"You know how you're not supposed to talk about money, religion, politics, or sex in polite conversation? I managed to talk about all three within the space of two minutes. The last two minutes of the date, coincidentally. The first three minutes were filled up with the normal stuff, you know? The how are you, where do you work, why am I here, this is incredibly awkward script. Then I brought up the other stuff, and I guess I was a little blunt about it, and all of a sudden, I was wearing my food. Or I guess it was really her food."

He has to pause to take a breath from rambling -- and he knows he's rambling, but he can't seem to stop himself, because the second he stops, he's sure this guy's really going to start mocking him. And then he realizes that Ned's telling him that he doesn't have to pay for the pie that had gotten thrown at him, and that doesn't sound a whole lot like mockery. Maybe that's why he suddenly grins so widely and unashamedly, like he wants to throw his arms around Ned and hug him (and he probably does.)

"Thanks. I was kind of hoping you'd say that, but I wasn't going to bring it up, because I'm making a scene in your pie shop, and that'd be rude."