Then it hit me
Should I go that far
For a girl who doesn't ever
Really know what she wants?
He'd waited.
He'd waited so long, and he'd said no to everyone who came along. He'd submitted to a voluntary celibacy not only of the body but of the mind as well. He'd acted as though she was his, as though she was as much in love with him as he was with her. He'd told himself that as soon as she was ready, she'd be there and he wouldn't have to be alone anymore.
And then she missed opportunity after opportunity, keeping him teetering on the edge of what he wanted. And he knew that she wasn't doing it on purpose, but sometimes it sure as hell felt like it.
So by the time Seven came along, he was in the mood to be flattered. He was in the mood to be loved.
He was in the mood to be selfish, just once.