How to Tell A Friend?

I'm considering coming out to a friend. We had never met before the start of school this year, but in the short time between then and now, we've become best friends. We have similar interests and opinions, but disagree just enough to have interesting conversations. We get along very well, and to top it all off, he's rather good-looking.

Sometime in the course of this, I realized I was developing a rather intense crush on him. The last time I had a crush on a straight friend, I was depressed for weeks after accepting that nothing was going to come of it, and I'm determined to prevent myself reliving that mistake, so I've decided that I am going to come out to him. I have no doubt that he will accept me, and I think he'll have no problem keeping the secret. Mainly, there are two problems: One, I never have an opportunity to talk to him in private, and I am absolutely NOT taking the risk of being overheard, obviously. Two, I don't want things to become awkward between us after I tell him, and that could easily happen if he realizes that I have feelings for him.

So, my question is this: Do you have any advice on how I can come out to this guy, but avoid making our friendship uncomfortable because of my feelings?

 

Thanks for the advice. I haven't come out yet, but I do have an update.

We were talking the other day at lunch, and I said something was a little bit gay, and he said, "Like me!". Our whole conversation stopped and we just kinda stared at each other in awkward silence for a couple of seconds before he chuckled nervously and said, "haha, just kidding!" Maybe it was just a joke and I'm reading too much into it, but the look on his face after he said that makes me think it wasn't just a wisecrack.

I've resolved that before Christmas, I'm going to come out to him. He's in the choir and I'm their accompanist, so I'll be with him a lot outside of school for performances where I might have a better shot at getting him alone, so I'm thinking of telling him at one of those.