“The cord pulled taut and she rebounded, flying back up before falling again. As her velocity slowed, she opened her eyes and found herself dangling at the end of the cord, about five feet above Jace. He was grinning. “Nice,” he said. “As graceful as a falling snowflake.””Was I screaming?” She asked, genuinely curious. “You know, on the way down.”He nodded. “Thankfully no one’s home, or they would have assumed I was murdering you.””Ha. You can’t even reach me.” She kicked out a leg and spun lazily in midair. Jace’s eyes glinted. “Want to bet?”Clary knew that expression. “No,” she said quickly. “Whatever you’re going to do-“But he’d already done it. When Jace moved fast, his individual movements were almost invisible. She saw his hand go to his belt, and then something flashed in the air. She heard the sound of parting fabric as the cord above her head was sheared through. Released, she fell freely, too surprised to scream- directly into Jace’s arms. The force knocked him backward, and they sprawled together onto one of the padded floor mats, Clary on top of him. He grinned up at her.”Now,” he said, “that was much better. You didn’t scream at all.””I didn’t get the chance.” She was breathless, and not just from the impact of the fall. Being sprawled on top of Jace, feeling his body against hers, made her hands shake and her heart beat faster.”

“A gentleman holds my hand.A man pulls my hair.A soulmate will do both.”

“When what you want is a relationship, and not a person, get a dog.”

“When we first met, I didn’t want to get involved with anyone. I didn’t have the time or energy, and I wasn’t sure that I was ready for it. But you were so good to me, and I got swept up in that. And little by little, I found myself falling in love with you.”

“Love is a game of tic-tac-toe,constantly waitingfor the next x or o.”

“I could feel the warmth of his presence as if a soft blanket had been wrapped around my soul, around my heart. It held me and protected me. It sheltered me and I knew I wasn’t alone anymore.”

“Okay, then I’ll just say I love you. There is nothing in this world more important to me than you are. I’m only content when you’re near. My whole purpose is to be what you need me to be. It’s not poetry, but it’s from my heart. Will that do?”

“I want him to love me as much as I love him.”

“Two seconds later, the sound of an alarm filled my ears. ”What did you do?” I said over the noise as he backed up towards the bathroom door. ”The girl who gave you the note?””Yes…””I caught her staring at my lighter.”I blinked. ”You gave a child, in a psych ward , a lighter?”His eyes crinkled at the corners. ”She seemed trustworthy.””You’re sick,” I said, but smiled.”Hey, nobody’s perfect. ” Noah smiled back.”

“Waiting is erotic”

“I’ve been working hard to become the kind of man she needs, the kind of man she already believes me to be.”

“You’re a dream. Like everything else.”

“Does that count as an argument? Can we kiss and make up now?””It was only half an argument.”“Fine. Then, you kiss and I’ll make up.”I laughed until he effectively shut me up with his lips.”

“I look down at our knees, slightly touching. Jeans against jeans. Does she notice the heat transferring from her body to mine? Does she even realize what she’s doing to me? I know, I know. I’m not a virgin and the slightest touch of a girl’s knee is driving me insane. I don’t even know what I’m feeling for Maggie, I just know that I’m feeling. It’s something I’ve tried to avoid and deny until yesterday, when I held her in my arms while her tears spilled onto my shirt.God, our knees touching isn’t enough. I need more.She’s knotting her fingers together on her lap as if she doesn’t know what to do with them. I want to touch her, but what if she pulls away like before? I’ve never been such a wuss with a girl in my life.I bite my bottom lip as I slide my hand about millionth of a millimeter closer to her hand.She doesn’t seem fazed so I move closer. And closer.When the tips of my fingers touch her wrist, she freezes. But she doesn’t jerk her hand away. God, her skin is so soft, I think as my fingers trail a path from her wrist to her knuckles to her smooth, manicured nails.I swear touching her like this is driving me nuts. It’s more erotic, more intense than any other time with Kendra. I feel awkward and inexperienced as a freshman again. I look up. Everyone else is oblivious to the intensity of emotions running rampant in the back of the public bus.When I look back down at my hand covering hers, I’m grateful she hasn’t come to her senses and pulled away. As if she knows my thoughts, we both turn our hands at the same time so our hands are palm against palm…finger against finger. Her hand is dwarfed against mine. It makes her seem more delicate and petite than I’d realize. I feel a need to protect her and be her champion should she ever need one.With a slight shift of my hand, I lace my fingers through hers.I’m holding hands. With Maggie Armstrong.I’m not even going to think about how wrong it is because it feels so right. She’s avoided looking right at me, but now she turns her head and our eyes lock. God, how come I never noticed before how long her lashes were and how her brown eyes have specks of gold that sparkle when the sun shine on them?The bus stops suddenly and I look out the window. It’s our stop. She must have realized this because she pulls her hand away from mine and stands. I follow behind, still reeling.”