The Man pedaled, dripping with sweat and anguish
MAX OUTPUT
As he pedaled he remembered the conversation they had.
“We aren’t just friends, you know,” He said.
She paused, then asked, “What do you mean?”
“I mean I can’t feel this and pretend it’s nothing.”
She told him they were friends and that’s all it had ever been.
“I care about you,” she said,
“but not in the way you want.”
He tried to explain that staying meant constantly holding something back.
She asked why it had to be more than it was?
He told her it wasn’t about pressure or expectation.
“It’s just that I keep putting everything I have into this.”
She answered,
“I didn’t ask you to.”
He realized effort alone doesn’t create demand.
