Am I (29F) being naive about a coworker (late 20s M) asking me to coffee?

I was working with a coworker, let's call E, from another department, to solve an issue via IM one afternoon. Once it was fixed, E said "Hey I like to make friends in other departments. Would you like to meet up for coffee?"

Now, I'm 3 positions his senior, in a project manager-esqe role who could troubleshoot the technical issues he was having, and have been in the company for 7 years to his 2. I also schooled him on some of the stuff in his job / department, but nicely! So, I read this as a mentoring request, and said, "Sure! Whatever time I have free on my calendar is yours."

He finds a time that is open on my calendar and books it for Friday afternoon, and we continue working on a new problem. Perfectly friendly, normal conversations.

I mention it a few hours later to a buddy in one of those "Look I started a conversation for an afternoon and now I'm mentoring someone!" Sort of situations. (I have a face that people just read as friendly and tell their life stories to, so this is a lot more common with me than you would think.)

He pauses and goes, "I think E just asked you on 'coffee date'." I start laughing and am like, "No way in hell did that just happen."

Buddy then follows up with, "Do you think he would ask me the same question if our profile pictures were switched?" (Meaning him being a dude vs me being a lady). I say, "yes of course" because a) this whole thing has been in text based convos, b) all the evidence in paragraph 2, and c) my profile picture is not the most flattering.

Later, I ask a few other close coworkers and they both side with my buddy. It's brought up how many people find their spouses at the office, and suddenly I'm feeling like may I am reading this all wrong.

Am I being naive here? If it's "coffee", uh, what should I do?

TL;DR - Coworker who I barely know asks me coffee as a potential friend. Everyone else thinks it as a coffee date. Who is right?

Submitted August 01, 2019 at 11:50PM

I was working with a coworker, let's call E, from another department, to solve an issue via IM one afternoon. Once it was fixed, E said "Hey I like to make friends in other departments. Would you like to meet up for coffee?"Now, I'm 3 positions his senior, in a project manager-esqe role who could troubleshoot the technical issues he was having, and have been in the company for 7 years to his 2. I also schooled him on some of the stuff in his job / department, but nicely! So, I read this as a mentoring request, and said, "Sure! Whatever time I have free on my calendar is yours."He finds a time that is open on my calendar and books it for Friday afternoon, and we continue working on a new problem. Perfectly friendly, normal conversations.I mention it a few hours later to a buddy in one of those "Look I started a conversation for an afternoon and now I'm mentoring someone!" Sort of situations. (I have a face that people just read as friendly and tell their life stories to, so this is a lot more common with me than you would think.)He pauses and goes, "I think E just asked you on 'coffee date'." I start laughing and am like, "No way in hell did that just happen."Buddy then follows up with, "Do you think he would ask me the same question if our profile pictures were switched?" (Meaning him being a dude vs me being a lady). I say, "yes of course" because a) this whole thing has been in text based convos, b) all the evidence in paragraph 2, and c) my profile picture is not the most flattering.Later, I ask a few other close coworkers and they both side with my buddy. It's brought up how many people find their spouses at the office, and suddenly I'm feeling like may I am reading this all wrong.Am I being naive here? If it's "coffee", uh, what should I do?TL;DR - Coworker who I barely know asks me coffee as a potential friend. Everyone else thinks it as a coffee date. Who is right?