Nat Love Quotes

The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.

Tina leans forward and asks quietly, 'Do you? You know? Love her?' Squeezing Nat’s knee again, I reply, 'She’s teachin’ me how.

Nature Boy There was a boy A very strange enchanted boy They say he wandered very far, very far Over land and sea A little shy And sad of eye But very wise Was he And then one day A magic day he passed my way And while we spoke of many things, fools and kings This he said to me “The greatest thing You’ll ever learn Is just to love And be loved In return

.« Nik has obviously spoken to Nat about my candy preferences. Written in raspberry bullets is ‘I’m sorry’. Written in green apple jellybeans is ‘I miss you’. Written in cherry jellybeans is ‘I love you’. My heart skips a beat at the last line. Written in gummy bears is ‘Marry me’. Did Nik just propose using candy? Why, yes, brain. Yes, he did. »

I looked down, unable to meet the intensity in Nat’s eyes. Tonight, my crush for Nat had moved beyond a crush. The chemistry between us was undeniable, and the more we clashed, the more we wanted each other." - Summer, Perfect Summer

Do you love me?” … “I never stopped, Nat. Not for a day.

I grinned. “So you are human after all.” I touched his chest, feeling him breathe hard in and out. “I always thought you were made of steel, you know,” I said. “Superman?” Nat arched his eyebrows. “No, the Tin Man,” I answered back. I settled my head against his chest, turning my ear to listen to his heartbeat. “I sometimes wondered if you had a heart.” - Summer, Perfect Summer

You knew how I felt about you,” I say. “You’ve always known. If you felt the same, why go and get yourself another girl?”, Loving Summer by Kailin Gow

Never live your life on the edge when you have loved ones who love you and who are depending on you.

Just don’t let handling life be the only thing. You’re meant to enjoy it as well.”, Loving Summer by Kailin Gow

He looks shocked, and worse. He looks like he’s on the brink of breaking down completely.", Loving Summer by Kailin Gow

Aunt Sookie’s Malibu pad had always been magical. It was where they could be anyone or anything they wanted. ", Loving Summer by Kailin Gow

Could you maybe not stare at my brothers in open mouthed admiration?” Rachel whispers. “It will only make their egos bigger.”, Loving Summer by Kailin Gow

For all her grumbling, she actually loves being a woman, pains and all. She just wishes she’d been born into a world that let those pains earn a little goddamn space.

Midget,” Nat says simply, his smile widening. “I was not a midget.” Nat raises an eyebrow. “It looked that way from up here. The same as Rachel. The Two Midgets of Malibu.” Loving Summer by Kailin Gow

Summer had always had a crush on Nat, though, ever since she was five years old. No one, no boy had ever been able to shake her out of her crush on Nat, so at least that was a good thing about Drew. ", Loving Summer by Kailin Gow

Nat was my first real boyfriend. My first kiss. I can remember when he used to defend me from the bullies back in kindergarten. He shouldn’t be allowed to go around looking like some kind of rock star.", Loving Summer by Kailin Gow

The greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and be loved in return.

Hannah’s magic cure for every ill,” Nat had said. “Blueberry cake and a kitten.” Kit smiled to see it working its charm on Prudence. But there was an invisible ingredient that made the cure unfailing. The Bible name for it was love.

There is no escape if love is not there," Hannah had said. Had Hannah known when she herself had not even suspected? It was not escape that she had dreamed about, it was love. And love was Nat.

Slik var kjærligheten. Den kunde ruinere sin mand, gjenreise ham og brændemeærke ham igjen; den kunde elske mig idag, dig imorgen og ham imorgen nat, så ubestandig var den. Men den kunde også holde fast som et ubrytelig segl og blusse like uutslukelig til dødens stund, for så evig var den.

Nat's face softens, her lips tilt at the corner and she speaks full of awe, "Wow." Still chuckling, I ask, "What?" She shifts from one foot to the other, looks to the ground and says softly, "That's the first time I've heard you laugh." She nervously plays with a ring on her finger. "That's one of the nicest sounds I've ever heard, Ghost. You should do it more often.

