"You're lying," he replied.

I was, and I hated it. I wasn't a liar. Maybe sometimes I left things out by omission, but I didn't enjoy doing it. I was terrible at it. But what would I tell him? The truth? Hey Sassy, I realized I was in love with you last night, and then you told your ex that you care about her but that there isn't anyone else in the picture. Right. That sounded like the worst idea ever.

When he gripped my wrist with his warm fingers, I sucked in a breath. "Gaby baby."

Eli had told me once a very long time ago that you weren't living unless you took risks. The thing he never mentioned was that risks were scary. I didn't deal with rejection well. But what was four more weeks? It'd be easier for me to ignore him for that time than it would be for me to lie and pretend that I was fine when I wasn't.

"Tell me, Princess," he said with a squeeze to my wrist.

I'd never really considered myself very brave before. Usually I found my strength from my brother, who didn’t care enough what people thought to worry about consequences, or Laila, who wasn’t fazed of most things. My trust in others was usually the reassurance I needed to do things that made me nervous. I knew that they would never do anything to kill me.

All I had was four more weeks left.

I sighed and looked everywhere except at him. "I looked into something more than I should have and now I just feel stupid. That's all."

"What was it?" he asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

Balls. I had invisible balls and I could do this. "I thought that someone liked me, but I realized that maybe it wasn't the same kind of attraction that I was hoping for," I told him slowly, meeting his eyes in the greatest act of bravery I'd ever accomplished singlehandedly.

His beautiful face swept into a clouded, dark expression. "Who?" His question was asked slowly.

Jesus F. Christ. I swallowed hard. "Who what?"

"Who doesn't like you?"

Oh brother. "You're a nice guy, Sassy. I know that. Everyone knows that. Hell, I think Eli has a crush on you.” I smiled at him just a little, reminding myself that it wasn’t his fault he was so likable. “It's not in your nature to be a complete dick, and that's okay. I get it. I like that about you a lot, but you don't have to pretend. At least don't pretend with me."

Sacha's eyebrows furrowed before he scowled at me, confusion marring the planes of his features. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh my God," I moaned and went to take a step back but he held my wrist tight.

Men. Idiot, idiot men.

I must have stared at him long and hard enough that it finally hit him. His hand went up to that favorite part of his skull he was always rubbing, and he scoffed in disbelief at the same time. "You think I don't like you?"

And I wanted to die. "I think you like me in a different way than I like you, if you insist on knowing." Kill me. Kill me now.

"What?" he hissed, taking a step forward. "Why would you think that?"

My eyes went to the ceiling again. I didn't want to have this conversation. Every fiber of my being was revolting against me. "Everyone in the van heard your phone conversation, Sassy. No one special. You care about your ex-girlfriend but you don't want to get back together with her." I tugged my arm back uselessly. "I get it. It's fine."

But it wasn't.

Sacha let out a long breath. "You heard what I told Liz, and you think that what I said changes anything?" He took another step toward me. "You really think that I don't like you?"

When I didn't say anything in response, he tapped at the corner of his mouth with the tip of his tongue. "Gaby, I can tell you that I hate you. I can tell you that I think you're the worst person I've ever met. The ugliest girl on the planet. I can tell everyone in the audience tomorrow that I'm gay, but do you think that changes a single thing?