The problem with that is that he did leave just enough ambiguity that I couldn't say "no" to the question I really wanted to say "no" to. If he does get the chance to ask it more directly, I'd like to just say no, but I'm not convinced he'd actually be considerate enough to accept that. Clueless types often get bewildered when you turn them down without an explanation, and sometimes it's easiest to offer one preemptively to avoid dragging the conversation out.