"...but he’s afraid that if he tells her, they won’t be able to stay friends anymore."

- My younger boy is 16 now. You know, he’s been good friends with this girl that he really likes, and he told me he didn’t know what to do. 

- Aww. I’m sure he wants to be more than just friends, right?

- Yeah, he does… but he’s afraid that if he tells her, they won’t be able to stay friends anymore.

- I can understand. So what did you tell him?

- Well, I said: “Honey, if you don’t open up to her, you two might stay friends but you’ll never really know how she feels. Why don’t you try talking to her? You don’t have to ask her to make a decision right away—just share how you feel without holding any expectation. If she doesn’t think the relationship you guys have now should change, you can decide if you still want to stay friends. But if she does like you as more than a friend, then you can both figure out if you want to take things to the next level.”