As Johnvic76 said, Alex does have a story - keep visiting him in his workshop and choosing the action which has you wait and watch him work!
There's a kinda-sorta system for generic NPCs to like/lust after you, too, which you will see as percentages upon interaction / encounter. I don't have very much luck with any of the Flirt interactions when talking with an NPC, though - almost all NPCs seem to just lose attraction when I try doing that. They seem to prefer when I just go straight to lifting my tail for 'em :p but, it's a kind of system, nonetheless! Even if it only means they're more likely to want to bang with you.