“This flirting is all well and good, but I mean it when I tell you, I cant have you leaving me again. It almost broke me."My ribs seemed to squeeze all of the air out of my lungs at the thought. "I don't think I could. I don't want to be away from you again either.""But you need to give me a chance to fix things when I screw up. You know I'm an ass sometimes.""Sometimes?"Growling, he whispered, "And I tear lingerie."I pushed a curl off his forehead, "And hoard it. Don't forget the creepy hoarding.”

“The flirting is all well and good, but I mean it when I tell you, I can't have you leaving me again. It almost broke me.”

“May I see you again?" he asked. There was an endearing nervousness in his voice. I smiled. "Sure.""Tomorrow?" he asked."Patience, grasshopper," I counseled. "You don't want to seem overeager. "Right, that's why I said tomorrow," he said. "I want to see you again tonight. But I'm willing to wait all night and much of tomorrow." I rolled my eyes. "I'm serious," he said. "You don't even know me," I said. I grabbed the book from the center console. "How about I call you when I finish this?""But you don't even have my phone number," he said."I strongly suspect you wrote it in this book." He broke out into that goofy smile. "And you say we don't know each other.”

“I'm just going to be really honest right now because this is all new to me and I don't know how else to handle it." He takes a deep breath and pushes the air off his forehead. "I like being around you. I like talking to you. When I'm not with you, I'm thinking about you.”

“I've had it with both of you." He pulled his own bag higher on one shoulder and turned to me. "You let me know when you decide what the hell you want from me. I love you, and I miss you, and I'll be waiting, whenever you're ready. But don't spy on me again. Ever." I nodded miserably as he twisted to face Sabine. "And you! You come find me when you're ready to be my friend, because that's all I have to offer right now. But as badly as I need someone to talk to, I don't need another complication in my life. And as for the two of you!" He stepped away from us, already walking backward toward the school entrance. "Work it out. Or don't work it out. But leave me the hell out of it.”

“You don't need to watch out for me, Clay."But I did, Hannah. And I wanted to. I could have helped you. But when I tried, you pushed me away.I can almost hear Hannah's voice speaking my next thought for me. "Then why didn't you try harder?”