The idiot, and the creepy old man

We were three guys.

She came to say hi to the tallest of us. And the youngest. Old friend of hers.

The other guy interacts,

She turns to our mutual friend, who actually just met him
"This idiot your friend?", there was no need to punish this little rabbit for stating the obvious.

Then I interact, she turns to our mutual friend, says something.which I don't hear.

At this point I did for a second think "who is this creepy old man", smiled to the thought, but sadly that was not what she said.

"Your friend is mysterious"

That, coming from a girl who is 21, more than a decade younger than me, at her sexual attractiveness peak, and gorgeous to boot. Now that made me smirk to myself, invisible to the outer world.

What was the difference?

Idiot:

Immediately shows interest in girl.
Leans in.
Tries to joke.
Tries to flirt.
Smiles like a jackass.
Did I say lean in? Like a tree blown by a hurricane?

Mysterious:

Girl comes. Don't move. Don't react.
Tell our mutual friend that I thought she was sixteen when I saw her in the gym. She standing beside us.
She jumps in, "21"
Tell our mutual friend "Good she is legal"
I then turn to her, "You had me thinking for a second there that you were almost illegal" now she is puppy eyed.
Then I smile. "Apparently not"
No lean in, no extreme joy at her presence, no smile without me earning it for myself, or her earning it.
Just another fish in the ocean (even if at this point a bulge would have been visible in my pants, had she looked down).

These small differences make up the chasm between the idiot and the mysterious.