"You don't think you're okay the way you should be," he repeats, lowering his head to hide his wry smile, though the humorless laugh that escapes him is a good indicator of what his position is on that. This is something he need to focus on, though, because he'd very much like to join Fabrice in having a chance to best this reporter senseless, though he knows he'd only end up in the same position Joel had been in the night of Coop's party--in a jail cell (again) and with his tail between his legs because he'd have to call his boyfriend for bail.
"I think that considering all things, you're far better off than many others might be. I'm not disregarding any of what you feel, mind you, but connecting the way you heal or how quickly you do it to how excellent a dater doesn't quite add up, at least not to me."
He hasn't recovered. He can look the part, he can walk to work every day and smile at Amber at the coffee shop when she slides him that free slice of banana bread and hold a conversation better than he has in years, but he hasn't recovered. Sometimes he looks in the mirror and finds it incredible that the only visible scars he has after all he's been through in the last few years are a few tiny faint ones above his right temple. It almost doesn't seem right, the way he wants so badly to forget all of it but at the same time, wants to be sure the memories are always there because everything that has happened had led him to become the man he is today.
Still, in spite of all that, in spite of the fact that he's still healing, he's capable of loving more than he'd ever thought possible. "If you start to blame yourself for not being part of a fairy tale romance, you'll lose sight of what's really important. That's you, for the record, you're what's most important. It's difficult to live like this, to realize that-- that the smallest thing could put us into a panic but that doesn't make us harder to love. It just means the people who love us have to be as strong as us."
She asks if it's bad to have fun, essentially, and he shakes his head. "Of course that's not bad. It's not bad if you go out with someone and end up developing stronger feelings for him, either. And it's not bad if it turns out those feelings aren't as strong as you think. There's no right or wrong answer here, and I think you'll find you're not the only one happy to operate that way. You're friends with one of the most notorious ones already, and he's an excellent example of why character shouldn't be measured by the number of people he's been with." He turns to face her more fully. "But if there's something else you need to talk to me about, something more than just about the dating, which I am again not an expert on, then you know you can. I'm happy to listen."
no subject
"I think that considering all things, you're far better off than many others might be. I'm not disregarding any of what you feel, mind you, but connecting the way you heal or how quickly you do it to how excellent a dater doesn't quite add up, at least not to me."
He hasn't recovered. He can look the part, he can walk to work every day and smile at Amber at the coffee shop when she slides him that free slice of banana bread and hold a conversation better than he has in years, but he hasn't recovered. Sometimes he looks in the mirror and finds it incredible that the only visible scars he has after all he's been through in the last few years are a few tiny faint ones above his right temple. It almost doesn't seem right, the way he wants so badly to forget all of it but at the same time, wants to be sure the memories are always there because everything that has happened had led him to become the man he is today.
Still, in spite of all that, in spite of the fact that he's still healing, he's capable of loving more than he'd ever thought possible. "If you start to blame yourself for not being part of a fairy tale romance, you'll lose sight of what's really important. That's you, for the record, you're what's most important. It's difficult to live like this, to realize that-- that the smallest thing could put us into a panic but that doesn't make us harder to love. It just means the people who love us have to be as strong as us."
She asks if it's bad to have fun, essentially, and he shakes his head. "Of course that's not bad. It's not bad if you go out with someone and end up developing stronger feelings for him, either. And it's not bad if it turns out those feelings aren't as strong as you think. There's no right or wrong answer here, and I think you'll find you're not the only one happy to operate that way. You're friends with one of the most notorious ones already, and he's an excellent example of why character shouldn't be measured by the number of people he's been with." He turns to face her more fully. "But if there's something else you need to talk to me about, something more than just about the dating, which I am again not an expert on, then you know you can. I'm happy to listen."