The assumed context of the reader is a guy who has gone to a strip club and had some minimal interaction with a stripper where he bought a lap dance or some such, and he now thinks the stripper likes him...

... This is a common enough event in the life of a young man..!

Now, of course, there is such a context as being a personal friend of a stripper or prostitute or other sex worker and actually being liked by them as a friend or even as a lover...

But he thinks they really like him is a very real thing.

Ask Van Gogh's ear.