“I know that unlike that night, tonight I won't kiss her. Or touch her. Or even see her up close.Tonight, I'll listen. And that'll be enough.”

“She is close enough to me that I can see her, because even now there is the outward sign of visible light, even at night in this parking lot on the outskirts of Algoe. After we kiss, our foreheads touch as we stare at each other. Yes, I can see her almost perfectly in this cracked darkness.”

“But not tonight. Tonight is all about Olivia—beautiful, sexy, courageous, passionate Olivia. Tonight, I want her to see what I see.“Look at yourself,” I say. I pull her long hair over one shoulder and place a kiss in the bend of her neck. She tilts her head to give me better access. “You’re the most beautiful girl in the room.”“So sexy.”“Any man would die to have this for even one night.”

“It was not enough to be the last guy she kissed. I wanted to be the last one she loved. And I knew I wasn’t. I knew it, and I hated her for it. I hated her for not caring about me. I hated her for leaving that night, and I hated myself , too, not only because I let her go but because if I had been enough for her, she wouldn’t have even wanted to leave. She would have just lain with me and talked and cried, and I would have listened and kissed at her tears as they pooled in her eyes.”

“Kissing her again, softly, I leave my t-shirt next to her pillow.It's the silent promise that I'll come back again tonight.”

“except when he kissed her, when he touched her, he devoured her as if he could never-even if he lived a thousand lifetimes-get enough!”