Signs from Coworker, or am I just being hopeful?

I started a temp six-month job 2-3 months ago and am wondering if my coworker is giving me signs of interest.. or if I'm just misinterpreting things out of hope.

For what it's worth, I live in Seattle.. there's lots of gays and I think I get the average amount of attention. I'm fine at discerning interest from normal guys in normal social settings... but this guy I am slightly interested seems to be shy, and shares my workplace (but we're not true coworkers).

In the past I've been into outgoing, kinda loud, guys who are obvious about their attraction. This guy does not strike me as being that type of person... and that seems to be drawing me in.

My workplace (hospitality) is kind of big and has different departments. I work in the restaurant as a waiter, he works the front desk. He seems kind of reserved around me, but chats (not super social) with the cooks and other servers.

First day I started, we ran into each other in one of the upper floor hallways. He said hi and introduced himself. He asked me my work schedule. I told him I'm full time. He said he "only works Tuesday" and "see you around" before running back to work. So really, I've only seen this guy once a week since starting.

One thing I notice is that he always seems to make eye contact with me. Usually if I meet his gaze, he looks away (downwards).. this happens a lot when we pass each other in halls or I see him in the backroom of the restaurant (once a week-ish). But if he meets my gaze, he'll hold it for a little bit. This happened once while I was coyly looking at art that was hung around the front desk area... to sneak a glance at him. After I walked up to him and asked him about what other responsibilities he has at the front desk... a really boring question. I said "I mean I get you're front desk... but like what are you working on right now...?" He gave me a response that matched by lame question... but made eye contact. I noticed his eyes are blue. I don't know the eye colors of anybody at work. The eye contact thing is troubling. I tend to confidently hold people's gazes.. even strangers. I am terrible at using it to discern attraction though. However, since going crazy and reading a lot of "does he like me" articles... I've noticed most of my coworkers (and friends) look away to the side 99% of the time... he is one of the only people that does this downwards glance (along with an ex, and other interests).

Another thing I've noticed is that he seems to get in my space. During his breaks, he'll come into the backroom to get food... and will stand right next to me and say something like "just getting soup" or nothing at all... I'm not sure how to interpret this. Most of our non-server coworkers give servers space. On the other hand, my server coworkers are always touchy (its a small space).. and there's no room for misinterpretation there. The weirdest thing that has happened is one time I walked into the backroom towards the line (cooks area)... he was walking out, towards the door. I shifted to the right and gave him enough space to pass (and looked forward to the line as I was in a rush to get food delivered)... he bumped into me.

Something I have recently noticed (maybe two or three times) is that he'll have a slight grin on his face when I walk by. He'll always be looking down and he looks busy (not looking at his phone or something). He could be a happy guy who always smiles... but ehh... whenever I'm spying on him he seems kind of gruff/serious with a "me at work" face. I don't think people generally grin at nothing... unless they're giant rays of smiling sunshine (which he is not).

One big thing that I fear I am misinterpreting is how how he seems to linger in the backroom and server areas during his breaks. Other coworkers (that aren't servers) generally come in and leave as quick as possible.. again, minding their space... he just seems to hang around... doing nothing. Sometimes he's waiting for his food, but, again, nobody waits for their food in the kitchen... not even me. While he's lingering he says hi to the chefs and other servers... but he never talks to me. He always makes eye contact while he's leaving or entering.. and looks down.

One final thing that I'm not really banking on is that one of my coworkers (he works in the kitchen, not as a server) said the guy likes me. We were out smoking a cigarette and I saw someone come into work through the garage. Coworker said "that's [name]". I couldn't hear the name, so I said "who is [unintelligble version of name]?" Coworker replied, "asshole, that's [name]." Then after a pause "He likes you." Now, I'm not sure how to interpret his comment... this guy is kind of a joker at work. He (coworker) does treat me well as a coworker and when we hang out... but he's very much a joker. This coworker's wife works with us... and my crush knows both of these two people (always says "hi" to them, if around).

One of my other coworkers, whom I do trust... has been encouraging and said "you should talk to him" and asks if I have. He also said he was gonna text me telling me that the guy was at work before I showed up... the problem here is that he comes from a different (Asian) country... and there's a slight language barrier (like, say, 70% fluency in conjunction with differences in words meaning different things to cultures)... so I sometimes wonder if I'm misinterpreting our conversations as being "DO THIS HE LIKES YOU" rather than being friendly.

I know the common advice is to not do anything about workplace stuff.. but this is a temporary position which I plan on leaving. Independent of that, we work in entirely different departments... and our interactions are really limited to running into each other in the halls.. or in the backroom and restaurant.

Do you think there's something going on here? I find it hard to interpret this seemingly shy guy's actions. And I find it strange/puzzling/sad that he doesn't come up and talk to me... but seems to linger around, and will readily hold a conversation (about work) when I initiate.

As far as my behavior around him... I treat and talk to him like a coworker.. I'm pretty stealthy about checking him out and don't get caught... when I do, he meets my gaze. So I'm not like blinking my eyes rapidly and blushing around this dude. Just kind of doing the same back to him..

Thanks y'all.

 

Also its nice to be back on the forums. I posted under a different account, and really appreciated the advice!

 

I agree it's good not to jump to conclusions. I just want to be sure that I'm not misinterpreting disinterest as interest from a shy guy..

Yes, all my coworkers in the restaraunt know I am gay. I made a joke about myself being gay while he was around, so I certainly hope he knows!