“I couldn't forget. I couldn't break. She had the power to break me. No one had ever been given that power, ever.”

“I know this because I understand now what love really feels like. The kind that consumes you. Love holds the power to break you. It holds the power to complete you.”

“I know being with me is not easy. But I want you to understand no one has me, or has ever had me, except you.”

“Let me explain it to you then. I just had a beautiful girl trust me enough to touch her and see her in a way no one else ever has. I got to hold her and watch her and feel her as she came apart in my arms. It was like nothing else I'd ever experienced. She was breathtaking and she was responding to me. She wanted me. I was the one making her spiral out of control.”

“Even if I had stayed she wouldn't have ever wanted me. She didn't want me for anything more than a summer fling. I was a way of moving on for her.”

“I heard my name." Ash's voice startles me. "You tow better not be making fun of me about this stupid bra Mama's making me wear. I've had it with the jokes. I'll break both your noses if it doesn't stop.”

“I'll be good. I promise. I'll be the best damn friend you've ever had.”