I accidentally sent an "I love you" to my colleague

and he commented with a heart...

So the thing is.. we really click.. amicably.

He's funny and playful and I like that in a person.

On top of that he's a really great guy and I am totally in awe of his work.. I have done his work and he works with tough clients all day long and he's so very assertive while maintaining calm and kind.. He' s absolutely fabulous at his job and obviously well praised. and the light of the office.

I like his playfulness and I feel the click is mutually. AMICABLY. We do share some work together but we don't actually have connecting jobs. our desks are quite close together though physically.

He's been single for 8 years and hasn't found the right person just yet. I've been in an abusive relationship for 9 years and am in the process of leaving.

Only a few colleagues know of my situation, he's not one of them. As far as most colleagues know, I am in a happy relationship with kids involved.

So anyways we click. and it was his birthday and I wanted to be thoughtful and considerate by sending him a happy birthday GIF.. I found a cute one that was kinda playfully immature but still colleague appropriate - as is kinda representative of our work relationship - .. Or So I Thought 🙄

see.. at the end of the GIF.. after a break.. it said "I love you"

and he hearted that.. like.. he didn't reply with a heart but he liked it with a heart.. so I don't think it's that serious.. but I did kind of explain that I hadn't seen the ending of the GIF and sorry.

he joyfully playfully responded to that per his personality..

But today he was kinda weird and different..

not by much.. but he was kinda hovering over me? IDK.. maybe I'm seeing ghosts..

btw.. he's a great guy but I am in no place to be dating right now whatsoever. I vowed to myself I would never again date a colleague anyways and I love my job.

I was just wondering.. am I overreacting? *am I giving this too much mindspace? *

I felt embarrassed that I took the time to select a GIF carefully to match our relationship, yet didn't fully see the ending.

I felt embarrassed that I sent him an "I love you" by accident because we do get along and we do seek each other's company but I don't in any way think that "love" is anywhere near our reality.

But today he was hovering and teasing so much that one of his technicians who knows him much longer than I do told us to get married already.. so now I am uncomfortable because I can't get the idea out of my head of something more being going on...

@Laura

It means "just as friends" and comes from french, my second language is French, English is my third. I was pretty sure I got the meaning of amicable down. Please explain if I'm wrong on this.

people click like friends. I just have seen a lot of things on this app being about "work wife" stuff and that it's gross, especially when people are in relationships, that was actually the most important reason I pointed out our relationship statuses (to avoid backlash and animosity from the women on this app.) But also when I was typing that I though about him being single for 8 years (I only found this out today) might make him sit in this situation differently (so it might be relevant) and in my situation.. I am really not ready for anything right now regardless of how we feel about eachother. Again at this point this is amicable, but we barely know eachother but I'm not going to elaborate on that because it was already becoming a book because I am using so much words to try and explain my meaning because people on this app like to fill in grey areas with negative stuff and absolutely run with that.. there could potentially be more if we gave it energy and potential. - I am not currently giving it potential, I can't tell if he does. Tbh I didn't even think about giving it potential until his technician said that we should get married already..