Hideaway Strath 20 going on 50

As Rye spoke, Towhee felt a strange prickling sensation at the back of her neck, a flare of heat that spread to her shoulder blades and down her spine as he essentially confessed his love to her. But it wasn't a flush of pleasure, it was a rash of discomfort. She truly liked Rye, enjoyed flirting with him and playing on their inside jokes, and she possessed a deep affection for him. But only now, as he revealed the intensity of his own feelings, Towhee very sharply realized that she simply didn't feel that strongly.

She wasn't sure what to say or how to proceed, as stupefied by her own feelings (or lack thereof) as anything. Towhee felt another wave of unpleasant heat wash through her as she suddenly realized she would have to just tell him the truth. She'd told herself she would be honest, hadn't she? But how could she let him down easy and still preserve some semblance of their friendship? She dearly valued it and slowly realized that it might be coming to an end right here.

He moved here for you, she thought a little dismally, now worrying that he would leave the grove entirely if she rejected him. Towhee bit her lip, the thought painful, and briefly wondered if a "fake it until you make it" approach could possibly work. But she nearly instantly discarded that notion; it was cruel, insane and unfair to Rye as well as herself to pretend she loved him back.

-"Rye,"- she began, finally finding her voice, -"I care about you and you mean a lot to me. And I love spending time with you, messing around and having fun."- Having started with the upsides, she now steadied herself with a deep breath before continuing. -"But I'm just not sure I'm really built for the sort of love I think you're describing."- Even as the words left her lips, she thought, Shit, what a cop-out. -"I don't think—I don't feel the same way,"- she added hastily, with an inward cringe.