“Was it wrong that all I wanted to do was kiss her?I smiled, and Maggie blushed.Oh God. So cute. I knew then, I’d give this girl anything she asked me for. I’d probably beg her to take it.”

“Damn, I was so far gone at this point I’d do anything she asked of me.”

“I’d spent countless hours on the couch in the basement, staring at the ceiling wondering what she was doing. Her laughter, her smile, the feel of her body next to mine, and the regret that I let her walk away too easily haunted me. Taking the risk, I entwined my fingers with hers. Odds were I’d never get the chance to be this close again.”

“Give me,” she said.“Don’t you mean please give me?”“You want me to beg?”That smile spread slightly. “Nah. I just heard you beg plenty.”“I did not beg.” But she had. She so had. Still grinning, still naked, he pulled her against him and pressed his mouth to her shoulder. “My panties, Mark.”

“A nun I know once told me she kept begging God to take her character defects away from her. After years of this prayer, God finally got back to her: I'm not going to take anything away from you, you have to give it to Me.”

“Here I am, wasting away inside a book I wish I could escape, and all she wants to do is stay in the story. If I could talk to this girl Delilah, I’d ask her why on earth she would ever trade a single second of the world she’s in for the one in which I’m stuck”