Fake names used. Mary (F32) and I (M25) became fast friends at work. We even call each other "work besties." I helped train her when she joined about three months ago, and since then, we've gotten along really well. She often calls me during shifts to ask for help with tasks or just to chat when things are slow. Even though she’s already good at the job, I can tell she’ll be even better as she gets more experience.

We spend a lot of time together during downtime—talking about work, customers, or just walking around the building. Sometimes, we grab food or coffee. We even help each other out when things get busy, and some of our coworkers have joked that we’re like a “power couple.” They even tease me about asking her out, though I have reasons why I don’t.

Mary has two kids and a long-term boyfriend, Tom. She once said marriage wasn’t for her, but she recently admitted that she sometimes questions that. She mentioned feeling unsure why Tom hasn’t proposed after 10 years together.

She’s also taken a strong interest in my love life. She asks for updates, calls me a “catch,” and says girls I’m interested in don’t know what they’re missing. When a recent dating situation didn’t go well for me, she checked in to make sure I was okay and told me to reach out if I needed support.

There are also a few small things that stand out to me. Mary isn’t someone who generally likes being touched, but when we playfully interact—like when she took my phone, and I had to hold her to get it back—she seems fine with it. She borrows my rubber bands for her hair, even though I’ve heard that’s something women usually avoid because it can damage their hair. One time when I had something on my face, she didn’t wait for me to clean it off; she just wiped it off herself. We’ve even started giving each other rubber bands we find as little “gifts,” wrapping them around each other’s wrists. She also notices when my mood changes, like the time she was in a bad mood and saw that I reacted to it. Later, she apologized, saying she didn’t mean to upset me and bought me a drink to make up for it.

These interactions make me wonder about our connection. It could just be that we’re really comfortable around each other. If she were single, I might consider asking her out, but since she’s not, I respect that boundary.

Recently, there was a strange moment when I missed a team meeting. Mary texted me around that time, asking if I was upset with her because someone had implied I was. I wasn’t, but she didn’t say who had mentioned it and just told me to forget about it. She disappeared for the rest of the shift after that, but the next day, we talked, and it turned out to be nothing—just some gossip. Still, I was stressed out by the potential for drama, and when she saw that, she hugged me and told me not to worry. Things went back to normal after that.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about all these moments between us. I’m not sure if there’s more to them or if it’s just a close work friendship, and if I should distance myself to prevent any familial issues on her end.