Ben has a crush on Sal and tries to kiss her, which is confusing to her.

Ben is generally much more in-touch with his emotions, and in dealing with other people, whereas Sal is the opposite. Ben notices when he first meets Sal that she is so tense, she "flinches every time someone touches (her)." When Ben later tries to actually kiss Sal, his initial attempts are awkward and unsuccessful, and Sal is not even sure what exactly he is doing. As the two get to know each other better, however, Sal finds that she is drawn to Ben despite herself.  She soon discovers that she is interested in being the recipient of her first kiss from Ben, but has no idea how to make that happen. Sal describes her confusion hilariously in Chapter 35, entitled "The Plan," saying of her experience with him in the library,

There, Ben trailed me. If I looked at the fiction section, he was right beside me. If I moved over to examine the magazines, there he was flipping through one as well. Once, his face made contact with my shoulder. He was definitely trying to plant a kiss on me, I knew he was, but there was nothing I could do about it. I could not help it that whenever he aimed his mouth in my direction, my body was already moving away. I needed a little warning.