does he see me as a friend or something more? im confused

he always calls me and compliments me hardcore calling me very nice and sweet. he is my coworker. when we first met at work, I had a feeling that we were both attracted to each other but I had a boyfriend at the time (and going through bf probs). we broke up a few months back and he found out. he started texting and calling me everyday for a week and he explained generally what he was looking for in a relationship. I did too but i was recently out of a relationship so i said it generally would be best for me to wait. once we had this convo, his calls and texting slowed down a lot. he used to text me and call me everyday. he once had a slip of the tongue in the office as a group of my coworkwrs and I were joking about how young I look. people think I look like i am 20-24 so I joked saying "I am 20" (bc i look so young) but I am actually 29. he slipped and said "im 29! oh i guess I can't date you then." when my other coworker's and my jaw dropped, he realized that he said that out loud and he tried to change the subject quick. he spots me for food when we do group coworker lunches. he also gets really sad that I can't come to group coworker events and tries to convince me to go. he confides in me about his past with his dad's passing, and ex girlfriends. he tries to invite me to hang out with his group of friends outside of work, but I haven't officially gone because the timing is off - like it's my moms bday and can't go or something. he would say that since I am driving so far to go to his event that we should hang out beforehand like go to the gym and play video games at his house. BUT, when I said I couldn't go bc of my mom's bday, and asked if he wanted to go to the gym together on a different day, he would hesitate on when he is free. he is a busy person so I understand why he would hesitate bc maybe he was just thinking. but he did give me a date after the hesitation. i just wasn't sure if his hesitation meant that he was thinking or that he did not want to hang out with me (bc I maybe he thinks I am catching feelings if he looks at me as a friend or an option). he also has a lot of female friends that occassionally that go to the gym with him one on one so i don't know if i am just a friend. it's very confusing. what do you think?