Rollie turned his eyes on his partner. "You want to know why I could never take you before?" he asked, searching her face carefully.

"Why Rol... why wouldn't you take me? I don't get it. I needed so much to hear you say you me, need me, these past months.... Why couldn't you just say it? I know you said you were , but that wouldn't have been when Iwas a kid," she replied, confused.

"Because Ange, I didn't want you to get the wrong idea about how I d you. Then," he explained. "There was never a time I didn't you, those hugs and es we shared. Even when you went to college and came back more ly than ever, but it was never that kind of . I was and d when I first felt something like that for you."

"You knew I d you Rollie. It was never a simple crush. I guess I always knew that was why you never took me there," she explained.

"Yeah. It's for , not for people with the sort of we shared then," he explained.

"We're not exactly that now either," she pointed out, then ed.

"No, we're not Ange, but we've taken the first step. I you, I never want you to think I don't. From now on though, I stop feeling and start ing you like you deserve."

"How's that?" she asked, a little herself.

"Like this," he replied, pulling her back into his embrace

"Keep it up Mr. Tyler and we WILL be ready to go," she replied. "I you too you know, I guess that was a given."

"Shutup," he answered, locking his to hers again.