Author's Note: This is for the August 27th word. I haven't written the next one or picked any of the September words yet, but I'm hoping it will be done this week. Let me know what you think about this one? I'm not sure how I feel about it.

personalia: personal details such as biographical data, reminiscences, or the like.

For some reason she couldn't determine, Maxie's thoughts refused to let her sleep. Staring at Matt in the dimmed light of his bedroom, it crossed her mind that she didn't know many details about his life. She raised a hand and traced the features of his face with her fingers. Her index finger trailed gently down his nose, then lower to lightly trace his lips.

Eyes still closed, he drew the digit into his mouth, nipped at her fingertip. "Stop thinking so loud. I can't sleep."

"Why don't you ever talk about yourself?"

Matt cracked his eyes open. "I talk about myself all the time. Some might say too much."

"No, I mean about you, your life."

His eyes slid closed again. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Sure there is. You know about me." She continued her fingers' travel across his face, her thumb moving to slide across his eyebrows.

"You like to talk a lot."

She rewarded that comment with a pinch of his nose and watched a ghost of a smile appear and immediately disappear from his face. "Really, tell me something."

"What do you want to know?"

"Anything. Special skills? First kiss? First car? First love?"

"I believe I just demonstrated my special skills," he responded with a roguish grin.

"Be serious."

"Piano. Emily Johnson in the third grade. Black '96 Camry."

"You forgot one, so there must be a story. Spill."

She continued to watch his face as he weighed the option of arguing versus giving in. The decision was made quickly, as she knew it would be. They both knew she was like a pitbull when it came to something she wanted. "Fine," he relented with a sigh. "I'd say I was older than most people for a first love, but from the moment I met her, there was something… I don't know. Some indescribable thing about her that caught me. We didn't get along much at first, rubbed each other the wrong way. She was dating someone else and they were pretty serious. I made a few moves, but she turned me down. Which, honestly, only made her that much more appealing."

Maxie was the woman he was with now, but she felt a little jealous of whoever this other girl was. His voice was soft and still full of feeling as he talked about her. That he carried a torch for her after what had to be years later was… unsettling. "Did you ever get together?"

"Eventually, after it didn't work out with the other guy. It took a little while, but no woman can resist me for long."

"So, what happened?" she asked, ignoring the comment that she suspected was intended to steer them down a different conversational path.

"The relationship started off pretty casual for both of us. But it didn't stay that way for me. At some point, I was all in and I didn't even notice."

"Did you tell her?"

"No. I didn't think she was looking for anything serious or permanent or felt the same, so I went with the flow."

"Was she pretty?"

"Gorgeous. Petite, beautiful eyes, and blonde hair that I liked best when it was long."

Maxie felt like she could hear her heart pounding. The jealousy she'd felt dissipated as a new thought occurred to her, making her feel a bit idiotic for not catching on sooner. "Do you still see her?"

"Yeah."

"What's her name?" the question came out as a whisper, but she knew he heard it.

It was then that he finally opened his eyes again and what she saw there confirmed her suspicion. "I think you know."

"Matt…" Maxie had no idea what expression he saw on her face, but it made him bring his hand up to her face, and pull her close for a kiss that, combined with what she'd just learned, left her reeling. She didn't know what she was feeling, what she was supposed to do or say. More than anything, she was shocked that she wasn't in panic mode.

"Are you staying?" he asked, tension in every part of him. The hand on her cheek had traveled south to her hip, gently bringing her closer.

She knew Matt thought she was going to run, but she realized she didn't want to. It felt good, knowing he loved her, even though she couldn't say the words back to him. She wasn't ready and she owed it to both of them to be ready when she did. But on this matter, she could ease his mind. "I'm not going anywhere."