With all those one night stands of his,” Nat explains, “he had to learn to dress fast. He has to get out of there before a girl can think he might actually care.” I look at Drew and he shrugs again. “They know what they’re getting into,” he says. “Why complicate things with emotional stuff?” “You’re a pig, you know that?” Rachel calls out from the pool., Loving Summer by Kailin Gow

Just like that. Gone forever. They will not grow old together. They will never live on a beach by the sea, their hair turned white, dancing in a living room to Billie Holiday or Nat Cole. They will not enter a New York club at midnight and show the poor hip-hop fools how to dance. They will not chuckle together over the endless folly of the world, its vanities and stupid ambitions. They will not hug each other in any chilly New York dawn. Oh, Mary Lou. My baby. My love.

In the hall, Tina whisper hisses, "Retreat! Retreat!" The sounds of heels clip clopping follows before... stumble crash bang Mimi laughs her ass off and says, "We have a man down! I repeat. We are a man down!" Lola laughs hard and yells out, "We're so bad at this! Best mission ever! The sound of giggles and heels approach my room. I put an arm under my head to elevate it. I want to see what these goofballs are doing. Tina's first through the door and looks sheepish while rubbing her elbow. That is until she see Nat, Helena and Nina all sitting on my bed. Then she yells out, "Pajama party!" And literally throws herself on to my bed, hurt elbow forgotten. She belly flops onto my stomach, My body jolts upwards, the wind is knocked out of me and I groan. Tina looks up at me with wide eyes. She rushed out, "Ash, honey! I'm so sorry!" Then she rubs what she thinks is my stomach. Only its my cock. Removing her hands from me, I tell her, "Tina, I don't think Nik would like you in my bed rubbing my junk.

There are two girls around my age, maybe a little older, checking them out. I can’t blame them, but they’re pretty obvious about it, just watching them and talking in low voices to one another. One, a dark-haired girl whose tight clothes do a lot to emphasize the curves she has, even comes over and pushes what looks like a slip of paper into Drew’s hand. They both walk off then, giggling. “What just happened?” I ask. Nat shakes his head with a smile. “Just the Drew effect. I’ll be back in a second. I just need one more ingredient.” He heads off, leaving me with Drew. I look at him. “The Drew effect? Seriously?” “I get it most places,” he says, starting to grin but then stopping himself. “Honestly, it can get pretty annoying.”, Loving Summer by Kailin Gow

In reality, you have to overcome yourself to be a better person.

Ruth does love Jesus, same way she loves Lincoln, Robin Hood, Martin Luther King, and Nat. Handsome men who fight for justice.

Nat didn't know what to make of Ryan Wesson-whether she wanted to slap him or kiss him. Slap him, definitely

Julia: Cupid hit you hard. Nat: Unfortunately.

Nat’s face turned vicious, “If he can’t see how goddamn awesome you are, he can eat a dick. He doesn’t deserve you.

I can’t stand a damn liar and have no respect for one. But an artful exaggerator always gets my full attention and my undying respect. —Nat Love

We’re going to figure this out together. One day at a time, one step at a time. Whatever you need, whenever you need it. I’m in this so deep, Nat… Please don’t leave me. Don’t walk away. Give me a chance. Give yourself a chance. If anyone deserves to be happy and loved, it’s you.

But oh, my brothers, black folk ain’t never goin’ to be led from bondage without they has pride! Black folk ain’t goin’ to be free, they ain’t goin’ to have no spoonbread an’ sweet cider less’n they studies to love they own selves. Only then will the first be last, and the last first.

You’ve kidnapped my friend. Sucked her brain out! Not that she had much to begin with, but—” “Bite me.” The laughter didn’t hurt, now. I didn’t even feel weird saying it. Bite me. Pretty funny, for a part-vampire. “Ha. You wish. Lesbo vamp girl.” “Lesbo?” “You love me.” “We’d never work, Nat. You’re too high maintenance.” We both cracked up, and right then, the darkness was kind.

