u/Hot-Two1093

I worked with this guy a couple of times in a professional setting. We sat/worked near each other for most of the day in the same office space. I had been working at this place for a long while at this point and he just started.
 
The first time we worked together, there was some intense eye contact followed by a smile, that felt different from normal coworker eye contact. I think it was what you would call the gay stare. I dont know if it was a signal that he was trying to tell me that it was a safe space or attraction. I know he's gay btw because I saw him many years ago on the apps but I've now deleted all of them so he might not know about me but I feel like it's obvious. I did not reciprocate because I was at work.
 
If this were a heterosexual situation the stare would have come across as DTF.  I could be overreading that, but it felt charged enough that I noticed it and it was a few times over the first day. This did not happen the next day
 
The second time we worked together was my last day . His first words to me that morning were something like, “Is today your last day?” He may have known because I mentioned it the week before, and there was also a small goodbye gift on my desk from someone else.
 
He asked how I felt about leaving, and I said mixed. Throughout the day, he asked small personal-adjacent questions, like what I was doing for the weekend and what I was doing for lunch.
 
At one point, I offered him a snack from something someone had left for me, and he accepted. We also had a normal work-related conversation about the job and responsibilities, so not everything felt flirtatious.
 
Near the end of the day, the energy felt tense. He was leaving, walked behind me, started to walk out, then turned back and asked if I was all set. I said I was pretty much done but was waiting to say goodbye to a couple of people.
 
Then he said something like, “Maybe I’ll see you here again,” and then asked, “Do you want my contact information?” He framed it as being for questions about work stuff.
 
He wrote his name and number down for me on a piece of paper. Then he paused and directly asked me for my number too, put it in his phone, and texted me immediately so I had his number.
 
The part that felt odd is that, if this was strictly practical, it would have made more sense for him to ask for my number first, since he was the one who might need to reach me later as I had been working there for a while and knew more about the place. Or he could have just given me his number and left it at that. But he did both: wrote his down, then asked for mine and put it in his phone, then texted immediately.
 
Later that evening, I texted him something. He replied the next day around early afternoon: So now I’m trying to be realistic. On one hand, he framed it as work-related and his reply was warm but also had a natural closing. On the other hand, the eye contact, the timing, him turning back at the door, saying maybe he’d see me again, writing his number down and then still asking for mine made it feel like maybe he wanted a safe excuse to exchange numbers.
 
I’m not planning to chase him or text again right now. I’m just curious how other guys would read this.
 
Does this sound like:
1.  Just friendly/professional,
2.  ⁠possible interest but cautious/deniable,
3.  ⁠or am I overreading it?
Please be honest. I’m trying not to build a fantasy out of an ambiguous moment.

I worked with this guy a couple of times in a professional setting. We sat/worked near each other for most of the day in the same office space. I had been working at this place for a long while at this point and he just started.
 
The first time we worked together, there was some intense eye contact followed by a smile, that felt different from normal coworker eye contact. I think it was what you would call the gay stare. I dont know if it was a signal that he was trying to tell me that it was a safe space or attraction. I know he's gay btw because I saw him many years ago on the apps but I've now deleted all of them so he might not know about me but I feel like it's obvious. I did not reciprocate because I was at work.
 
If this were a heterosexual situation the stare would have come across as DTF.  I could be overreading that, but it felt charged enough that I noticed it and it was a few times over the first day. This did not happen the next day
 
The second time we worked together was my last day . His first words to me that morning were something like, “Is today your last day?” He may have known because I mentioned it the week before, and there was also a small goodbye gift on my desk from someone else.
 
He asked how I felt about leaving, and I said mixed. Throughout the day, he asked small personal-adjacent questions, like what I was doing for the weekend and what I was doing for lunch.
 
At one point, I offered him a snack from something someone had left for me, and he accepted. We also had a normal work-related conversation about the job and responsibilities, so not everything felt flirtatious.
 
Near the end of the day, the energy felt tense. He was leaving, walked behind me, started to walk out, then turned back and asked if I was all set. I said I was pretty much done but was waiting to say goodbye to a couple of people.
 
