It’s there and it works both ways.

I have been heard the dreaded words “let’s just be friends” or “I think of you as just a friend” many times in my younger days.

But I think there are lots of times when a man and a woman are friends the woman wishes that the guy would ask them out, as well as the more common condition where they do just want to just remain friends. I have a lot of female friends (in fact almost all my friends are women) being married and faithful (so far) I don’t really think about dating any of them, but we do talk about all sorts of things, so I have heard several of them comment on having a crush on one of their friends. I always advise them to ask the guy out, but then never do, they usually say something along the lines “if he likes me he should know that I like him and ask me out” I really wish women would understand that men can’t read their minds.

As to your friend I would ask her out, better to risk being hurt by being rejected than the certainty of a lifetime of regret over what might have been.