'That's not real. You can't love someone if you don't know anything about them. People don't fall in love just like that.'

'You don't believe in it?'

'No. Do you?' she was blushing for the millionth time just because of his gaze, wondering why he had that effect on her.

'I am open to the possibility of it being true.'

As he spoke, he didn't take his eyes off her. Sebastian was lying. He believed in love at first sight, but he wasn't ready to fully admit it just yet.

Who would've thought that Sebastian Crain was a hopeless romantic? Eleanor thought as she glanced away into the night sky.

'Either way, that's not the point. Her warnings aren't completely ridiculous, I suppose. I think we should keep some distance between us to avoid any misunderstandings. Yes, we need to know some things about each other, and we need to pretend to like each other, the key word here being pretend.'

'I agree.'

'You do?'

'Yes. We only need to pretend. We don't need to like each in order to make this work. I was just trying to be nice and a gentleman.'

Eleanor nodded. This was what she wanted, to set everything straight; she was starting to care for Sebastian, and she could not let things go too far. But then, why did his words had hurt her so much?

'I'm glad you understand. I don't want to get my heart broken anytime soon,' she said.

She was trying to make a joke to lighten up the tension between them. To hide the fact that she wasn't ready to hear that, even though she thought she wanted to hear.

'Why do women always say that? Like every single time it is the men's fault,' he mocked.

'Men are idiots.'

'Men get their hearts broken too. You know?'

She shrugged.

Sebastian smiled and went along with what she wanted. He understood where she was coming from; she had made clear that her heart was closed, so he could not be angry at her for this, and yet he was. Maybe angry was not the right word for it. He was hurt. And he clearly saw that it also conflicted her. He was too. But the difference was that Sebastian was a better liar than she was. And all of this was his idea. They were in this odd situation because of him, so he had to respect her wishes. At least I can get to know her and to be beside her. For a little while, at least.

'Have you?' she asked.

'Ever gotten my heart broken?'

She nodded.

'No. I don't think I can qualify any of it as a broken heart. I don't think I ever loved anyone that deeply before. I mean, you do suffer from any type of breakup, but... A broken heart, it's not the same, and... I give up. It's too hard to explain what I'm thinking.'

She blinked and did not say a word.

'This makes me sound like an idiot that toys around with people's feelings and doesn't take them seriously. It's better if I shut up before digging myself any further.' He sighed.

'No, it doesn't. I understand what you are saying.'

'What am I saying?'

'Getting your heart broken, truly broken, means you have to be deeply and madly in love with someone. Like writers portray in their novels, that type of love is rare. It does not fall from the sky. I'm not even sure if it even exists.'

Now it was Sebastian's turn to simply blink as he searched for words. She understood what he was trying to say. He wasn't expecting it.

Eleanor was staring at the elevator door, anxiously waiting for it to open as they reached their destination. A few moments earlier they had both agreed to keep some distance between them, but here they were, talking about broken hearts.

'At least let me know you got home safely. I don't want to look for another date,' he said as the elevator door opened and they were about to part ways.

She nodded.

'Good night, Eleanor.'

A shiver ran down her spine as she heard him saying her name.

'Good night, Sebastian.'

Slouched on the couch, Sebastian looked incessantly at his phone as he waited for Eleanor to say something. Is she home already? Is everything okay? He wondered. It was late, and he felt guilty for not taking her home. I should've insisted more. He thought as he fidgeted.

After taking a shower, Eleanor glanced at her phone to look at the time. It suddenly hit her how late it was. I'm home. I've been here for a while. Sorry, I forgot to tell you. She wrote the message and hit send without thinking too much about it. It's just a matter of courtesy. She doubted that Sebastian was actually waiting to know if she had gotten home safely.

Finally! I was starting to get worried.

Your conscience was nagging you too much?

Yes! Now I can go to sleep without my guilty conscience.

Sorry for keeping you awake. Good night.

Don't be. See you tomorrow. Don't forget to dream about me.

Eleanor smiled as she read the text, but she quickly shook her head and pushed aside those thoughts. They had an agreement. That was it. Sebastian was just being flirtatious and joking around. That's just part of his personality, he doesn't mean it.

Sebastian smiled as he looked at the phone. And before he could even realize it, his mind felt at ease, and unlike most nights, he instantly fell asleep.