Dudes can't take hints

So my 11 year-old says a boy is being too clingy.  Emily and I were driving home from the gym today and she updated me on her boy situation.  We've been talking about it since its earliest stages as a curiosity about kissing, so its no big deal to bring it up.

In any case, they have not kissed, and she is concerned that he only wants to kiss her so he can tell his friends that he did.  Refer to Dad's rule number one about boys:  Whatever you do with them, they WILL tell their friends.  I've repeated this rule to the girls since before they were even interested in boys.  Its a universal truth about boys; they always kiss and tell.  They just can't help it.

In addition to some pressure to kiss, apparently he doesn't give her any space.  He's always as close to her as he can be, and she doesn't like it.  My advice was simple: tell him what you want.  I told her that we of the male persuasion are immune to hints, innuendo, and nuance.  Girls go on and on about all the "signals" they sent to a guy and he never got it.  I have a simple explanation for that.  Its a language we don't speak.

I told Emily to tell him exactly what she wants, or doesn't want.  Either he'll do it, and their relationship has the chance to continue, or he won't, and their relationship has no chance of moving forward.  She is going to have so many opportunities to tell guys that they have to do more, or less, or back off.  I figure the sooner she starts learning how to do that the better.  Because guys aren't about to start understanding the hints.