Kelsea Ballerini might be playing coy about whether she's dating Chase Stokes -- but he's a bit more definitive ... explaining to TMZ what it is, exactly, he likes about her.
The "Outer Banks" star confirmed to our photog Tuesday he and the country singer are, in fact, an item ... but whether he meant for it to slip out the way it did is another story. Check out our chat with him in L.A. ... where we congratulated him on his new boo.
Rather than correct us or clarify anything .