Tanner's heart immediately rose, and then sank quickly to the very bottom of his stomach. The look on his face...pure shock. His lips parted a bit, and he shifted away from Tim, quickly. Love. Love love love. Tim loved him.
And he didn't love Tim.
"T-Tim...I..." there just weren't any words. He liked Tim. Liked him. Love left him mortified. He wasn't ready for love. That word...he just couldn't commit that kind of word to Tim. His senses instantly numbed. It was like getting hit in the face.
"No." he barely realized he was doing it as he stood up. "You...you can't."