By banter and joke, I mean that you always need to be prepared to respond with a light-hearted, non-serious answer. If she says: Do you have a girlfriend? You might respond with: “I always have room for one more. Are you asking me out? Wow, you’re really forward,” etc., keeping a smile on your face. If she says: Well, I think you’re a jerk. Don’t argue with her. You simply need to come back with something less serious, and an “I don’t care” attitude, such as: Why, thank you for noticing! You need to shrug it off.
