Usually I let all reviews go because everyone's entitled to their opinion but "There's no reason for these characters to already be horny for each other" you see things that don't really exist. It was platonic, without any attachment at all. You read their banter as romantic which is unfortunate on your part.
I think telling the reader some things up front is fine (and apparently not enough), what you don't want to do is dragging it. That's why I focused more one liners, removing them altogether would make the story feel too fast and confusing. I get that it's not really your cup of tea, but it gets the job done.