Why He Still Doesn’t Realize How You Feel, Even Though You Think You’re Being Obvious

1. I have a weird way of flirting.

I don’t flirt like the women in the movies, who bat their eyes and play with their hair to show a man they’re interested. I have a different approach. If I tease you about the music you like and throw sarcastic comments your way, it means I like you. Meanwhile, if I’m especially nice to you and never have a mean thing to say, then I’m just being polite and have no feelings for you whatsoever.

2. I don’t want to scare you off.

Too many men take off once a woman expresses strong feelings, so why would I rush to tell you how much you mean to me? I don’t want to risk scaring you away. I’m trying to turn our flirting into a relationship, which is why I’m going to take things as slowly as possible. If that means you spend a few nights wondering what the hell I want from you, so be it. I’m probably wondering the same thing about you.

3. I’m not desperate enough to beg you for attention.

I’m not going to keep throwing myself at you if it doesn’t seem like you’re interested in me. So don’t blame me for changing my tune when you never put in any effort to talk to me. I won’t keep texting you if you refuse to initiate conversations and I won’t keep asking you to hang out if you always tell me you’re busy. It takes two to flirt.

4. No one believes me when I tell the truth.

For some reason, people assume that I’m incapable of being straight with them. When I tell a guy I’m not interested, he thinks it means I’m playing hard to get. When I tell him I’m fine, he thinks I’m having a mental breakdown. Believe it or not, I actually tell the truth a lot more than I lie. Take my words at face value.

5. Texting makes everything more confusing.

When you read words on a screen instead of hearing the inflections of my voice, it’s difficult to understand my tone. You can’t tell what I mean. You can’t tell if I’m flirting or if I’m hinting that I want you to piss off.

6. You don’t pay attention to the little things.

I don’t expect every man to be an expert in body language, but not all of my clues are verbal. Some of them are physical. You have to look closely to see if I’m purposely grazing my hand against yours and if I’m smirking as I make eye contact. The little things say the most.

7. You assume I’m supposed to be confusing.

Men aren’t supposed to understand women and women aren’t supposed to understand men, right? Wrong. We’re all human. I probably flirt the same way you flirt. I’m not that mysterious, so don’t make flirting more complicated than it has to be.