<human>: Give me the gist of the text in a nutshell

I [22F] have a friend [24M] that I'm really into but I don't know how to make a move or if I even should. We recently started hanging out again and he says he just wants to be friends. 

But last night out of the blue, he texted me and told me I was beautiful and it 'makes him sad that someone so beautiful doesn't realize it'. This was random so it wasn't like I was fishing for compliments. I thanked him and we flirted back and forth (he asked me to tell him a sexy secret about myself) for a few minutes before he said "this isn't good for our let's be friends cause". I try to subtly suggest we should be more than friends but he shuts me down every time and I'm not sure if he just doesn't get the hint or really isn't interested. He says things like "we have too much of a connection to sleep together." 

So I'm extremely confused. He's a straight single guy, he thinks I'm attractive, and we get along really well but he just wants to be friends. I don't want to be too forward but I'm tired of being lead on. What can I do or say to get my point across without coming off as a creep? And how do guys feel about the girl making the first move? Would trying to give him a kiss the next time we hang out be too weird?
<bot>: Friend is sending me mixed signals. How can I show him I want to be more than friends without coming off as creepy/desperate?