Benji hasn't always been lame like he thought he was. At the end of the book once he's actually been with a girl he actually remembers a bunch of times girls made moves on him that he didn't understand at the time. The girl at the roller rink wouldn't just hold his hand for no reason, ice-cream scooper girl wouldn't just "accidentally" brush her chest against him (I don't really think that would happen accidentally every shift). Benji, to me, epitomizes the oblivious teenage boy. There ware stories all over the place of people making assumptions about other people's intentions only to support their own insecurity.
Benji has always taken the back seat (literally in the book) instead of believing in his worth. I can't fault Benji for this habit because it's only human, but it is my hope that after the time the book is narrated in, Benji flourishes. I'm sure he does, otherwise it wouldn't be a coming of age. No matter what progress Benji makes though, it will be partially because of the ladies in his life. When Benji reflects he sees all of the missed opportunities he could have taken, leading up to the success he had. Getting a summer sweetheart will hopefully give Benji the confidence to pursue his interests and take what he wants.
This idea even starts to be fulfilled before the book ends, with the club. All of Benji's friends ditched him with regards to the club because they didn't want to drag him along, so he devised a way for himself. The ability to do what he wants without other people is going to be the deciding factor in where Benji goes from the end of the book.
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