Personally I'm also a big fan of the M&S dynamic, whether romantic or otherwise, but I wanted to choose a first story that everyone could identify with so I intentionally steered clear of anything that could be interpreted as "shippy." Having said that I do think there are some nice little details in this story, just that there are very subtle.

If you can think of a good character development story that you'd like to discuss next time, then recommend away! I wouldn't want to impose my preferences on everyone else.