[Expressing feelings directly is, as always, a struggle— he wonders if he'd used up his quota earlier on, being blunt as he had been in hopes of getting and holding her attention.]

While I'm certainly glad it made a good impression, it was new for me in some ways, as well.

[He may have said so before, but perhaps it will ring differently now, with things out in the open as they are.]

It's not something I've shared with someone I care for in the past— trust me, there is more to it than novelty.

[In his opinion, it improved the experience in every way.]

It meant something to me, because you do.