Am I in a situationship with my best friend?

My straight male best friend (H) and I became friends through a mutual close friend (K). They have been online friends for years now so we both knew about each through K. Now, H and I became friends after ranting at other at random times while K streamed online. We never had each other’s contact information up until the start of this year, when I asked him for it because I wanted to show him something. We soon clicked because we share a lot of the same interests and our personalities complement each other very well.

At some point, we had started conversing about sex and sexual desires because nobody within our circles is open enough to talk about these things; eventually, that also turned into sharing spicy pics (not full-on nudes, just provocative stuff). I was the one who started it without really thinking much of it. After a while, it went from just showing pics to sexting, too—which I personally don’t mind, if I’m being honest. We talk for hours on end every single day, sometimes on the phone while enjoying each other’s company. We do a lot of things together such as gaming or reading or watching movies or listening to music. Needless to say, we are very comfortable with each other.

One important thing about me is that I can’t fall for people easily because I need explicit “permission” for it; I need to know if there is a possibility for a mutual attraction that also goes beyond the physical in the form of an official “Let’s get to know each other”/“I like you.” That has never come up in any of our conversations other than me explaining the reasoning why I won’t actually fall for him. Additionally, we are very much each other’s types in terms of a partner. The only issue is that he lives across the country from me—we often, either jokingly or otherwise, tell each other how we’re going to make the other feel when we meet in person for the first time (aka flirting).

I truly adore him and love him as a friend and I think he’s such an awesome person. He’s also told me how much he loves me as a friend and constantly tells me how appreciative he is of me. I don’t want to ask him “what are we” or “are we in situationship” or “can we date officially” because I don’t want to push him away. So, here I am, asking strangers to help me figure out whether I’m in a situationship with my male best friend since I can’t realistically ask anybody else at the moment.