It is! You earn an extra love point from him if you try to kiss instead of just saying goodbye. But points are less important than reaching milestone events—getting walked home is an event that automatically assigns you a "mutual romantic attraction" status no matter what the points are. If a milestone isn't reached, the attraction status is based on certain point thresholds that are very easy to exceed this early in the game.
For Asher specifically, I don't really hide when he's not feeling a choice you made. I'll write a relationship guide eventually, but for him the main thing to keep in mind is he isn't interested in fame and likes when someone takes a personal interest in him versus a blatantly sexual interest. A kiss after a walk home is chaste enough to not count as blatantly sexual 🙂