so then he needed to reject her a thirdfinity time… he’s smart enough to know that she’s an angsty teenager who has a really stable life and here comes this old, “seasoned” rich guy that gave her validation. she doesn’t have enough life experience to discern the separation between everything she’s experiencing. He took her driving the day they met, and then they both had a secret that her parents didn’t know, that’s quite a place to begin this journey between her experience with bojack and the trauma that comes with it. she’s young, insecure about her romantic interest, and because she felt “like an adult/person” & rejection/embarrassment & is all the seventeen year old things of impulsive and ignorant she goes for what she thinks the cool thing is to do. we meet her when she expresses frustration at being the last senior to drive, the thrill of this thing (that is often! portrayed in media! pretty little liars has a good example of this considering the english teacher dating his student) there’s other points im just tired of typing. but it’s easy to see why she felt emboldened to “pursue” him given her ignorangst ( 🥁) but he knew well that it was wrong morally/ethically even if not “technically”. even if charlotte didn’t reject him, like there’s just no excuse. and that’s why he chose the plausible deniability wording.