable by being my normal self, and trying to convey that what happened (his vulnerability that night) was no big deal. He can talk to other colleagues very easily, but seems shy around me and I always try to make him feel comfortable by initiating conversations. It's been a month since the incident and I think we are both beginning to be relaxed in each other's company and trying to return to our old selves.
I like him in a romantic way, but have no intention of pursuing a long-term relationship with him as I am much older than him and also my work contract ends in a year. It is obvious that I like him and he should know that. We both could sense that the crush is mutual and at times we could feel a little awkwardness between us.
My question is, should I tell him about my feelings and ask him whether he feels the same way and whether we can stay as good colleagues without the “romantic” element coming between us. I would like to make him feel better and more confident by telling him I like him back. I don't expect a relationship from this, but I do want to let him know that I like him back and perhaps maintain a friendship with him even after I left the workplace.
So should I even discuss what happened that night when he was a bit drunk? Or should we both carry on as if that night never happened, and disappear from each other's life when my work contract ends? He is a really great guy and I would like both of us to be great friends even after I left the workplace when my contract ends.