They had gotten into this awkward conversation because Zechariah was outraged at Crane’s inaccurate description. Instead:

“No, I cannot say I am,” he said, as though this were just some peculiar quirk of Crane’s. “Have you …” and then, then Zechariah looked a touch concerned, “had poor reactions before? Did that one man treat you poorly afterward?”

There was no question, of course, whether the one person Crane had slept with had been a man.

… Not after his letters.