I Should've Told Him When I Had the Chance

I know that he likes me so much, yet I'm stuck in a situation that I've never been in before. It's so hard knowing how much he likes me and not knowing if I even like him back in the slightest way. I want too so bad because I can tell he'd make a great boyfriend and that he'd care about and take care of me, but something keeps holding me back. Maybe I'm afraid to get close to someone, it makes sense. I just can't keep living a lie and acting like I like him back. It's killing me. Especially because I'm talking to 3 other people, just as friends mostly now, but what if something does happen? What if I do develop a crush for someone else? What do I tell him? He thinks I like him so much. I've dug a hole so deep for myself that I can barely see the light. There's no easy way for me to get out of this. I'm all alone, on my own, and I don't want to lose a friend.