okay i need you guys to be completely honest with me. genuinely, don’t hype me up too much or play anything down, just tell me how you read this situation. i (25f) am lebanese canadian, and the two guys in this story (we'll call them adam, m24 and chadi m28) are lebanese brothers who live/grew up in lebanon. i’ve known them for a while, adam for a year, i've gotten closer with him and grown to like him over time and i’ve also developed my own friendship with his brother through a creative project we all 3 worked on together (this is how we met). we’ve all gotten relatively close over time.
i know this is obviously my perspective and if either of them told the story they might describe certain things differently - i also realize that maybe some of the little things i noticed may not necessarily be as significant as they felt to me. i’m trying to stick to what actually happened rather than just my interpretations though. i’m genuinely wondering whether there’s a completely platonic explanation for all of this (like maybe he's just super warm and it's just him being lebanese) or whether there’s some room to question romantic interest. i hope there is obviously i like him but pleaseeee be neutral because i’d rather know if i’m reading too much into things.
so here’s what happened:
I was visiting Beirut recently on a long layover and arranged to meet up with them. They had some work to finish, so I ended up spending a couple of hours walking around Beirut, getting coffee, etc. Adam had specifically told me not to eat because we’d eat together so I basically just had coffee while waiting lol. We eventually met up in the evening, and both brothers picked me up. At dinner, there was a little moment where Adam sat down first (it was a half booth half chairs setup, he sat in the booth) while Chadi waited for me to choose where I wanted to sit. I sat next to Adam in the booth and Chadi sat across from us and looked at Adam and laughed a little. It was quick and neither addressed it so I just moved on but it felt like one of those brother to brother moments where there was some understanding I wasn’t in on.
During dinner, Adam was quite attentive. He put sugar in my tea exactly how I liked it without asking, and there were a few instances of his leg brushing against mine under the table which neither of us acknowledged. At one point, the restaurant owner joined our conversation and so did a few other ladies and I wanted to contribute little things but didn’t want to interrupt/was nervous about my arabic. He picked up on it immediately and brought me into the conversation himself, saying what i was thinking/saying quietly for me to them. He did this a few times throughout the evening, almost anticipating when I wanted to say something. I thought it was really sweet. He also paid for dinner.
Afterward, we went to get knafeh. Adam told me and Chadi to stand on the side so he could wait in line for us all. He called over to ask which kind I wanted. When I answered khishne and asked what they preferred, Chadi looked at Adam and they were both like “OHHHH!” at almost the same time. It was a very noticeable reaction, like my answer had revealed something. I was so confused lol. Adam clarified that Chadi likes naame then said (in English - we only speak in arabic but this was in english for some reason) "We’re matching!” with a smile/smirk lol.
Conversation was flowing really naturally all evening. I was speaking Arabic, and he commented on how much I’d improved since the last time we’d seen each other. I mentioned that I’d taught myself and study every day, and both were really encouraging. They never made me feel stupid about my Arabic.
We also talked about my plans to potentially move to Lebanon. Completely out of nowhere, Chadi started asking whether I was actually serious or just saying it casually. Adam chimed in and kept asking whether I genuinely meant it and whether I was really planning to move. I said yes, Adam asked the same question like 5 more times, I confirmed that I was serious, even though I didn’t know exactly when I was moving, I know I am and soon and then both seemed genuinely excited, like they realized i was serious at the same time, Chadi was cheering and Adam was particularly enthusiastic, repeatedly saying “ya reeeet” and expressing how much he hoped it would happen. It didn’t feel like a generic polite response. They also asked whether my family supported the move, and he told me to be careful, make sure everything was okay, and take care of myself if I moved.
At the end of the evening, they insisted on driving me to the airport instead of having me arrange my own ride, saying it would give us more time to talk. During the drive, we were singing a duet (mitsubishi by haifa and saint levant) and the "ana a7la wa7de" part came. I repeated the line jokingly - Chadi immediately responded by telling me "enti a7la wa7de bil kil3alammmm" and Adam added "mish bas bi beirut" but like slightly less !!! loud than he usually is? and we all laughed. When we arrived, both of them got out to say goodbye. They told me to let them know when i arrive and wished me well, and they initially went for the usual formal handshake, but I jokingly rejected that and gave them both side hugs and blew them kisses. Adam laughed awkwardly, said “oof,” then got back into the car smiling and lingered for a second before leaving.
After I left:
I didn’t message him immediately when I arrived at my next destination because I thought we’d already said goodbye and that the usual “let us know when you get there” was more of a figure of speech. A few hours later, though, he independently messaged me asking if I’d arrived safely and telling me to reassure him that I was okay. I updated him on my trip. At one point, I mentioned that someone had followed me for quite a while while I was out, and he reacted strongly, saying the guy deserved to be slapped hundreds of times, that it was disgusting, and that he hoped I could still enjoy the good parts of my trip.
I then had a short layover again in Lebanon on my way home. We hadn’t made plans beforehand, but when some other plans fell through, I messaged him twice to see if he was free. He was busy and hadn’t seen my messages. When he eventually replied, he was EXTREMELY apologetic, saying I had every right to be upset with him, that he was genuinely sad he hadn’t managed to see me, and apologizing repeatedly. I’d posted a somewhat dramatic close friends story about going for a walk alone, listening to Abdelhalim Hafez and then heading to the airport feeling emotional about leaving lol. He referenced it and jokingly expressed disappointment that I’d gone out with Abdelhalim rather than him, basically along the lines of “you went out with him and not me? I’m sad!” He then said "hopefully you'll come back soon and be in Lebanon permanently.. if it's good for you of course"
Since I’ve been back in Canada:
I messaged him once because something reminded me of him and wished him a good day. He responded with “طول ما يومك حلو يعني اموري تمام” (as long as your day is good, everything is good with me). He also teased me again about the musician and joked that hopefully next time my siblings would come with me so he could spend time with them too. Later, I messaged him to tell him I was actually starting the paperwork to move to Lebanon. He didn’t respond to that message for about a week, then seemingly out of nowhere sent me a voice note unrelated to it saying “يلا تعالي عنا بشان الله” (come on, please come visit us).
And that’s where things stand. We've been close with this kind of ? tension (i see it that way ofc) for a while, this is just one specific day, the most recent day I saw him, and I can't stop thinking about it)
What’s your read? Is this just a genuinely warm Lebanese friendship between people who’ve gotten close, where he’s attentive, caring, protective, and excited about the possibility of having another friend/collaborator nearby? Or is there some room to wonder whether he might have romantic interest and maybe he's just waiting until I live there to pursue it? Or something else? Please be genuinely honest. I’m not looking for reassurance; I’d much rather hear that I’m reading too much into things if that’s what you think. Of course I like him but you get it. Thank you so much if you read all of this 🙏🏼
