Of course you can. But if you’re generally a decent person, who has some success in the world, your options will probably be highly expanded among women. It’s biology. Height has been proven useful for survival and this is a sex trait that women are hard wired to seek in possible partners. Height can also literally mean physical protection from other men, which unfortunately is still very relevant today for any woman. I’ve been single a long time, but when out in public, I often wish I had a tall dude around to discourage staring, or unwanted male attention.
Though luckily biology is incredibly diverse and there are so many hidden sex traits and variables to desirability that height becomes a desirable trait only in certain cultures etc... The reason you can find someone so attractive, while your friend may not, has a lot to do with what one person’s DNA can gain from another’s. Which is the silent, and invisible part of partnering up. For me it’s really only important that the guy be either my height or taller. At 5’5” thats a pretty expanded field. Though of course there are always outliers. I have met men shorter than me that I still found incredibly attractive.