“I spent the rest of that day brainstorming. How do you catch a very old, very alert tiger by surprise? Use his weaknesses: food, feminine wiles, poetry, and over-protectiveness. The poor guy didn't stand a chance.”

“…surprised all over again at how very comforting very bad food can be.”

“Jeremy laughed. "Well, there was food, a gift, and you spent your time shopping. I'd say it was a date!"Aiden squinted at Jeremy. "That's all we did last Saturday! he said, a little bit of surprise in his voice. "I thought you weren't gay!"Jeremy widened his eyes big enough to look shocked. "Well, I didn't know you were!""God, what a dumbass!" Aiden shook his head. "Jesus, how can you give advice on two guys dating if you don't even know what two guys do if they're not on a date.”

“You really fucked up, Paul Guy, because I don't have an issue using people's weaknesses against them, and this is a pretty big fucking weakness. You could end up being my bitch for a very long time.”

“Only the very weak-minded refuse to be influenced by literature and poetry.”

“But if the strength ain't real, I recall thinking the very last thing that day, before I finally passed out, then the weakness sure enough is. Weakness is true and real. I used to accuse the kid of faking his weakness. But faking proves the weakness is real. Or you wouldn't be so weak as to fake it. No, you can't ever fake being weak. You can only fake being strong. . .”