Does he like me?

I am 15 and a half and I’ve known this boy since I was 10 or 11. He’s 16 now. Anyways, his family works at a restaurant and so does he. He lives two hours away so we don’t often get to see them. Yesterday night, my mom and I were in that town and ate there. He talked with us for a good 20 minutes to a half an hour just talking and the whole entire time he sported pink cheeks. My mom asked if there were any good hikes to go on somewhere in the middle of the conversation and he suggested a few good ones. When he rushed off to get our food, my mom told me that I was red too and I just about never blush. After we finished the main meal, I asked, “Hey, can we get desert?” and he said, “Fried ice cream, right?” I couldn’t believe he remembered that we always order fried ice cream, especially since we haven’t been there since January. After the meal, he shook my mom’s and my hand but when he shook mine it felt like time stopped for a second. We made eye contact and we both smiled. On the way home from dinner (and I was still red), my mom told me I should have asked him to go on a hike with me tomorrow. When we got home, it took me a good 15 minutes but I finally got the courage up to call back to the restaurant. Long story short, I asked him to go hiking with me tomorrow and he gave me an immediate “yes” without hesitation and I got his number. The next day we hiked and had a great time. We were talking the whole time and its so easy to talk to him. Even if there were silences, they weren’t awkward. They were comfortable.

I know you probably are thinking, oh well you’re too young to be liking a guy like this. But this boy is different than the teenagers at my school. He’s kind and caring and he’s polite. He calls my mother “ma’am” and my father “sir” and shakes their hands. He holds doors open for me. He’s a gentleman.

I’m just not sure he likes me. We’ve been texting for the past few days and he’s great. Everything is going good and this weekend we are planning to hang out again. Do you guys have any suggestions on what we should do? And also, do you think he likes me, or are we in the “friend zone”? Oh and do you think a relationship could work with us even though we live two hours apart? Thanks!