You had your hair in a ponytail.” He moved his gaze over her head, caressingly. “I like your new style, but I kind of liked that ponytail more.” Her hand self-consciously touched her bob. “You had a dark blue turtleneck shirt on and a short black and blue kilt skirt. I thought I’d never seen anyone that beautiful.” “When I think of you, that image is the one coming to my mind, but every time I see you, you take my breath away.

Early mornings were given over to Bartok and Schoenberg. Midmorning I treated myself to the vocals of Billy Eckstine, Billie Holiday, Nat Cole, Louis Jordan and Bull Moose Jackson. A piroshki from the Russian delicatessen next door was lunch and then the giants of bebop flipped through the air. Charlie Parker and Max Roach, Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan and Al Haig and Howard McGhee. Blues belonged to late afternoons and the singers’ lyrics of lost love spoke to my solitude.

Spasm couldn’t get laid if you sent him to a brothel with a blank cheque. He had his Lou Reed and his Bob Hope, but never his Nat King Cole.

Nature Boy There was a boy A very STRANGE ENCHANTED boy. They say he wandered very far, very far, Over land and sea. A little SHY And SAD of eye, But very wise, VERY WISE was he... Until one day, ONE LUCKY day he passed my way, And while we talked of many things Fools and kings, This he said to me: "The greatest thing YOU'LL ever learn Is just to love And be loved In return.

Just how many fully-fledged members do you have in this club?” “No members, just passengers in my wild youth.” He bracketed her head with his arms and grinned down at her pouting expression. “Jealous, sweetheart?” “Do I have a cause to be jealous?” She cupped his chin. “Never.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “There is one thing I am religious about—I never cheat.” His expression turned from playful to serious. “You should know something. My dad used to tell me, ‘Respect women, Domenico.’” He did his best imitation of his father’s baritone. “Make sure you treat them well. Cheating is a despicable act. Always put your mother or your female relatives in place of the woman you cheat on and imagine how hurt they would feel.’ It affected me to the point of imbibing it as a rule.

I love hugging you," Luke said. "I love how our bodies fit when we're still...I feel like a broken record when I say I know there are a hundred reasons why we shouldn't but Nat, I really want to kiss you.

Jacks smiled and pictured her parents waltzing cheek to cheek. ‘It was Nat King Cole, “Unforgettable”. He loved it.’ ‘How about I tell them to play that?’ Pete coaxed. The funeral parlour needed an answer.

...Nat played away and never minded anyone, while his eyes shone, his cheeks reddened, and his thin fingers flew, as he hugged the old fiddle and made it speak to all their hearts the language that he loved.

I don’t remember a time in my life that Jules and her family weren’t in it. You have shared everything that has ever mattered with me, even the birth of my baby. When Jules and Nate got together,” Natalie turns to the audience and smiles. Will takes my hand in his and kisses my knuckles. “I was astonished to watch the change in her. Jules is a kick-ass girl. She’s not big on public displays of affection, which she reminds me of almost daily.” “Seriously, you guys are gross,” Jules rolls her eyes, but I can see the tears threatening to spill over. “But Nate brought out that soft side of her. He makes her better. And I think she does the same for him. I just couldn’t have found anyone more suited to you, my friend, if I tried.” Nat raises her glass and we all follow suit. “So, to my new brother-in-law Nate, and my sister of the heart, his Julianne. May your love continue to grow every day.

