Need some advice from guys - would you act like this with just a friend? Does he like me or just being nice? Thanks!!!?

My friends think he likes me& I never noticed until they pointed it out. He calls me "darlin" &"cute" &in a convo once he asked me "ur not seeing anyone are u?" Or if I have plans w a friend, he says "Oh, who's the lucky guy?"We always hug (we had similar tragic family situations growing up& feel close) Recently, we were at dinner w friends& he touched my upper thigh while making a pt in a story he was telling. Another time, I was sitting on a couch& he sat next to me &put his arm around me
Once he did me a favor involving going to my apt where my roomie was the only one home &she told me after he asked "what the Valentines day plans were," &when she told him we were doing girls night, he said "o thats what ur ALL doing?" But then he does contradictory things like tell me how hes "had a lot of dates up there," when we walk by a building on campus, or how he& his friends were goofing off doing a school tradition when the cops saw them &chased him

I think sometimes he was trying to impress me, but I didnt realize I liked him so I shut him down, so to send him the right signals I invited him to the fair in my city (55 mi away from him). We made the plans 3 wks in advance, so he had PLENTY of time to backout but he picked me up &brought a jacket "in case 1 of us gets cold,"&we spent the whole day there, shared a beer, &he did stuff like tell me what his strategies were to win games &when i talked about another guy friend in passing, he was dismissive &said "well good for him"