I've never been attracted to a man or masculine person before, but now I (24F) have feelings for my close friend (21M). How does this happen?

Hey! So, here’s the quick version: I'm a 24-year-old woman who has only ever been attracted to women. However, I recently developed feelings for one of my closest friends, who is a very androgynous guy, and it's left me feeling quite confused 😭. I’ve already come to terms with what this means for my sexuality, but navigating this situation is tricky for a couple of reasons: he’s a great friend and he’s a man. I’ve been dropping hints, but I can’t tell if he’s not picking up on them because he doesn’t want to acknowledge them or if I need to be more direct. I’m uncertain. The full story is below. Let’s call my friend Youssef ❤️. We met online about two years ago while creating content in the same niche on TikTok. We followed each other and quickly started chatting, which turned into daily voice notes and texts. Our bond has grown strong, and it’s been wonderful! He lives in my home country, while I’m in the U.S. When I visited family last summer, he was the only friend I made time to see—even though I didn’t have feelings for him then, I just knew I wanted to spend time with him. I felt butterflies the whole time, but I didn’t think much of it since he had a boyfriend and I didn’t consider myself attracted to anyone who wasn’t a woman. Fast forward a few months to December: Youssef shared that he had broken up with his boyfriend and I was the first person he told. As he opened up to me, I felt an unfamiliar ache in my heart, realizing how much I truly cared for him. I started replaying his voice notes and reminiscing about our messages, ultimately identifying my feelings as a crush. After a bit of an identity crisis regarding my sexuality, I fully embraced it and began crushing hard, lol. Here’s the catch—he identifies as pansexual but mostly dates men. When we became friends, I mentioned I was a lesbian, which we joked about, and I even said he’d be my type if I liked men 🥲. As the months went by, I began overanalyzing our friendship, thinking maybe I was overstepping. Even though we flirted playfully—typical of our queer friendship—I started toning that down a bit. Early January, he shared a bunch of pictures of himself with friends, and one included us. I messaged him, saying, "Omg, all your friends are so cute, look at us ❤️," to which he replied, “We’re all sexy, be real... I would date every single one of us, including you." I was totally shocked! It felt like he was giving me more than just friendly vibes, and my crush reignited. There’s definitely been a lot of flirtation between us, but sometimes I can’t tell if it’s just playful banter or if he actually feels something for me. Here are a few examples to help clarify: Signs he might like me: - He used to comment on my TikToks complimenting me like he does with people he likes, saying things like, “Damn, you look so good, cutie.” - He sends me TikToks with sexual jokes. - He talks about what he wants in a partner and lists traits I have, then mentions, “If only someone like that was in our country…” (I want to move back, so who knows?) - He frequently expresses how much he wishes I could be there for activities or celebrations. - When I first met him, I let slip that I kind of liked him, and he got excited about it but then later lamented that the right people for him aren’t in our country. Signs that confuse me: - He recently mentioned a crush on a mutual friend I introduced him to and keeps talking about them but adds that it won’t lead anywhere. - When I jokingly suggest I could be into men, he doesn’t seem to react. He only responds to other parts of the conversation. - After I told him about a friend getting engaged, he expressed a desire for us to live authentically and then sent me a mildly flirty message an hour later. This left me wondering if he still sees me strictly as a lesbian or if he doesn’t recognize that I could like him. What do you think? I don’t want to jeopardize our friendship, so I’m keeping the flirting light. I’m curious to know if he might feel the same or if I should just let it go and continue being friends. Thanks for reading and for your thoughts!