Guy friend says he doesn't like but acts like he does? please help I'm so confused

Sorry this is going to be long. So i really like a guy friend of mine (we have known each other for about a year by the way we are both 16) and I have TOLD him I may like him as more then a friend, in response he told me he didn't quite feel the same way and that he was sorry and that if I wanted to know he doesn't like anyone else he also complemented me saying I was fun to be around smart relaxed caring and kind. Since I have told him though he has been giving me mixed signals on how he feels about me.

Examples; he has asked me to coffee 7 times ice cream once lunch once as well as to the fair with him he even went to a country music concert with me and two of my friends (he doesn't listen to country music) (all were just the 2 of us except the concert but he never paid for any of it which I don't mind) we have also gone to the movies 5 times with 2 mutual friends, on the first coffee 'date' he asked when I would be interested in dating and so on. He drove on our first coffee 'date' and i drove on the fourth one however when i drove he had left his wallet in his truck and asked if we could stop and grab it and i said that was fine or i could just pay he said he would rather stop and get it and i said that was fine but i really didnt mind and he said the man in him minded (we both drove from the school not each others houses the other times we hung out we either met or walked together from school also when we went for ice cream we hung out till after midnight) he has also offered to pick me up twice (from my house), opens all doors for me and walks beside or behind me.

The first time I met his mom she knew my name before I even introduced myself I also know I came up in a conversation with him and his dad and his dad said if you like a girl you should get to know her better by asking her to go somewhere by yourselves without her friends to see the type of girl she really is (he told this to our mutual friend who told me), he also comes to school really early (about 1 1/2 hours early) to talk to me and sits about 3 inches away from me (he often moves his chair to be that close to me ) and often taps my arm or leg to get my attention when we are talking he looks into my eyes for a couple of seconds then looks away also when we are sitting across from one another we sometimes play 'footsie' however he always starts it but never moves his leg away from mine but apologies when I move mine away also when we are in the same room he is often positioned in a way he can see me (this is rare though cause he almost always leaves his friends or whatever he is doing to come over and talk to me).

He also takes my side and stands up for me in arguments and has told me if I ever want to know something to just ask him and he would tell me the truth (he told me this well we were walking around by ourselves which we often do(usually for 30-45 minutes at a time)) his feet are usually pointed in my direction even if he is beside me and his body seem 'open' to me. He is always smiling when im around and he teases me about my height every now and then but he is always complementing me by saying im smart kind caring, amazing he even once said I would make a great wife and whoever gets to marry me will be one lucky man.

He is always concerned about me and my feelings and seems to always be looking out for me. I also forgot to mention he often is late to class because he stays and talks to me and has even skipped class twice to stay and talk to me (when he doesn't skip he sometimes goes on 'bathroom' breaks to come and say hi and talk for a few minutes and when we pass in the hallway he just smiles and says hi)

also a few weeks ago he had to leave school early but he said he would be back in about an hour, well he did come back but it was to tell me he was going BACK home and to have a good weekend (he lives 15 minutes from the school)

the only doubts I have are he never texts me first but usually texts me back (he has even told me im the only one worth texting back), he never actually calls us hanging out 'dates' but rather says do you want to hang out and grab ice cream or coffee or something, he never hugs me or anything just taps me on me leg or arm or places his leg/foot near mine so the are touching my biggest doubt is because he said he didn't feel quite the same way (he said that before all of this happened though) however my gut,all my friends and 'half the school' says he likes me.*

Also to let you know I have asked him to grab* coffee a couple of times and he has gone every time I asked except once when he had a legitimate reason and said he felt bad that he couldn't but he asked if the next day or some other day worked. As for another girl liking him, there was one of his friends as well as one of mine who told him the liked him however he said to both of them he only liked them as friends and nothing more (he doesn't even talk to them anymore) (that is ALL he said) (I was sitting right next to him when he said this) however when I told him I liked him about a month or so ago (before all of are 'dates' and stuff) he said he didn't feel quite the same way and that he was sorry and im smart kind caring and fun to be around.

And I don't think shy was the best word for me to use before but rather cautious would be more accurate, he seems really cautious around me im assuming though thats because of what happened between him and his ex girlfriend from 2 years ago and he wants to make sure I wouldn't do the same thing (he hasn't dated for those 2 years) *he also said he stil wanted to keep up and hang out over summer vacation*

Sorry I just wanted to add something to my post, lately I haven't been having a great time and a lot of things have been going wrong for me. Anyways all of my friends are away at camp this week so I texted him saying I really need someone to talk to, well he called me and asked if we could meet up in person so I could talk to him, so we met up for coffee. After I had explained most of the stuff that was going wrong for me (I didn't tell him everything) I asked him about his new job and stuff. However while he was talking he was looking at me in a "weird" way almost like he was "studying" me then when he finished talking he looked at me and said "something is on your mind" and I said "no I'm just thinking" then he said "no there is something wrong and it's on your mind and it really seems to be bothering you please tell me I would like to help you if I can" so i explained everything that had happened recently and all he did was listen and give me advice when I asked him for it. Then I was explaining what had happened between his best friend and my cousin (long story) he just agreed with me and took my side and didn't even try and stand up for his friend. Also when I was telling him about an argument I had with my friend recently he took my side and just said that our friendship is one sided and not favouring me (which is true) he also said that if she wanted to lie to me then she didn't deserve me as a friend.*

Sorry about the length

Does he like me as just a friend or something more? I'm really confused :/

Hey, i literally made an account to reply to your post. I'm in the same situation as you here except im a guy. This girl tells me she doesn't feel the same way about me despite spending a HUGE amount of time together and basically being in a relationship as it is. I'm a little further ahead in this process than you but i sat down with this girl and spoke to her about all of it, that i really liked her, that she meant the world to me and that i wanted to be with her. She told me she wasn't ready for a commitment like that, and we are too good of friends to potentially waste it. Obviously every situation is different but it seems like you really need to sit down with him and just make this the only topic of conversation. Tell him how you feel, don't be afraid to be confident because i made better progress when i was acting confident. Tell him that not only do you have feelings for him but that it's clear he has feelings for you as shown by the way you act around each other. I know how it feels, trust me, even when we kissed for around half an hour, she still tells me that she doesn't want to be in a relationship. You need to ask questions that you wont like hearing the answer to even if it doesn't go in your favour. I don't want to ask her questions like "Do you see us together in a month" because if she says no then it will hurt me and i don't want to feel that. But it has to be done in order to move forward. I'm not going to tell you to give up on him because if he means that much to you then any amount of pain and confusion you have to go through will be worth it in the end. My friends tell me to just forget about her, but i can't do that. My friends tell me to just be her friend, i can't do that either. They also say stop talking to her and break it off because it's causing you too much pain, and i can't do that either. I'm really close to getting my situation sorted, im hoping to know how we stand in around a week. I know what it's like when he gives you signs that make it seem he really likes you, you are probably really happy just like i was and feel really good, and when he gives you signs that he doesn't like you like that you feel shit inside just like i do. If im being 100% honest im never going to stop trying to make this girl my girlfriend because she means too much to me, and if this guy means as much to you as this girl does to me then my advice is don't stop. He might need nudging into it and when you are together your only regret will be you didn't do this sooner. My situation is so weirdly similar to yours but just don't give up and make sure you talk to him soon, unless he says the words "i don't like you like that and i probably never will" don't give up. Message me if you want to talk about anything else around the situation that you didn't put in your post and ill be more than happy to give any advice that i can :)