Telling him I love him

My boyfriend, 23, and I, I’m 22, have been dating for four months, official for 1 and a half. Recently I’ve begun to realize I’ve fallen for him, I’ve never actually been in love before so I’ve never gone through this. I feel like he feels the same way too but when I think about telling him I love him, I lose my nerve. I’ve come close to saying it a few times but I don’t want to freak him out or anything. Any advice?