About the pop-you-in-the-mouth guy: didn't mean to alarm anyone. He's only slightly nuts and that's the way we play.

Anyway, looking for some input on the unattractive poet who took me out on Saturday. I'm not attracted to him, OK, and I don't want to date him. But he and I have some legitimately similar interests and he has good ideas about various things I'm involved with, so I do want to keep in touch with him. I know some men aren't looking for a running buddy, tho and can be a sore spot.

So I had surgery last week and he is supposedly a good cook and he keeps asking me if I want him to bring me dinner over (or meet me to drop it off bc we don't live that far from each other).

How can I say, yeah, sure bring me some lasagna, and yeah, maybe I can take you out for a drink or something sometime bc I think you are interesting to talk to...but that's the extent of my interest? How do you get them to switch gears to platonic friendship? I have tried this in the past and it never quite works out.