“I hatethat moment when Aaron and I split – each time it happens, and ithappens a lot. He storms off, or I walk out on him and I have asplit second where I feel I’ve lost my grip, I’m falling off the edgeof the world, I’m yelling, “Help!” and no one hears me. I’m alone.But later, when you get a distance and you start to think it through,it feels like it might not be so bad.”

“Any time, any place? I ask, gazing out across the glittering lake. A breeze disturbs it's silver surface. In a heartbeat, Phoenix promises.”

“Yeah – so maybe we should all give up on love and get on witheverything else,’ she sighed. She turned her head towards me andsquinted through the glare of the sun. ‘Why don’t we?”

“I’m not, even if you think I am. But no matter what this started out as…an accident, fate, whatever—I’m glad you found me that night. Not because of what happened, but because of now. Because I get to be here with you. And I’m scared, too, but—but thank you for telling me today. Thank you for trusting me with that. I’ve never…” I pressed my lips together, trying to find the right words. “I’ve never felt like this for anyone. And I’m not really sure what falling in love feels like, but I think—I know I have. With you.”

“Fuck,” Dietrich breathed. “I’m a bad motherfucker, and I mean I’m pretty fucked up in the head sometimes, but I want some of what the twins got going between them. That shit right there, was beast.” -Dietrich Johnson”

“Being on that pitcher’s mound, it’s the one thing I’m really good at. The one thing I haven’t fucked up. And when I’m on the field, everything else fades away. You know?” He turned to look at me, his eyes craving understanding. I smiled and he continued. “It’s like my mind is clear when I’m out there. It’s not about my mom or my dad or the stupid shit I’ve done. It’s about me, the ball, and the batter. It’s the one place in the world where I feel like I’m in control. Like I have a say in what happens around me.”I stopped my head from nodding in agreement once I realized that I was doing it. “I feel that way when I’m taking pictures. Anything that I’m not seeing through my lens fades away in the background. And I get to frame my picture any way I choose. I get to dictate how it looks. What’s in it. What isn’t. Behind that lens I have complete control in how things are seen.”He smiled, his dimples indenting his cheeks. “You get it.”

“The feeling I have reminds me of New Year’s Eve, when the countdown is coming and I’m not quite sure whether to grab my camera or just live in the moment. Usually I grab the camera and later regret it when the picture doesn’t turn out. Then I feel enormously let down and think to myself that the night would have been more fun if it didn’t mean quite so much, if I weren’t forced to analyze where I’ve been and where I’m going.”