"It worked for me in high school and it's been a reflex ever since"? [closed]

A: Just go out with me one time. If you are miserable, I will never hint at the subject again.

B: I don't think it's smart.

A: I know that I am an asshole. It worked for me in high school, and it's been a reflex ever since.

Of this conversation, I don't get the meaning of this phrase.

It worked for me in high school, and it's been a reflex ever since.

What does it mean by "worked for me" and "reflex" here?

It worked for me in high school, and it's been a reflex ever since.

It refers to being an asshole. It worked for me in high school means that the speaker profited from acting in that way. Presumably, being rude and behaving badly can under certain circumstances have positive effects: you create “street cred”, people think you are tough, cool, or whatever. An expression that is sometimes heard is “why do assholes get the girls?”

It's been a reflex ever since means that the speaker acted like an asshole so often while he was in high school, he cannot control that behaviour anymore: it happens as a reflex, meaning that it happens without him consciously trying to do it.

So basically, he says it has become part of his nature. He used to profit from acting rude, and by now he is so used to it, he feels he cannot change it.

Whether that is a good argument to convince the other party to go out with him remains to be seen.