Well, what are you so afraid of doing "in the heat of the moment," that's so foolish? Dry hump his leg? Do you drink excessively?
Why not just say this to him:
"...hey, I like you a lot. i find you attractive. What do you think?..."
That's not over the top, nor foolish, nor stalkerish.
It takes a lot of guts in the beginning when you ask someone out, because the fear of rejection hasn't been mitigated by experience. Even when you have a lot of experience it's still in there a little bit.
But in the end, you can be that guy who never goes after what he wants, and regrets it for the rest of his life, or you can be the guy that did go after what he wanted, and no matter how it turned out, at least had the satisfaction of knowing he wasn't scared to act.
It's always easier to do nothing, but then you usually get nothing, which is safe, and status quo, but ultimately leaves you alone.
Another part of this might be, that you don't want to say anything because you're not that comfortable with yourself. Don't know, but if you've never told anyone about yourself, that's definitely a possibility.
It all comes down to how badly you want him, and how much courage you have to do what's necessary to get him. It's still possible that he's not interested, but if you're more afraid of asking and revealing your same sex attraction - then getting turned down; or if you're more afraid of rejection, than you are of asking him out, maybe you aren't all that into him.
The closet thing will trump attraction, and will cause you to make a thousand and one justifications about why it's more prudent to be silent, which is an issue with yourself only you can gauge.
The other, well, that's just fear.
Again, how badly do you want him? What are you willing to do to get him?
Answer that to yourself.