Hello and thank you for taking your time reading my post.
Even though my question is in the title of the thread i think i should give some background story for it.
I'm 28 years old and i have a female colleague that i'm strongly attracted to and I'm pretty sure that she considers me a friend due to my own stupidity.
When we first met 5 months ago I knew that I found her extremely attractive, but since I'm not a flirty person, nor was i looking for anything from anyone I never paid it no mind. A month later she needed some help with something and I offered to help (still never expecting anything) and we got to talking. It turns out I really liked her as a person too - we got to talking more and more and I ended up helping whenever i could never wanting anything in return - it was a pleasure to know that i was helping HER and it was a pleasure talking to her. We got to know each other and share with each other whenever there was something bothering us. A month ago something happened that got me thinking how much I really cherish every moment spent with her - I've been giving her a ride every morning and most days that is the highlight of my day and I know she feels comfortable around me too.
Ever since i realized i have feelings for her - I started to flirt with her but subtle - to see her reactions - I give a SINCERE compliment (her hair, her outfit, her nails, her overall appearance) and I get a pretty blank "thank you" or a reaction like she doesn't believe me. I make a lot of eye contact and I smile a lot (again it's sincere), I know that she's comfortable with me touching her - but it never feels like any interest is there.
About me - I've been told that I'm an attractive man, I know that I'm very polite and I know that I'm very honest. Financially I'm very stable, I wear a smile on my face pretty much all the time but unfortunately I'm in poor health.
What's her attitude toward me - She often calls me to check up on me (mainly because of the poor health thing and I'm kind of an open book when something isn't going as it should), she opens up to me a LOT, talks about her family,friends,tells me about her day, asks about mine, shares her dreams with me, shares her problems with me and asks about advice. She even shares about all her bad dating experiences - past and current.That's why I think I'm very deep in the friend zone - I don't feel she would share her guy problems with me if she saw any dating potential in me.
Last Sunday she had to work alone. So i cooked up something I knew she would enjoy(I'm a pretty good cook - it's one of my strong features) and I kept her company all day. Again non of my compliments seemed like they hit the spot with her (the only thing she reacted to was the meal - she said it was a "cute" gesture). And then we just talked... about the guy she likes and treats her like dirt and chats up other girls and tells her about it... I'm pretty sure that they haven't had a 3rd date and that things went down the ditch there.
This Sunday she has to work alone again. I was thinking of going over and keep her company again (and yes cooking something). Do you think that I'm too deep in the friend zone, do you think I should try something more direct or should i keep being subtle and just be there for her or should I just give up entirely. Do you have any advice on how and what to do? I am not shy in the least (the only thing that has me worried is how much i would miss our conversations if things got awkward).
I find myself thinking about her pretty much every time that I'm not working on something - I'm even losing sleep over it - I want her, I fantasize about her (kissing her, hugging her, comforting her, being there for her, making her smile and laugh).
Thank you so much even if you just read this - believe it or not it wasn't even half of what i wanted to say but I know that this text is becoming too big so i had to edit it out a bit. I'm open to ANY advice.