The Deal breaker

Back in my first year of university, there was this guy who started showing interest in me. I could tell right away that he liked me, but I wasn’t really ready to reciprocate those feelings. One big reason was that I knew I was almost two years older than him, and that just made me feel like we were on different levels. Still, he didn’t give up easily.

He even went as far as telling two of my friends that he liked me. Of course, they came to me, trying to play matchmaker and pushing me to give him a chance. But I wasn’t having any of it. I told them to stop bothering me about him, and that was that. But this guy wasn’t backing down. He’d bring me food during night classes, and on Valentine’s Day, he surprised me with a watch.

I decided to be plain with him. I told him I knew he liked me and wanted to get closer, but I was two years older than him. I thought that would make him back off because, in my mind, it was the only way to send him away. Surprisingly, he said it didn’t matter to him. But I could tell he was nervous, like he didn’t know how to respond to the age thing.

After that conversation, things changed quickly. The next day, he started acting different, no more teasing or calling me those sweet names he used to throw around. He started keeping his distance and eventually stopped talking to me altogether. It was like he’d decided that was the end of the road.