Selena Gomez denies that she is dating Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez may have been spotted on a few snack dates recently, but don’t look too much into it.

“People ask me, you know, if we have friends in the business, friends who aren’t in the business, and I say yeah, I’m very lucky I have friends who are in it,” she told PEOPLE at Z100′s Jingle Ball, which airs Thursday on the music network Fuse. “We’re not any different. We’re very lucky, but we just like to hang out. They shouldn’t be stopping us from going out to dinner and things like that.”

Bieber, who also performed at the concert, was still pinching himself over his Grammy nominations. “I’m very excited. It’s definitely amazing. I’m really excited I have this opportunity,” he told PEOPLE backstage.

Gomez says she’s just as excited about her pal’s nominations. “He worked so hard and I definitely think he deserves it.”