I think men and women can be friends, but only if they don't have feelings for each other. If they do, then it's not what I think would be a normal friendship.

Here are a couple of articles on this that might help:
Men and Women Can't Be "Just Friends" - Scientific American
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...e-just-friends

These articles show that men probably tend to perceive a woman's friendliness as flirting, and the feelings they feel towards their female friend are mutual, whereas women are more likely to be unaware of a male friend's feelings towards them. However, this definitely isn't true for everyone, so it's just something to consider.

I can tell you care about your friend, so I hope things go well.