Pompous

As in:

Elaine and Justin met when they literally ran into each other at a U-pick strawberry field, his head bouncing against her knee as a loose berry the size of a golf ball tumbled away from him. Apologies were extended, then small talk about berries, and then she mentioned it was chilly and then he returned, minutes later, with a paper cup steaming with hot chocolate. It seemed, from then on, like a workable theme. United in their love of fresh produce they would rendezvous on weekends to gather everything from Rainier cherries to sweet corn.

Justin’s efforts to take things to the next level began with a written note inviting her to go with him into the mountains to pick huckleberries. He used overwrought and turgid language in an effort to be funny. But Elaine could not see the humor and the literalist in her saw that only a pompous ass could have written such a thing. She didn’t return the note, and stopped returning his phone calls. Justin was so distraught by his error that he punished himself by giving up fresh fruit, entirely, until he could find a way to make amends.