Yeah, it’s along the same lines of how saying “I’m not interested,” just isn’t as powerful as, “my boyfriend wouldn’t like you hitting on me.”

With the former, the attitude is, “I’ll be the one to decide what you’re interested in, little missy,” and the latter is, “Oh shit sorry, oh my gosh, how thoughtless of me to tread on another dude’s territory.”

Luckily, I’m getting old enough that I don’t have to worry about it so much! Oh the joys of aging!