Valentine's Day is such a weirdly perfect storm for crushes—nervous energy, chocolate everywhere, and that unspoken pressure to 'make a move.' If I’m trying to figure out if someone’s into me, I watch for little things: Do they find excuses to touch their hair or adjust their clothes when we talk? That’s classic subconscious preening. Are their jokes landing a little too perfectly, like they’ve rehearsed them? Big sign. And if they go out of their way to mention being single or casually drop 'I’ve never gotten flowers on Valentine’s Day before' with pointed eye contact? Oh, they’re absolutely tossing breadcrumbs.
But here’s the thing—sometimes people are just friendly or awkward. I once spent weeks analyzing a coworker’s Spotify playlists (they kept adding love songs!) only to realize they just liked sad indie music. Now I look for patterns: consistent lingering after group hangouts, remembering tiny details I mentioned months ago, or—this is key—if they vibe with my weird humor. Last year, my now-partner laughed at my terrible pun about heart-shaped pizza crust, and that’s when I knew.