“You don;t believe me?" He sound wounded, like the thought of me not believing him makes him incredibly sad."No.""Then come with me," he says. He unfolds his long legs and stands up. "To Cooley's. You'll see they just posted the schedule. If I'm lying, I'll buy you a chocolate shake.""And If you're not?""Then I'll still buy you a chocolate shake." He grins at me.”

“He grabs me suddenly and yanks me up against him, one hand at my back holding me to him and the other fisting in my hair."You're one challenging woman," He kisses me, forcing my lips apart with his tongue, taking no prisoners. "It's taking all my self-control not to fuck you on the hood of this car, just to show you that you're mine, and if I want to buy you a fucking car, I'll buy you a fucking car," he growls.”

“I am interested in you, Gretchen." When I still won't look at him, he presses his fingers against my jaw and gently turns my face. He is looking straight in my eyes when he says, "I'm interested in you."His midnight blues burn with an intensity that almost makes me believe him. Makes me want to believe him. He knows just the right thing to say to mess with my mind. He always has. He leans closer, watching me. His lips are a breath away from mine.This time I'm not buying it.My knee connects with his soft spot and he doubles over, gasping for air."Find your own way home," I snap before turning and marching back to my car.”

“You see somethin' ya want, baby?""Maybe. I'm checking things out. Seeing if I'm interested," I shot back with my own evil grin."I see something I want," he drawled as he came toward me."You do?""Hell yeah, I do," he murmured. "I love chocolate." What? My excitement turned to confusion. His arm reached out beside me and took the piece of chocolate cake I'd brought him.”

“I'll do it, Todd," I whisper. "I'll come with you."And he doesn't say anything, just squeezes my hand harder and brings it up to his face like he wants to breathe me in.”

“I say, " I can't believe you're really here."He sounds almost shy when he says, "Me neither." And then he hesitates. "Are you still coming with me?"I cant believe he even has to ask. I would go anywhere. "Yes," I tell him. It feels like nothing else exists outside of that word, this moment. There's just us. Everything that happened this past summer and every summer before it, has all led up to this.To Now”