“Current relationship status?” Her voice cut like an arctic chill blowing through the room.“If you mean me, then you’re not my type. If you mean my dad, he’s single, but I don’t think you’re his type either,” I said with a small smile. Mercy didn’t find it amusing. A small blue vein in her forehead started throbbing like crazy....“Actually, come to think of it, I don’t think he has a type. I’ve never seen him with a woman.Mercy, I hate to break it to you, but there’s a very real possibility my dad is gay.”

“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.”

“I'm never going to get used to that," he said, smiling. "Used to what?""The way I feel like I'm going to explode every time you come close. The way my head fills up with just you when you do that.”

“I backed us up against the wall. “How I feel? You want to know?” I ran my hands over his face and tangled them into his messy hair. “This is unlike anything else. I’ve bungeed off buildings, I’ve skateboarded off roofs. I’ve even gone train surfing. Nothing comes close to the high I feel when I’m with you. You’ve been through horrible things, and yet you’re one of the kindest, truest people I’ve ever met. At first I thought it was because you weresafe. I could feel something for you because you couldn’t hurt me. Not the way Alex did. But it’s more than that. It’s you. Who you are. The way you are. Everything from your smile to the way you always say exactly what’s on your mind. Your soul, Kale.”

“He sat up straight, eyes wide, and touched the tip of his index finger to his cheek. "What was that?"I blushed. "A kiss.""That's what a kiss feels like?""Well, technically. There are a lot of different types of—""Show me.""Show you what?""Show me some other kinds.""You're asking me to kiss you?"(Dez and Kale)”

“What kind of guy was I? My idea of fun was Dez. My eyes found hers. Spending time with her, holding her…. kissing her. Just being close to her. These were the things I enjoyed. The things that made me feel most alive. I believed without a doubt that my heart began to truly beat the day I met her.She cleared her throat and looked away, blushing. It took a moment for me to realize why. She'd been thinking of kissing. I 'd told her just last week kissing her was my second favourite thing to do. The first – well, she told me that was something we should keep between us. I didn't understand why exactly. Everyone should know about something so amazing, but I took her word on it.”

“I think I understand that now. I think I love you.”