I'm a 21 year old female and I've never dated before. I'm rather introverted, and romance just became something that didn't seem it would ever be for me.

About eight months ago I made a friend who has fast become the greatest friend I have ever had. And quite recently, I fell head over heels in love with him. The thing is, he's in his 40s.

We get along well. The age difference is lost in our conversations. Sure, sometimes he starts talking about "when he was my age" and when something happened in '77, but other than that, I just plain forget that he's as old as my parents. Sometimes a gray hair catches my eye and I realize that he was my age when I was born, but it doesn't bother me that badly.

Anyway, I'm in love for the very first time, and madly so. And it's begging to seem like it's mutual. Lately he's been complimenting what I'm wearing each time we meet. That's quite new. He also asks me about mundane stuff he never had before. He laughs extra hard at my feeble attempts at humor, and he has been inviting me along on grocery shopping trips just to spend time together. We have plans to meet inside of his house for the first time ever next week as well, and it was his idea to do so. But he's never hit on me or made innuendo or anything like that. I'm afraid that he does feel the same for me, but is too afraid to make a move because of the age gap between us.

Is such a thing so wrong? Am I blind to an obvious fact? Is it creepy? I'm of legal age and I feel mature enough to handle such a relationship at this point, and really, age shouldn't matter here, right? What's it matter if someone is physically twice your age if you're both on a very similar mental plane and you genuinely care for each other?

Please give your opinion and advice, my dear board. I just want to know what other people think. Thanks.