Ami leaned into his side and inhaled the fresh scent of man. “Uh, no. Sometimes my biological clock threatens to explode like a ticking bomb, that’s all. Rachel is so lucky. Nat is a doll. Doug adores them. Don’t mind me, I’m just wishing my laundry pile was filled with boxer shorts and Cinderella T-shirts. I’ll get over it.” “Why do you have to get over it,” Marcus asked gently. “Sounds like a nice dream to me.” ...a few pages later Things were looking up. If he could just convince her his boxer shorts belonged in her laundry basket, he’d be right on board with her six-month plan

When I was a little girl my uncle Was a veterinarian And I was a little girl who loved animals I had a cat and a dog And once I asked my uncle (who was a veterinarian) Why does my dog love belly rubs But they make my cat attack? I showed him scratches up and down my arms. He said the thing about cats you have to understand Is they are predator and prey They can hunt and pounce and kill But they’re small and light and probably Delicious So they take some things very very seriously I was a little girl when he said this But when I became a woman in this world I understood what he meant.

One thing however, Nat did for him. He taught him carpentry. He learned to distinguish between the different kinds of wood, to love them and understand their ways. Realizing that the boy had great skill with his hands Nat gave him a few tools for his own and taught him wood carving.... First the books and then the wood. Each was a milestone for him on the way through.

I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” he whispers. “This was all my fault. I should have told you everything.” His face brushes against mine, leaving dampness behind. His tears shatter me all over again. “I’ll do anything…Anything it takes to fix this. I can’t live without you, Nat. I love you so much. Tell me you still love me.” “I do, Flynn. I still love you.” And then he’s kissing me.

I want to do what you dreamed about.” Her words stop me short. I raise my head to meet her gaze. “How much of it?” “All of it. I want everything that you want. More than anything, I want to be everything you’ve ever dreamed of having in a wife and lover.” I’m stunned and humbled to have somehow won the love of this amazing woman. “Christ, Nat, you already are.” “Not quite yet, but I will be. Will you teach me how to be everything you want and need?” I’m so overwhelmed by gratitude, I can barely speak. “Yes, sweetheart, I’ll teach you.

Sådan var kærligheden. Den kunne ruinerer en mand, genrejse ham og brændemærke ham igen; den kunne elske mig i dag, dig i morgen og ham i morgen nat, så ubestandig var den. Men den kunne også holde fast som et ubrydeligt segl og blusse lige uudslukkeligt til dødens time, for så var evig var den. Hvordan var da kærligheden? Åh, kærligheden den er en sommernat med stjerner på himlen og duft på jorden. Men hvorfor får den ynglingen til at gå skjulte veje og hvorfor får den oldingen til at stå på tæer i sit ensomme kammer? Ak, kærligheden den gør menneskehjertet til en svampehave, en frodig og uforskammet have hvor der står hemmelighedsfulde og frække svampe. Får den ikke munken til at luske ind i lukkede haver og lægge øjet mod de sovendes vinduer om natten? Og besætter den ikke nonnen med dårskab og formørker prinsessens forstand?

Looking about to burst into laughter, he replied, “You have two male dogs in a pen which is wrapped in bright pink fishnet. They look like they’re strippers. They look like hookers, Nat!

I loved Sylvanus. I loved him dearly. And I loved Deacon Thomas, though I didn’t always like him. I loved Nat and Phineas and Jeremiah. I loved—love—them all. I loved them in different amounts. Small piles and great piles. I do not love you the same way. This feeling is new. It is a mountain, and it has fallen on me. I didn’t know it would feel this way to love.

His heart swelled with love. There was no other way to describe it. He loved this goddamn city. And this bittersweetness? This holy wine? This is what it means to be a New Yorker.

Nat was so easy about these things. Alex guessed that's what happened when you slept with another girl every week on an overcrowded island with too small a surface. She had no choice but to practice casualness.

