He cannot help but laugh at that, a low chuckle that seems to dispel some of the tension in him. It is a lighter topic, and a more comfortable one, than that of deserving and weighty commendation.

"I would not have been offended, you know, if you had asked." Surprised, perhaps. He still is a little surprised - for while he is aware that he is not ugly or particularly loathsome to women, he rarely gives much thought to them being interested in him, and she is young and beautiful and no doubt has better options available - but that is not at all an unpleasant thing. He does not think he would have minded, if she had approached him earlier.

But he might not have been so inclined to answer her, if she had. There is something about the fact that she noticed his absence and commented on it, something in how this conversation has gone, that casts her in a slightly different light.

"For what it's worth, the answer would have been no, whenever you asked. It has been a year or more since I went on a date."