I am confused about romance, please help.

For context I'm 17yo, I'm going to community college while my friends go to high school, but I used to go to the same middle school and in 9th the same high school as them. I am still keeping in touch with all of them. I have also never been in a "more than friends" relationship with anyone.

I thought I was experiencing at least some romantic attraction, so I labeled myself as experiencing alterous attraction, but when I talked to my mother about it she said it doesn't seem like I'm experiencing any romantic attraction at all, and that it just sounds like I have a really good friend.

I don't really know how to explain the conversation more than that, so I'll just try my best to explain how I feel about/think of one of my friends differently from the rest, as well as how other people have viewed and currently view us (any questions for clarification are appreciated).

People view us as being in a relationship or wanting to be in one. We talk to each other a lot (I talk to her way more than I talk to my other friends, the main reasons being I can understand her better than I can other friends, and I just prefer talking to her), we are both kind of shy, so when we talk or when we go to watch a friend's performance we often distance ourselves from others, we make each other laugh more than other friends because we share a sense of humor.

I like/enjoy being around her and talking with her more that with other friends. One of the questions my mother asked me was "Do you think about her likes and interests more than your other friends likes and interests? Example "Oh, she would like that", or "She would find that interesting""; my answer was "Yes, but I think that's only because I know her better than I know my other friends". Something else I mentioned to my mother was "I would not ask or even hint at wanting to be in a more than friends relationship. I would be perfectly fine with just staying friends, but if she asked me I would not say no. However if any other friend asked to be in a more than friends relationship I would say no."

I do not understand what romance is or what it entails, so I would be willing to explore that if I am ever in a relationship, but anything sexual is a big no.