Can teasing (help, please?) be a sign of interest? ?

This man I know teases me about different things, like he teased that he asked me out and I said no and broke his heart (to another person), he teases me about " I thought you cared about me - I see how you are - you go for these young guys around here" . I was taking a phone call and he teased me about " Hot Dinner Date? Are you stepping out on me already?". A close friend of mine said that his teasing could be a way for him to find out if I could like him or not without being direct about it in case I would be like " No way" . I do really like him back and we talk pretty easily considering how shy I am. I was trying to figure out whether or not to express my interest in him. I need help.