Shhhh,” Johnny soothed, sliding his hands up and down her back, nuzzling her hair. “Car thieves don’t cry, baby. You gotta toughen up if you’re gonna have a future with good old Clyde here.” “I like it when you do that.” “What?” “Call me baby,” Maggie whispered. “You liked it when I called you Bonnie too,” he replied with a smile in his voice. “Why?” “You used to call me baby all the time. It makes me believe you can love me again.” Johnny wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and lifted her to him, kissing her tear-streaked cheeks before he touched his lips to hers. “I’m already there Maggie. I fell in love when you begged me to help you escape the cops. I fell in love when we danced to Nat King Cole singing ‘Stardust’ on a moonlit beach. Hell, I fell in love when you told me how blondes spell farm.” “E-I-E-I-O,” Maggie quipped wetly. Johnny laughed and held her tightly.

Some slaves went to church with whites and sat in rear pews or balconies, listening to white preachers tell them that whites were superior, that God sanctioned slavery and they’d go to heaven if they obeyed their masters and mistresses and stopped stealing chickens. Others attended their own churches, where trusted white observers watched the services and made sure they stressed the joys of the afterlife and the need to accept one’s fate. Yet many people feared that slave religion—like reading and writing—fueled rebellions. Nat Turner, the Virginian whose band plundered plantations and beat, beheaded and killed more than fifty white men, women and children in 1831, had been a preacher, claiming biblical signs and omens urged him to strike. After Nat’s rebellion, all nighttime religious meetings were prohibited and no blacks, free or slave, could hear colored preachers or ministers. They could only listen to white preachers and only during the daytime. Twenty-four-year-old Gabriel Prosser—who, like Smith, lived in Henrico County, Virginia—had been hanged in 1800 for his plot to march on the city of Richmond, seize the arsenal, strike down the whites and liberate slaves. He, too, had won followers by predicting God would strengthen the hand of rebels.

Mankind has chosen to embrace profits over piety, commercialization over compassion, and lewdness over love. I

That pain will turn you angry and bitter, making it difficult for anyone to love you. The people who care about you will grow to resent you, and eventually you’ll be left alone, emotionally if not physically. Just

I slip another piece into place, bridging a large elephant ear to its head. “C’mon, Nat, you’ve got to admit romance novels are a touch predictable.” “Why? Because the couple ends up together?” “Exactly.” “That’s a rule of the genre, Connor,” she says. “Which you would know if you’d bothered to even google it.” I wave her on, hearing the way she’s frothing up over this. “Go on. Get it all out.” “You describe them as my ‘guilty pleasure.’ Do you have any idea how condescending that is?” “Well, don’t they bring you pleasure?” I ask, confused. “How is that condescending?” “Yes, but why should I feel guilty for reading something that makes me happy?” I open my mouth to respond, and she pins me with a look so clear in its meaning it might as well be a warning shot fired overhead. “You treat the things I love as if they’re silly or something to be indulged,” she says. “My point, Conn, is this: You asked me if it was weird that she’s questioning your attitude. But if I see your condescension—and I’m someone who knows what a good man you are in a million other ways—what do you think she saw, when she doesn’t know you at all and her entire career is centered around something you believe is beneath you?” I close my eyes as this one settles in. I worked on a project once where an expert said intolerance is a failure of curiosity, and it’s always stuck with me. Am I being quick to judge things I know next to nothing about? “Okay. Yeah.” “Read one of her books.” Nat picks up her spoon again. “Keep an open mind and you might even like it.

I love how tight you feel around my fingers, it makes me desperate to know how you feel on my cock. I wanna know how that pretty pussy of yours feels as I sink myself inside of you.

I love seeing our little Hanky boy all mushy over a girl.

While I know it was only to get that douchebag away from her, I loved how she called me sweetie and I wanted to be able to call her ‘my girl’ for real.

For all her grumbling, she actually loves being a woman, pains and all. She just wishes she'd been born into a world that let those pains earn a little goddamn space.

There were many things about her that I loved. But really I just loved that she was mine. Mi hermosa.

I loved how her hands felt on my face, soft yet strong. Just like my Bailey.

I was falling in love with Hank Martínez.

I’ve never felt anything other than safe and protected when I’m with you. You are not your father. You’re a good man, I know it. I see it every day. You make me feel safe and loved every single time I’m with you.

