Flirting is play that signals interest without filing paperwork. A longer look. A joke that is a little too warm. A compliment that is specific instead of generic. The other person has to be free to miss it or decline it without a penalty.

Workplace flirting is where people lose jobs. Power gaps make the playful reading less available. If you would not want the exchange read aloud in HR, it was not light.

Good flirting notices exits. A short answer and a turned shoulder means stop. Doubling down is not confidence. In dating it can stay verbal for a whole evening and still do its job. Not every spark needs a hand on a waist to prove it existed.

If you cannot tell whether you are flirting or just being friendly, ask a trusted friend who has seen you do both. The gap is often obvious from the outside.