My situation is this, I have had my eye on a guy (I will call him L) for ages and we get on extremely well. I won't bore you with the details but all the body language is spot on. I work for a charity organisation and so does L. He is at the top of the tree and I am middle. He knows I want to progress and got me onto a course that would really help me. I wouldn't have got onto it otherwise and it meant promotion at the same place of work. He has offered to do many things to help me work related and otherwise. I mentioned changing career and going back to college and he went a bit stern and commanding. He said I was perfect for this job role and that I'm great.

He wants to hold onto you. 

He seemed a bit embarrassed then when he realised what he has said and looked at the ground and blushed.  He seemed fidgety too.

That could have been a mixture of two things, both of which suggest he fancies you.  He could have thought, he made it too obvious that he fancied you or he could of thought he was overstepping the mark and may offend you with his comments.  The blushing just demonstrated that he fancied you and this was a big issue to him. 

Had he leaked more information without thinking?

Yep, certainly, he probably jumped in both feet first. 

He always goes a bit weird like this if he offers a compliment I have noticed.

Because he wants to give you compliments but feels self concious about it, like what is she thinking, is she thinking I'm being too nice, am I blowing my chances by giving her compliments. 

He's never like this any other time, usually fairly confident and calm. Things were going well then I started a one-to-one with a member of the group and this involved being away from my place of work for a long time (6 months).

Ouch, that is bad, it means you have to start from scratch again when you next see him. 

When I went back I went into the staff room and L was there. I sat down and acted really pleased to see him and smiled and said hello. He looked pi**ed off and said "you haven't been here for ages". He didn't smile but just stared at me. He looked very dejected.

Yes, because he'd missed you and it was probably heart wrenching not knowing when of if he will see you again.  He will take sometime to get over it and will probably feel what if she has found someone or what if she's going to go away for another six months.  I think frustration is more likely to be the appropriate word, but he would have come across as angry.

I felt uncomfortable and tried to explain the reason. He was off with me the whole time and seemed hurt. I just accepted it and over the next few days I avoided him thinking he didn't want the contact.

It was probably for the best, but he'll get over it and gradually stop sulking.  As long as you give him some space to get over it and don't overpower him. 

I saw him again because I had to for our project and he did a complete 360 and was the same as before.

Predictable, it doesn't take that long for a guy to get over it, after an initial shock. Just don't do it again.

I acted a bit cool at first due to my surprise but then mirrored him.  We chatted for ages (not about the project) and the warmth came back.

Whilst I said you will have to start again, the rapport you had initially will start to show through and you will work your way to that point quickly once he's stopped sulking.

I am now on another one-to-one case again and don't know when I will see him. If I had seen him I would have told him. I don't have a number for him apart from the work number

So what's wrong with the works number, even if it's just to let him know.  Just make a joke of it, "I wanted to let you know, so you don't tell me off next time you see me".  If he doesn't respond to that be prepared to change the subject, think of a subject to divert onto before you phone him. 

It depends how long you are away really, if it's for less than a few weeks, then it won't matter too much.  But 6 months, that's just too long and it will be twice in a row, you've gone missing for that significant amount of time.

or his e-mail. I don't know what to do.

Phone him and let him know. 

I have very strong feelings for him and I believe he has for me. In the beginning it was him that kept talking to me and throwing signals out. He hasn't ever mentioned us going out but we did talk about places we go and we had both been there. Should I go to these places and see if he is there?

Yep, there's an idea!  Either that or phone him.

Maybe then we could talk on a more social level away from the workplace. I am worried that when I go back he will be cool and unresponsive again and I don't think I could stand it.

He probably will be, in fact he maybe more likely to give up, because he'll just start to think this isn't going to work, because you keep disappearing all the time. 

Was he cool because he had missed me?

Certainly.  He sounds like the type of guy that spits everything out of his mouth without thinking.  That reaction you got from him was spontaneous and clearly indicating he was in a sulk because he missed you. 

Should I make an excuse to nip into the office and hope he is there?

There's another idea.  It's up to you to weigh up which option you would prefer.  What you shouldn't do, is disappear for another six months and give him chance to get fed up and find someone else instead. 

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