Good Call Kaptin!
Fluffy: The worst thing you could do is betray your interest in front of the rest of the tech crew. If he isn't gay he would be mortified and if he is, the rest of his crew may not know and might give him a very hard time about it. Homophobia exists in all professions and the cockpit is a very small place if the rest of your crew dislike homosexuals.
By contacting him away from the others, he has the opportunity to save face if he isn't interested ( and so do you )
Good Luck.