Sparks: Smoke or Flame?

Was it a smile of a friend, or maybe something more?  Wait, did he just make a point of coming over and talking to me or is he just being nice?  I could have sworn we were headed towards dating, but now I'm not so sure...

Being someone with minimal dating experience, I'm hardly an expert.  In fact, on one Thanksgiving weekend not too long ago, my friends, family & I were wine tasting in the Jordan area.  I got into a conversation with the bartender about my camera.  Thinking nothing of it (and oblivious to the looks my friends were giving me), I enjoyed my wine and went on my way.  To this day, a few friends still tease me about it. 

"He was completely hitting on you!  Geez, Steph, no one just springs into a conversation about your camera for no reason."

Whether they were right or not, they had a good point.  This was hardly the first time something like this had happened.  From an unexpected kiss at 16 by the fire at a youth retreat to a friend in university having to spell out his desire to be more, I have a history of missing cues.  

So how do you know when there are sparks on both sides?  What actions or behaviours help us determine if it's just smoke, or if there's something more?  

Like many other people, I turned to Google to help me answer this perplexing question.  After a few microseconds, the top answer popped to the top of the search results,

"When you walk in front of him, he'll look you up and down. When you talk, he looks at your lips, and does it often. He likes what he sees! The easiest way to tell if a guy likes you is by looking into his eyes" 

Right....

So I'm supposed to whip my head around to see if he's looking me up and down while I walk in front of him and then he'll be fixated on my lips?  Oh, and there will be some little thought bubble that pops up over his head with a thumbs up?  Something tells me, it's not as easy as looking deep into someone's eyes and knowing instantaneously that they are interested.

Thinking there's got to be another answer, I asked a few friends to keep an eye on the actions of someone I thought might be interested in me.  Their responses weren't much more illuminating...

"He might be, but then again he might not.  He's sending mixed signals."

With no clear answer to the question, I find myself considering methods usually employed by kids in primary school.

"Do you like me?  

Check Yes or No"