There’s something to be said for persistence.
I don’t remember when the nature of our relationship changed. We were satellites to our shared network, never friends exactly, just managed to turn up with a lot of the same people are roughly the same time.
He was always vaguely unsettling. I never felt threatened by him, but he flustered me, which largely seemed to amuse him.
The first time he was very subtle. Looking back I could see exactly what he was doing. It wasn’t a serious attempt to get my attention, more a nudge against my consciousness. He ordered my drink at the bar before I had a chance to speak, same thing I had been drinking all evening. He paid for it and didn’t pursue the matter. Left me with a wink and a vague frustrated need to thank him for a drink he hadn’t offered and I hadn’t asked for.
I barely saw him the rest of that night.