“You said no, though,” he says, slightly muffled. “When I asked you out. That one time.”“Wait, what?”“That time at work? I asked you to the movies, and you said you would invite Vera?”I pull back a bit. “That wasn’t—you weren’t asking me out. You said I could come, too, if I wanted. That’s not asking someone out.”“It was to me,” he says, sheepish, and I want to poke him, but I also kind of want to hug him forever.“Next time you want to ask someone out, maybe be less subtle. Maybe try to use the word date or together. Maybe phrase it as an actual question, you know, get some upward inflection going at the end of the sentence?”He just looks at me, a little bit like he wants to poke me, but maybe also hug me forever. Instead he just kisses me, and it’s a long time before we break apart again.”