Dear Thelma: I flirted with him, now he thinks I'm attracted

My colleague recently confessed that he was attracted to me. Here’s the thing – I have to admit, I have flirted with him a few times, just to test the waters. But as we got closer, I realised that I didn’t like him that way – he tends to be overly dramatic, and he does certain things that irk me. So I decided that he would stay a friend and nothing more.

Unfortunately, I think he took my flirtation as real interest, hence his confession. I told him that I did not like him that way. While I admitted I was attracted before, that attraction did not grow into anything more, and will never grow in the future. I am well aware of the kind of person he is, and though he is not a bad person, he and I just aren’t compatible.