Also I think it might be good to avoid the whole “I’m interested in her but also not trying to hit on her or anything”. Sure, the “two people quietly have a crush on each other for a long time until one of them finally says something” can work out, but it depends on both people not having any other prospects that do make a move, as well as them not having a “fine, I didn’t want it in the first place” defense in response to doing exactly what OP is doing here, which absolutely can crush crushes (or sometimes convert it into disdain).