ADVICE NEEDED‼️‼️: CRUSH ON GUY BESTFRIEND!!! 😭💔

soo i recently made a new friend and we instantly clicked so we kept talking and became each others best friend. he’s the nicest person well to me anyways and he’s sooooo protective of me which i love ❤️ but i’m beginning to have major feelings for him like i get sad when he leaves after we hangout or when he goes to bed and we can’t talk till tomorrow. i really REALLY wanna date him because he’d be the perfect boy friend because we have soo much in common and he’s super nice and stuff. but i also don’t wanna loose our friendship because i recently lost a bunch of friends and currently have only four left and he’s the really the only one i don’t wanna loose. any and i mean ANYYY advice you can give me?? PLEASEEE 😭😭