How do I break the touch barrier?

There is a boy that I like. I’m pretty sure that he feels the same way about me, and we are very good friends. I’ve heard that a good way to make a guy know that you are interested is to break the touch barrier. The only problem is that the only suggestions I’ve found to break the touch barrier are very flirty or obvious. I want to break this “touch barrier” but I am nervous about the whole touch aspect. I don’t want to get too heavy with touching to start off. Does anyone have any suggestions as to breaking the touch barrier in the beginning, without too much touching? (You should also know that I have zero experience with guys or relationships so any tips along the lines of that would be nice as well).