You Can Call Me Daddy

Okay, so no one has ever actually said that to me, but this guy may as well have. For a short period of time I worked in the fabrics department at Hobby Lobby (I have an obsession with yarn, lay off me). One day this guy comes in, probably in his early forties with two children. His daughter was at least 15, i.e. six years younger than me at the time. He was asking for help finding some materials for his daughter to make costumes for a play, something to do with Africa, I don't remember. I have worked in customer service jobs for awhile, so I am just doing my best to help them out. He seems like a really nice guy, you know, for being old. He also somehow manages to slip into the conversation that he is divorced from his children's mother. Whatever.

A week later buddy returns sans children needing more help. This time I am getting an awkward flirty vibe from him, so I do my best to help him, then point him to another area of the store. Well, he leaves, gets the stuff and comes back. He thanks me for my help and then says, "Can I ask you a question?" I swear I had a mild anxiety attack, having an idea of what was coming next. "Um, sure."
"Can I take you out to coffee sometime?"
I'm surprised I didn't die from a combination of embarrassment and disbelief right there. My entire face turned bright red, and it was all I could do to just half smile and say, "No...sorry."
My flat out no, mixed with the look of absolute horror on my face sent him running, "Well, I figured it couldn't hurt to ask." Then he was gone. I am just confused as to what gave him the idea he had a chance. I also wished at that moment that I was still underaged, meaning men like him were not allowed to ask me such questions. If he had asked me to mentor his daughter, sure, since we would have more in common anyway.

Moral of the Story:
Don't be nice to 40 year old divorced dads, they will confuse it with flirting.