“What are you talking about?” I asked with a contrived smile.

“Nina. This is me you’re talking to.”

I felt my eyes gloss over and I buried my head into Ryan’s blanket.

“Nina? What’s wrong?” he asked, awkwardly patting my head. When I couldn’t speak, Ryan pulled my hair away from my face. “Are you okay?”

I shook my head and peeked up at him. “No. No, I’m not okay.”

“Did something happen?” Ryan’s face looked as desperate as I felt.

“No. Nothing happened. You don’t want to hear about it.” I sat up and wiped the moisture from my face.

“Is it about Jared?” he guessed. I nodded and his face twisted into rage. “Did he hurt you?”

“No!” I shook my head, wiping away more tears. “No, he didn’t do anything to me. He doesn’t…,” I sighed, “it’s embarrassing.”

“Just tell me.”

“He doesn’t…want me,” I said, my face crumbling around my words.

Ryan’s expression made it seem as if the sentence I’d put together didn’t compute; as if he couldn’t imagine that being possible. “I’m sure there’s just been some misunderstanding. What makes you think that?”

I was disgusted at myself for making Ryan feel he needed to reassure me about Jared. I was a terrible person.

“Nina. Tell me.” He spoke in the tone I provoked in people when they’d had their fill of dragging information out of me.

“I just thought we…I thought he….” I couldn’t say half of what I wanted. Certainly not enough to keep me from sounding like a spoiled child.

Ryan laughed once and I looked up at him. “He’s an idiot, Nina.”

“No, he’s not,” I said, wiping my eyes with my sleeve.

“If he took you out, spent an entire night with you and can’t see how incredible you are—he doesn’t deserve for you to be waiting for his call. You’re so much better than that. Anyone that makes you feel any less is a fool.”

“Thank you, but it’s really more complicated than that.”

Ryan’s face grew serious. “No. No, it’s not. If he doesn’t realize what he has right in front of him, than to hell with him. And I’m not just saying that because I was hoping for something like this.”

I shot a glare at him and he winked at me. I smiled and sighed, letting my frustration escape with my breath. He leaned over to issue a comforting kiss to the top of my head.

“Why are you so good to me?” I asked as he handed me a handful of tissues from his bedside table.

“Because you’re worth it.” He looked at me as if I should know that already, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“I think that’s been trademarked by L’Oreal,” I said.