Then he said something like, “Maybe I’ll see you here again,” and then asked, “Do you want my contact information?” He framed it as being for questions about work stuff.
 
He wrote his name and number down for me on a piece of paper. Then he paused and directly asked me for my number too, put it in his phone, and texted me immediately so I had his number.
 
The part that felt odd is that, if this was strictly practical, it would have made more sense for him to ask for my number first, since he was the one who might need to reach me later as I had been working there for a while and knew more about the place. Or he could have just given me his number and left it at that. But he did both: wrote his down, then asked for mine and put it in his phone, then texted immediately.
 
Later that evening, I texted him something. He replied the next day around early afternoon: So now I’m trying to be realistic. On one hand, he framed it as work-related and his reply was warm but also had a natural closing. On the other hand, the eye contact, the timing, him turning back at the door, saying maybe he’d see me again, writing his number down and then still asking for mine made it feel like maybe he wanted a safe excuse to exchange numbers.
 
I’m not planning to chase him or text again right now. I’m just curious how other guys would read this.
 
Does this sound like:
1.  Just friendly/professional,
2.  ⁠possible interest but cautious/deniable,
3.  ⁠or am I overreading it?
Please be honest. I’m trying not to build a fantasy out of an ambiguous moment.

I worked with this guy a couple of times in a professional setting. We sat/worked near each other for most of the day in the same office space. I had been working at this place for a long while at this point and he just started.
 
The first time we worked together, there was some intense eye contact followed by a smile, that felt different from normal coworker eye contact. I think it was what you would call the gay stare. I dont know if it was a signal that he was trying to tell me that it was a safe space or attraction. I know he's gay btw because I saw him many years ago on the apps but I've now deleted all of them so he might not know about me but I feel like it's obvious. I did not reciprocate because I was at work.
 
If this were a heterosexual situation the stare would have come across as DTF.  I could be overreading that, but it felt charged enough that I noticed it and it was a few times over the first day. This did not happen the next day
 
The second time we worked together was my last day . His first words to me that morning were something like, “Is today your last day?” He may have known because I mentioned it the week before, and there was also a small goodbye gift on my desk from someone else.
 
He asked how I felt about leaving, and I said mixed. Throughout the day, he asked small personal-adjacent questions, like what I was doing for the weekend and what I was doing for lunch.
 
At one point, I offered him a snack from something someone had left for me, and he accepted. We also had a normal work-related conversation about the job and responsibilities, so not everything felt flirtatious.
 
Near the end of the day, the energy felt tense. He was leaving, walked behind me, started to walk out, then turned back and asked if I was all set. I said I was pretty much done but was waiting to say goodbye to a couple of people.
 
Then he said something like, “Maybe I’ll see you here again,” and then asked, “Do you want my contact information?” He framed it as being for questions about work stuff.
 
He wrote his name and number down for me on a piece of paper. Then he paused and directly asked me for my number too, put it in his phone, and texted me immediately so I had his number.
 
The part that felt odd is that, if this was strictly practical, it would have made more sense for him to ask for my number first, since he was the one who might need to reach me later as I had been working there for a while and knew more about the place. Or he could have just given me his number and left it at that. But he did both: wrote his down, then asked for mine and put it in his phone, then texted immediately.
 
Later that evening, I texted him something. He replied the next day around early afternoon: So now I’m trying to be realistic. On one hand, he framed it as work-related and his reply was warm but also had a natural closing. On the other hand, the eye contact, the timing, him turning back at the door, saying maybe he’d see me again, writing his number down and then still asking for mine made it feel like maybe he wanted a safe excuse to exchange numbers.
 
I’m not planning to chase him or text again right now. I’m just curious how other guys would read this.
 
Does this sound like:
1.  Just friendly/professional,
2.  ⁠possible interest but cautious/deniable,
3.  ⁠or am I overreading it?
Please be honest. I’m trying not to build a fantasy out of an ambiguous moment.