“I saw Sixteen Candles in there. I figured you’d pick that.” He plugged a cable into the back of the VCR and then reached around the back of the television.

“Clearly, you don’t know me at all.”

“I can’t decide if you’re trying to hate me or trying to make me hate you.”

“Neither.”

Taylor made a face but only because he had to reach further to screw the cable into the proper connection. “So, I don’t.”

“You don’t what?”

“Hate you.”

“Damn,” I teased.

Taylor achieved whatever it was he had been trying to do and sat upright before stretching out his legs and crossing them, leaning his back against the wall beside the TV. “I think you hate yourself enough for the both of us.”

I felt my cheeks turn red. He didn’t know how close he’d come to the truth.

“Is that a rage coming on?” Taylor said, mistaking my embarrassment for anger.

My arm pressed against the side of the chair as I leaned forward. “You don’t have that kind of effect on me.”

He blinked. “What do you mean?”

“I’d have to give a shit about you to get angry.”

“Oh, are you analyzing now, Ivy League? I thought you said you weren’t a psych major.”

“Now, you’re just being rude.”

“Saying you’re shit at conversation and that I have a feeling you’re a judgmental bitch is rude, but I wasn’t going to take it that far. But you are … and you are.”

“Ouch.” I purposely kept my features smooth.

He shook his head, confused. “One minute, you’re reactive, and the next, I can’t get a reaction. You’re all over the place. I cannot figure you out—like, at all. And I minored in women.”

“That must get you so much ass and so many high fives from your friends. But that doesn’t impress me.”

He paused for a moment. “Do you want me to leave?”

“I don’t think so. But you can if you want.”

“I don’t want. And that’s weird for me that I have an opinion, one way or the other.”

“I’m intrigued. Continue.”

“First of all, I like that you’re awkward as fuck and that you’re a raging bitch. Girls tend to giggle and run their hands through their hair a lot when I’m around. You’ve all but told me to fuck off.”

“Fuck off.”

“See? I like you.”

“Maybe I don’t want you to like me.”

“I know. And I don’t, not like that. And I think that’s what surprises me the most.”

His revelation caught me off guard, but the twinge in the pit of my stomach surprised me even more.