"That's why I self-corrected. Really, I'm less worried about them suggesting I'm seeing you, and more concerned that they're going to report on everything else."

Things like needing casserole delivery - because that's how it will be perceived - lead to assumptions exactly like the one David already (accurately) made. He hates having to come up with reasonable excuses, and it's so much harder to get them believable when the other person has taken his measure. "Do you have an alternate wording?"