“That had been an all-consuming love that had swept me up in a torrent of emotion that had been unimaginable until I'd experienced it.”

“Even though it had only been two weeks since I’d seen him last, it felt like months, and sometimes I found myself wondering if our brief time together had been real at all. Yeah, it had been real. I had a heart that was cracked in two as a souvenir of just how real it all was.”

“Then all of a sudden, his hazel eyes penetrated me in a way that succeeded in melting away my anger. My heartbeat quickened and my adrenaline pumped but in a different way than it had been a few minutes earlier. Suddenly it was like I forgot how to form words. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.”

“When you walked away from me last night, I felt like a piece of me had left with you. All I wanted in that moment was to get into that cab with you, put my arms around you and tell you that everything was going to be okay, because I love you.”

“She’s right, though. I completely stole her boyfriend, and I had no qualms about doing it. I had no remorse, as I weaseled my way in and took what I wanted. You have to admit, that’s kind of shitty.”Connor’s arm slid around me, pulling me close, and I noticed everyone was staring. We were together, and we had gone public.“First of all, you saying you took what you wanted is incredibly hot. Feel free to take it again anytime.” His voice was low, his lips close to my ear.”

“No, I chastised myself. I should be happy for him. I’d let him go. I’d turned down his request to be with me, so now I had no room to judge who he chose to be with. I needed to be happy for him, but I wasn’t. Knowing he was laughing and smiling with someone else, that he was flirting and teasing someone who wasn’t me ignited a feeling inside me that I’d fought so hard to bury. Suddenly, I was drawn to him like I hadn’t been in years, and I couldn’t ignore it.”

“I remember you – thirty percent off boardshorts,” he said, smirking slightly. I couldn’t believe he remembered that. It had been weeks ago.“They’re down to fifty percent off now,” I said. “If you want a deal, there are still some left.” I wanted to smack myself in the head. I could not believe I was flirting by talking about a sale at work. I was a conversational moron.”