Pembe is such a negligible weight on Potemkin's strength, he carried him without thinking much of it. Instead his attention was on Pembe's words. For the most part those were compliments that sounded more familiar (except for handsome - Potemkin was unused to thinking about his appearance in any way other than how it stood out). But coming from Pembe those words were inherently graced with a sort of significance, and he's a little bashful at all that. "I thought I was honest about how I thought of you, but apologizes if things were unclear. As soon I really knew you, I could recognize that you are a superb person."

Of course, there's a difference and a step between thinking someone is great and making out with them a few times in a row.