u/Inevitable-Cat869

Hi there,

I am 30s F. One of my closest guy friend will tell me things "I feel like I can be myself around you", "you give me meaning”. They are nice sentiments and he's extremely important to me. But I often feel bad because I freeze up, often don't say anything in the moment, and will just smile.

We're both on the same page about staying platonic so I am mostly looking for advice on how to respond without getting too intense or coming off unintentionally dismissive.