Hey all, I'm just looking for some advice to my situation, as far as nutrition goes.

I've been focusing on fitness since about February this year, and I just got back into lifting around May. I had lifted a bit before hand, but nothing programmed and nothing serious. I went from about 170 to about 130 (I'm 5'10 M, by the way) from February to May. Since about June to the beginning of August I was eating around maintenance and occasionally a slight surplus, and focused on eating plenty of protein and making healthy choices. As a result, I've improved quite a bit from where I was.

Now, despite all my progress, I still have quite a bit if fat on my body, despite being 5'10 and 135 (I managed about 5ish pounds in 2 months). Once I got to college my diet kind of went bad, and I probably didn't eat nearly enough as I should have. I have a soft chest, with some moobs, honestly, and a bit of a stomach, especially when sitting down. With a shirt on, I think I look normal, if not skinny, but without a shirt, I feel as though I still don't have my ideal body.

I've started a bulk, as best I can, as of yesterday. I workout around 6 days a week, sometimes less, depending on my other responsibilities, homework, girlfriend, etc. I guess I shouldn't be afraid of too much, I'm trying to hit around 2800-3000 calories a day, though I've only really been hitting 2500. I don't really want to gain much fat, as I already feel as though I have enough fat, but obviously I don't have the muscle mass for anything to show too much. Should I continue trying to bulk and try to suppress my fear of getting fat? As a former chubby kid, it just seems to set off alarm bells in my mind to be stuffing my face like this.

I guess I'm just asking, would I be better off eating st maintenance (2500-2800 cams) or a bulk (2800-3000 cals)? I'm in no rush to get results, I just don't ever want to look "bad" even if it's only for a few months, but I also want to make sure I'm not just spinning my wheels with little to no progress.