“Leaving Forever My son can look me level in the eyes now,and does, hard, when I tell him he cannot watchchainsaw murders at the midnight movie,that he must bend his mind to Biology,under this roof, in the clear light of a Tensor lamp.Outside, his friends throb with horsepowerunder the moon.He stands close, milk souron his breath, gauging the heat of my conviction,eye-whites pink from his new contacts.He can see me better than before. And I can seemyself in those insolent eyes, mostly headin the pupil's curve, closed in by the contoursof his unwrinkled flesh.At the window he wavesa thin arm and his buddies squall away in a glareof tail lights. I reach out my arm to his shoulder,but he shrugs free and shows me my father's narrow eyes,the trembling hand at my throat, the hard wallat the back of my skull, the raised fist framedin the bedroom window I had climbed through at three A.M."If you hit me I'll leave forever,"I said. But everything was fine in a few days, fine."I would have come back," I said, "false teeth and all."Now, twice a year after the long drive, in the yellow lightof the front porch, I breathe in my father's whiskey,ask for a shot, and see myself distorted inhis thick glasses, the two of us grinning,as he holds me with both hands at arm's length.”

“Willow, you know that you said you couldn't tell how I felt at the rest stop?"I nodded, and he took my hand, laying it flat on his chest with his own resting over it. "Can you tell now?" he asked.His heart beat firmly under my hand; my own pulse was pounding so hard that I could barely think straight. Closing my eyes, I took a deep, steadying breath, and then another as I tried to clear my mind, to feel what he was feeling. For a moment there was just the softness of our breathing--then all at once it washed over me in a great wave.He was in love with me, too.I opened my eyes. Alex was still holding my hand to his chest, watching me, his expression more serious than I'd ever seen it. Unable to speak, I slowly dropped my hand and wrapped my arms around him. His own arms came around me as he rested his head on my hair."I really do, you know," he said, his voice rough."I know," I whispered back. "I do, too.”

“Al, close your eyes.” He swallows. His eyes look excited and terrified at the same time.He closes his own and leans towards me, his hands on the blanket, supporting the weight of his upper body. I lean in too until I can feel his breath on my lips. My hands are now joined in my lap. My eyes are still open. I want the memory of this moment burned in my mind forever.”

“Again," I whisper. The corner of his mouth lifts, and then I kiss him. Not so gently this time. His hands drop from my face and grab my waist and pull me to him. A small soft groan excapes him, and that noise makes me feel absolutely crazy. I lose it. I wind my hands around his neck and kiss him without holding anything back. I can feel his heart thundering like mine, his breath coming faster, his arms tightening around me. And then I can feel what he feels. He's waited for this moment. He loves how I feel in his arms. He loves the smell of my hair. He loves the way I looked at him just now, flushed and wanting more from him. He loves the color of my lips and now the taste of my mouth is making his knees feel weak and he doesn't want to seem weak in front of me. So i draw back, and his breath comes out in a rush. His arms drop away from me.”

“I turned around slowly, and looked up at him. He stiffened and sucked in a shallow breath. After a moment, he touched my cheek."Such naked pain," he whispered.I turned my face into his palm and closed my eyes. His fingers threaded into my hair, cupped my head, and brushed the brand. It heated at his touch. His hand tightened at the base of my skull and squeezed, and he raised me slowly to my tiptoes. I opened my eyes and it was my turn to inhale sharply. Not human. Oh, no, not this man."Never show it to me again." His face was cold, hard, his voice colder.”

“He moved, so quick, it was as if I blinked and he vanished from the window and reappeared in front of me. I jumped in surprise, hitting the door with a dull thud. I may have breathed his name, but I couldn’t be sure of anything except his swelling scent and the heat wafting off his body. The dreamy sensation pulsed in my skull, filling me with an airy sensation that sucked the breath from my lungs. The current washed through me, carrying away all reasoning, all doubts. It was just me and him and the pounding electricity between us. “I—I didn’t come for this.” yet, my hands reached for him, fisting in his hair and curling around his shoulder. “I should… go…” I pulled him to me.”