Can i take you out to lunch?

a guy friend of mine asked me if he can take me out to lunch. i dont know what that means, is he interested. he tells me that i am cute and tiny and stuff like that but ive never been in a relationship so i just take it as a complament. i am 21 and hes a few years older than me. and theres a height diffrence. i am taller than him i am 5'9 and hes probably 5'6 i am guessing. we have been out to lunch once and we paid our seperate bills because i wouldnt let him pay. and once he told me he felt neglected by me because i wasn't calling him. but the thing is i never call friends that i dont see often. i would bumb into him everynow and then so i dont kow. i now text him here and there just to let him know that yeah i havent forgotten you dont worry. stuff like that but thtas once a month or so. so yeah i dont know whats going on. i am really confused. and when he hugs me its so tight. so i kow that means he cares but as a friend rite?