“Do you know how irritating you are?” she said. “Because if you don’t, I’ve got time.”

“You’re evil. Did you know that?” She just smiled. “Well I’ve got to say, you do lookdevilish in my shirt.”

“You know what I want? I just want you to be open to the fact that I am a woman. I’ve got emotions. I’ve got expectations. I cry. I laugh. And I was drawn to you because, first, you are a handsome man. But, secondly, after spending the time that we’ve spent, I just have an intuition that you’re the type of man who can appreciate a good woman. I really don’t care about your past and how many women you’ve screwed.”

“You know what you are, don’t you?” she asks. “You’re my salvation. My way to atone. To pay for everything I’ve done."“Anna,” I say. “Don’t ask me to do this.”

“I don’t know how you can stand it. Over and over again, the same sadness—”He lifted her up. “The same ecstasy—”“The same fire that kills everything—”“The same passion that ignites it all again. You don’t know. You can’t remember how wonderful—”“I’ve seen it. I do know.”

“Do you still do the clubs?”Jake shakes his head. “You do the clubsbecause you can’t find what you need at home. I’ve got everything I need. I’ve got the answer to needs I didn’t even know I had.”