<human>: Can you give me the gist of the text in a nutshell?

Hi Reddit. Originally I was talking to guy in question on Grindr when I was 17, we had a few chats etc, nothing too heavy.

I took a job at the place he's at (unbeknownst to me) when I turned 18 and although we never spoke in work, we'd see each other in passing. We carried on chatting online and he started coming over to my house now and then. For a while we'd just sit and talk in front of the TV til we fell asleep, then it moved onto cuddling in bed, kissing and all that.

We didn't actually have sex for at least a year and even now we aren't having sex every time we meet. I recently moved out of my parents' house so he comes over a lot more often, but it's always worded as "spooning" or something and sex isn't even mentioned.

Although we rarely talk unless it's for him to come over, it doesn't feel like a casual, one night thing. If it was just a quick lay and then he's out it'd make way more sense but when he's here he actually shows a lot of affection.

I get the feeling he has some self confidence issues, which doesn't help because I'm not great there either.

I really like him and have done for a long time, but I don't know how to go about telling him that (in person? via text?) without making everything awkward because as much as he gives off signs otherwise, I'm worried that I might just be reading too much into it and by telling him I could just be diving into a world of embarrassment.
<bot>: been talking for 4 years, kept feelings quiet, should i tell him? how? is he too affectionate for it to be casual? or am i reading too much into it?