“I went down again. My heart and I went down again. I was aware of her hand. I was aware of my breathing. I could no longer see it, but I was aware of her face.”

“Replaying her words in my head, I could feel my face redden again. I wanted to flush my head down the toilet.”

“If I’m with a woman, I want her completely ready, willing, and aware of when I lay down pipe.”

“Instinctively, and against my better judgement, I pull her closer to me. She rests her head on my shoulder as if it is the most natural thing in all the worlds to do.But it's a mistake. I become aware of her heart beating, her lungs expanding with every breath, her skin beneath my touch.She moves, and her head slides to my chest. Shifting into sleep, she wraps her arm around my waist. Now I'm aware of my heart beating too, slowly, in sync with hers. I know I should push her away. But if my life depended on it, right now, that would be impossible.”

“The truth was that I could not manage my soul, and I was becoming aware of old age because of my weakness in the face of love.”

“It seemed as if I could see things in her that others couldn't see, qualities which not even she was aware of. It was as I I could already see in her the woman she would later become.”