saying no to a date?
I posted this once but now things have developed and part of me thinks i should just hangout with him to rip off the bandaid. he may just be a nice guy trying to make friends
here’s my original post
I (24F) started going to a personal trainer about 2 months ago. It’s a really small local gym with only a few trainers, and because the space is so small everyone talks to each other pretty naturally during workouts.
There’s a guy there a few years younger than me who I see there since we went around the same time. He’s nice and friendly, but not really my type. I don’t mind talking to him there, but I’m not interested in anything beyond friendship.
Around our birthdays, he invited me out with his friends to a bar, but I already had plans. Later I mentioned a local place that gives free birthday drinks, and I think he may have interpreted that as me wanting to go together, even though I was honestly just making conversation since i knew we had birthdays in the same month.
Since then he’s asked for my number and invited me to hang out a few times. One time he asked loudly in front of everyone while I was working out, which caught me off guard. My trainer even checked in privately during my next workout to make sure I wasn’t uncomfortable.
I eventually gave him my number because I didn’t want to make things awkward at such a small gym. Since then he’s texted me a few times asking to hang out. I’ve either had plans already or just haven’t responded.
The thing is, I genuinely think he’s a nice person, and I’m not trying to assume he’s romantically interested or make myself sound full of myself. He honestly may just want friends. But I’m not interested romantically, and I don’t want to accidentally lead him on. Also, i think he may be neurodivergent to some sort, he seems a little socially awkward and doesn’t read cues well.
Should I:
- hang out casually and keep it friendly?
- keep politely distance myself and saying no to hangouts?
- directly clarify I only see him as a friend even though he hasn’t explicitly said anything romantic?
I mostly just don’t want to hurt his feelings or make the gym awkward.