At the time that he said that he wanted to be friends with you, he thought that was the case in his mind.

This guy was either dating someone else at the time, or more interested in someone else.

Notwithstanding, he understood that things weren’t certain to work out with that person.

He does notice that he is attracted to you but doesn’t have a particularly strong level of romantic interest.

He decides that he would rather be friends at this time.

He knows that he wants more in the future if things don’t work out with who he is currently dating or more interested in pursuing.

He wants to give the relationship he has with you some time before he moves it into romance.

He is a guy that is cautious with who he chooses to date.

He has had bad experiences in the past by getting into relationships too quickly and getting hurt in the process.

He believes that it is better to be patient and build a friendship before entering a romance.

The motivation is to get to get to know you more and observe your mannerisms.

This is how he gauges how well your personality matches or interlinks with his own.

He is practicing caution.

If he is a guy who has been more selective in who he dates in the past, this is why.

He is more of a relationship-oriented type of guy, but he doesn’t want to get into a relationship before being entirely sure of the person he is dealing with.

He wants this time to get to know you so that he gets to learn about who you hang out with.

He knows that the crowd that you keep is most likely a reflection of who you are.

When he puts himself in these environments as your friend, he gets some firsthand experience of the kind of people you associate yourself with.

It is in these moments that he judges your character.

He asks himself a number of questions.

Are these the people that he wants to be around were he to be in a relationship with you?

Does he have anything in common with these people?

Is he comfortable with bringing these people around people he knows?

He is being cautious.

When he realizes over time that he does have some compatibility with you, he makes the decision.

He decides that it is time to tell you that he wants more.

You become confused and wonder why he would tell you this now, after having initially told you that he wanted to be friends.

This frustrates you, but remember that you can use his dating history to guide you.

When he has a history of long-term relationships, this method of being friends first is how he has done it.