Amy Plum

I can't promise you an ordinary experience, Kate. I wish I could transform myself into a normal man and be there for you, always, without the trauma that defines my life as "the walking dead." Since that isn't possible, I can only reassure you that I will do everything in my power to make it up to you. To give you more than a normal boyfriend could. I have no idea what that will mean, exactly, but I'm looking forward to finding out. With you.

He leaned forward and opened his door, politely standing aside to let me by before following me in. There are some advantages to dating a guy from another era, I thought. Though I am a big believer in gender equality, chivalry scores high in my book.

Besides the alternate universe offered by a book, the quiet space of a museum was my favorite place to go. My mom said I was an escapist at heart . . . that I preferred imaginary worlds to the real one. It__ true that I__e always been able to yank myself out of this world and plunge myself into another.

My mom said I was an escapist at heart.... that I preferred imaginary worlds to the real one

Well, spit on my empty grave--if it ain't the attack of the Disney princesses!

I spent the rest of the day in someone else's story. The rare moments that I put the book down, my own pain returned in burning stabs.

Before I saw you, I hadn__ cared for anyone for . . . well, for the good part of a century, and it felt like my heart had been permanently disconnected. I wasn__ even looking anymore. And without expecting anything . . . without any hope at all, suddenly you were here.

His eyes twinkled mischievously as he gazed at me with that look that always made me melt: as if I were edible and he could barely restrain himself from taking a bite.

He ran his finger along my jawline and down my neck. "The wait will be fun, but it's not going to be easy.

I'm not always the best at expressing myself to you, so I'm taking advantage of the fact that I will be completely unresponsive when you read this, and therefore incapable of messing things up

I understand it, but I don't like it. I wish we could all be together like before: best friends, not heartbroken strangers.

The only way I survive is to never stop moving. I make sure I'm always surrounded by others, so I won't have time to think and end up imploding like a dying star.