Still dense in the sense that he's somewhat aware of all this and her blatant flirting but thinks actually acting on their desires is something she doesn't want. Like ???
Ok, but he's a high schooler. I think a lot of people forget what they were like in high school. Or at least what
some people are like in high school. The anxiety colors every interaction you have, and since you've probably never been in a real relationship before that point, it's likely that your first one will be in high school. And nobody really knows what to do for their first romance. You might have ideas, vague guesses based on media or the adults around you. But humans are individuals, and it can be reaaaally scary. That's exactly how I was in high school.
This one girl I was super into, childhood friend, knew her since diapers type deal. We were close, affectionate, we'd look for excuses to sleep in the same bed when I stayed over. Every time I went to leave her house for a while we'd have a way too long hug and when we broke it we'd just look into each others' eyes for a few minutes. I wasn't dense, I mean... I was but I wasn't. I knew she was waiting for me, it was painfully obvious. Even our parents were waiting for it to happen, it was just a matter of when. But she had told me in middle school she wasn't ready for love, and that scared me into not wanting to lose what was happening right then. Which was extremely stupid of me. Eventually we just kinda, drifted away. I see her every couple years when our families go camping together. She's still stunning and hilarious, and like, no cope her boyfriend is great. I just, maybe regret sometimes that it couldn't have been me. That the person I was in high school was just too scared (and also depressed).
Anyways, if I, a
real human being can manage to fumble that hard, I think the mc is doing ok. Especially since we know (maybe we don't
know but like, come on) this guy is at some point going to actually seal the deal. Still, I can relate to the mc in this. He's a kid. Sometimes you gotta take ten to figure things out, that's how it is sometimes when you're a kid. Shit he only barely even knows her, I think he's being smart by not jumping in feet first.