Two points to make. One, as Mando Jo pointed out, he may indeed be a nice guy who is trying to pick you up. Very often, nice guys have sex - it has to start somewhere.
Two, the fact that he may be a nice guy who is trying to pick you up doesn’t mean that you are permanently characterized as a “piece of meat” in his mind. The large majority of my female friends are women who I had a silent crush on/asked out/dated.
Sua
You know, my pal John has a real hard time making friends, let alone girlfriends, because he takes a while to open up. He’s also moved to 4 different cities in the past decade, which is kinda annoying for him. He’s not a ‘joiner’, doesn’t have any real hobbies, or any other way to meet folks.
Going to bars on your own: you’re an alcoholic.
Want to go out with people from work: but you hate your job and they’re annoying fuckwits that you’re already stuck with them 45 hours a week.
He’s literally got nowhere else to meet people except at the laundromat, dry cleaners, on the bus, and going for coffee. I keep telling him to try other stuff, but he’s just not good at it.
The sad thing is there are lots and lots of guys like him, and I’m betting Dragongirl that this guy is one of 'em. Desperate for a friend, let alone a date.