And so, while the rest of the world went on unaware, drinking their coffee, reading the sports page, and picking up their dry cleaning, I leaned forward and kissed Dexter, making a choice that would change everything. Maybe somewhere there was a ripple, a bit of jump, some small shift in the universe, barely noticeable. I didn’t feel it then. I felt only him kissing me back, easing me into the sunlight as I lost myself in the taste of him and felt the world go on, just as it always had, all around us.

It takes so little to change everything. If you really thought about it, it would scare you to death.

I mean, it's not surprising, really. Once you love something, you always love it in some way. You have to. It's, like, part of you for good.

It took a lot of work to be perfect. If you didn’t want to break a sweat, there was no point in even bothering.

Oh darling, don't be bitter. It's the first instinct of the weak.

But when you're alone in the world, really alone, you have no choice but to be open to suggestions.

In school, writing was the only thing that really came naturally to me, but it wasn't until college that I realized that I could do it for more than just fun.