“As long as I know this" - he lifted our joined hands - "is mine to hold, I'll wait for you forever.”

“Kale turned away from me and stepped to Alex. "I know exactly what that means, and if you say it again, I'll touch you.""Sorry, dude," Alex said, waving his hands. He flashed Kale a mock frown. "I don't swing that-”

“As cheesy as this is gonna sound, everyone join hands."Alex looked from my face to our tangled fingers and smirked. "As much as I like this, I'm thinking now's not the time to sing 'Kumbaya'.”

“„One down,” I said, turning to Kale. He wasn't paying attention. His gaze was fixed on the red silk baby doll in my hand.„What is this?” he asked, rubbing the satiny material between his fingers.„Clothes” I said. „For women.”His eyes widened. „Girls wear this?”„Yeah, but usually not for long” I chuckled.Kale turned as red as the teddy. „Are you going to wear this now?”„Umm. No,” I said, blushing.He seemed a little disappointed and I stifled a laugh.”

“He didn’t operate on the same frequency as everyone else. On one hand, he was more dangerous than anyone I’d ever met.He could slip into a room, kill you with a spatula, and be out of town before anyone knew about it. On the other, he was the most pure, untarnished soul I’d ever come across. It was an odd mix so uniquely Kale, and I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.”

“Because if you try to do it again, I'll touch you. Then the only thing you'll be touching is the wind as you're scattered across the world.”

“Kale, jackass. His name is Kale," I snapped. Someone had joined the line behind Dad. The woman made an irritated noise of disapproval at my choice of wording and covered her small son's ears.Great. Now I was corrupting children.”