Oh gosh, I hate those situations. I tend to do what you do (act oblivious) which isn't a great MO, I agree. It's difficult because even though you 'know', you don't want to assume. To be honest, fantail, I'm a bit stumped. If you would really like to be his friend, it's a shame to throw that away. You can't really know at this stage either if he's the sort of person who would be happy remaining your friend even though he wanted something more. You could go out with him and be really mindful of any opportunities to talk about how you are not wanting to get into a romantic relationship at this point in you life? That's probably the chicken thing I would do, but it may not be the best idea. Sorry, I can't be much help - I'm useless in situations like this!