“How tall are you, Constantine?” I asked, unable to hide my tears.Constantine narrowed her eyes at me. “How tall is you?”“Five-eleven,” I cried. “I’m already taller than the boys’ basketball coach.”“Well, I’m five-thirteen, so quit feeling sorry for yourself.”

“You’re like seven feet tall, aren’t you?”“I am not seven feet tall,” he snapped at her as if she’d really insulted him. “I’m six-eleven.” When she smirked in disbelief, he added, “And three-quarters.”

“How old are you?”“Physiologically, I’m twenty-five. Chronologically, I’m…not.”

“Your charm makes me want to punch you in the nose.”That made Ricky chuckle. “I’m not trying to piss you off, darlin’. Just trying to get you to give me a chance.” “Why?” she had to ask. “I’m really not that interesting. I’m cute but not stunning. I’m not excessively tall. And sexually, I’m rather vanilla. So then what is it?”Rickey decided to be honest with her. “I like your hair.”She suddenly went tense. “You don’t have to be mean.” “I’m not. I like curls. If we have sex, can I play with them?” “I don’t even know how to respond to that.”

“Robert, I’m sorry that you feel so strange, but I’m not sorry that you’re feeling it because of me,” I whispered, my heart feeling a familiar twinge as I continued, “but even if you hadn’t felt it, it would not change the way I feel about you.”

“I feel like I’m finally whole. I’m five thousand years old,” he rasped. “But the day you found me in the woods, that’s when my life started.”