"I don't think I either," he admits, squeezing her knee again as he takes a sip of his tea. "I...Believe me, I understand that. Back home. There's...somebody. We're not together. We're never going to be together. But I've loved her since I was like...nineteen, and she's always going to be important to me. So. I guess neither of us are coming into this with a clean slate." He tilts his head and, for a moment, he lets himself take in the whole of her.

"That's alright with me if it is with you."