Ella Adams stared at the half-finished red wine on the table and said, "Clarence Cooper, it's getting late. You should go home and rest. I need to rest too."
Instantly, Clarence's anger flared up. Wearing nothing but his underwear, he stomped around the balcony floor twice, took a deep breath, calmed himself, looked at Ella, and said softly, "Ella, where did I go wrong? Just tell me, if you say it, I'll change."
"Clarence, you're great. The problem is with me."
"What's wrong with you? What's your problem? Ella, just now, we were clearly getting along well, and you didn't seem particularly repelled by me. This shows that deep down, perhaps you can accept me." Clarence crossed his arms over his waist and took a few gasping breaths. He continued, "Ella, were you just toying with me tonight?"
"Clarence, that's not my intention." Ella paused, looked up at Clarence, and said, "I can't lie to myself. Clarence, I can't like you."