Well, if she insisted. "What," Gabe returned, amused right back at her, "don't you want me any more?"
Never mind that he'd been avoiding her (if not quite so assiduously as some) for days and days now. Never mind the breezy greetings without so much as slowing down. Never mind the harried-professor act (which, ok, hadn't all been an act, and if Gabe had had more time his choice would have been to devote it to finding William and start convincing him they didn't necessarily need a piano, no matter how small, cute and intriguing Hayley was). If this shit was compulsory, Gabe was picking his own ground.
What had he been saying? Oh yeah. "In that case, I'll head off, shall I?" Gabe continued, pushing off the wall, still grinning.