“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 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.”

“There's a gap as deep as a canyon between how you come across to people and the way you are on the inside.”

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

“Does it hurt now?" he asked, his tone rough and seductive."No." She shook her head again and sighed, trying to pretend his touch didn't make her uncomfortably wet.He grinned. "So...what's with the heavy breathing?”

“I’ve been dying to know,” he said again, “how you taste.”Oh, hell. Her right hand grabbed the back of his head, and she yanked him down toward her.Their mouths met. Open. Ready. Lips kissed. Tongues licked. And—damn!Yes, she wanted.The control she’d held so tightly began to crack. She jerked in her seat, struggling to press against him. He took her mouth. Tasted her. Tormented her. And she met him. No, she fought him, fought him for more.”

“She dropped her shyness like a nightgown, and in the liquid glare of sunlight on old boards she held up her hands-as if, in the terror of the upcoming skirmish, she had at last understood that she was beautiful. In her own way.”