Serving Up More Than Just Coffee Today

So here's the dealio. Worked a double shift at this coffee shop last week and one of my regulars, we'll call him Alex, started hitting on me big time. He’s in his thirties, has been coming in every day since I started there six months ago. Always smiles, chats, but never anything like that before. Anyway, so he starts flirting hardcore during the second shift, telling jokes and handing over more than enough cash for his coffee order. We bantered back and forth, him teasing me about being too young for him and all that stuff. I was blushing and laughing it off but also getting pretty flustered. Things got kinda intense when he handed me an extra twenty and said to take the rest in tips if he overpaid by accident. I know it’s just a friendly gesture but my mind started going down a rabbit hole of ‘what if he wants more?’ and all that nervous energy built up until we were both just smiling awkwardly at each other. So here's where I confess, after closing, while everyone was packing up to leave, I finally went over to his table and said “Listen Alex, you’re a great guy but I’m not interested in anything beyond friendship. Plus it’s complicated with work stuff.” He looked surprised but nodded okay and we left on good terms. But here's the kicker, as I was walking out of the shop he called after me and said “Hey, just for fun let’s play a game next time you’re on. You pretend to be open to flirting more while I flirt back...but both of us know there’s no real chance.” I paused and looked at him but ended up chuckling and going “Sure thing! Just don’t forget you work the counter too, buddy!” And we went our separate ways. Took a second for me to realize that was basically CNC play but hey it got his attention off me personally. We’re still friends now and laugh about it, just felt weird not saying anything about it getting so heated before closing. Maybe I did overreact but either way, it’s funny how things can escalate unexpectedly.