He’s not blind to it—how could he be?

There’s something real hanging between the two of you, as heavy as the droplets of rain clinging to your hair, as intense as the glow of the shop's neon sign your face is bathed in.

A simple meeting. Four months into knowing each other. Dinner, drinks—nothing too fancy. Just two friends spending so time together... because that's what you are, right? What you're supposed to be.

Friends.

Which is why your words, albeit simple enough, hit him like a slow-moving tidal wave, breaking through the carefully constructed walls he’s spent years building.

I think I'm falling in love with you, Simon Riley.

You’ve been on his mind more than he cares to admit. And that, in itself, feels like betrayal of everything he's tried to keep hidden. Because to care, to feel, to let himself want you? It would mean giving up the armor he’s worn for so long.

“You don’t need someone like me dragging you down,” he finally say, after what feels like eternity, spurred by dejection growing in your eyes at his silence.

His tone sharpens just slightly, as though he's not just trying to convince you, but himself as well. “You’ve got a whole world ahead of you. And me? I’ve got…” His words trail off, a humorless laugh leaving his lips. "Nothing. Nothing to offer.”

You're wasting your time. On him.

Because you're good. Better than anyone he's met in... quite a long time.