Gabriel
The words slipped out in the heat of the moment, but I didn’t regret speaking them, because I realized they were the truest words I had ever spoken.
For the first time in my life…I loved.
Not the obligatory love of a son for a parent, or a brother for a sibling, or an uncle for a niece. Or the twisted jealous way I once coveted Beth’s affections. Or the co-dependent way Ashley and I used each other to satisfy our mutual addiction.
What I felt for Jeanie was something completely new. I didn’t want anything from her, I just wanted to love her. I wanted to be the man who chased the sad shadows from her eyes. I wanted to be the man who made her smile and laugh, and who made her moan and scream with pleasure.
I didn’t even need to hear the words back from her. Because whether or no