I love you, Bailey Brown. Eres mia para siempre⁠.” “I love you, too, Hank Martínez.

I love you, Bailey Brown. You’re my forever⁠.” “I love you, too, Hank Martínez.

Hank Martínez was a total nerd and I kind of loved it.

I just want you to know you’re the most beautiful girl in the world and I love you.” “I love you too.

You drive me crazy, Bailey Brown.” “I love driving you crazy, Hank Martínez.

I love driving you crazy, Hank Martínez.

You can do this man. You’re a good looking dude, any girl would love to go to dinner with you. Plus, she came and talked to you in front of your friends on Saturday. Clearly she’s into you. Just go up to her and ask her out. Don’t be a dicklicker and wimp out, just do it. ¡Sé un hombre!⁠

I will love you forever, beautiful.

That was the magic of books. They could completely transport you into an entirely different universe with little to no effort. They acted like a guide to another realm where you could get completely lost in love or adventure or heartache. Books would carry you away from reality and let you stay as long as you liked. Books were a place to escape, to get away, to become someone new. Someone without scars or bruises or broken pieces. Someone you couldn’t be in real life. Someone you wished you could be, living a life you wish you could live.

You can do this man. You’re a good looking dude, any girl would love to go to dinner with you. Plus, she came and talked to you in front of your friends on Saturday. Clearly she’s into you. Just go up to her and ask her out. Don’t be a dicklicker and wimp out, just do it. Be a man!

Can I do that?” “You,” I paused for a beat, looking down at my brush and then back to him, “you wanna brush my hair?” “If that’s okay. I love your hair, it’s one of the first things I noticed about you when I saw you at the gym that morning.

I feel like you have helped mend me. Like I was broken before meeting you and now every time I’m with you, you’re mending me a little more.” “You know that’s a spell in Dungeons and Dragons, right?” “What is?” “Mending. It’s a spell in the game you can use to restore something that’s been broken, to help return it to its most perfect form.” “Oh my god, you know what I just realized?” “What’s that?” “You’re a big, fat, stinkin’ nerd.” “A nerd? Did you just call me a nerd, blondie?” “I sure did. You’re a big ol’ nerd. But a nerd that I love. And I wouldn’t trade you for anything.

He had helped mend me by just being himself and by letting me be me. And for that, I would love him forever.

You know I meant what I said, right?” “Actually, no, because I don’t even know what you said. I don’t speak Spanish, remember?” “I said,” he dipped his head down and playfully bit my neck, sending shivers down my spine again, “You’re the sexiest woman I know. You drive me crazy, Bailey, and I love how much that’s true.” “You aren’t too bad yourself.

Is that all you see me as? Just some hot piece of ass to show off?” “No, Bailey, that’s not all I see you as. I see you as so much more than that. I see you as the most gorgeous woman I have ever laid eyes on. The strongest woman I have ever met. And the woman who I am totally and completely falling in love with.

Oh, and as if he didn’t just tell me that he is falling in love with me.

This was something I loved about her; she didn’t need to say anything at all and you could still feel her presence around you.

You’re fierce as hell and I love you for it. Thank you for standing up for me.” “I love you too.” “What did you say?” “I said, I love you too.” “I think I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you.

I love you. I love you so much it hurts. I think about you from the moment I wake up to the moment I finally fall asleep and even then, I dream about you. You’ve made me the happiest I have ever been, happier than I ever thought I was deserving of. Please don’t cry, I’m not leaving you. I just don’t want to bring you any pain.

I know what I did was wrong and I shouldn’t have betrayed your trust. But I did it to try to help you, to try and help you move past what happened to you. Because I love you and I hate seeing you in pain. I don’t want you to be scared or afraid anymore. I want you to be able to live your life freely and without fear that someone who hurt you is still out there.

I love you, Bailey Brown. More than anything or anyone I have ever loved before. I love you like I love my country and I fought for it for eleven years. I would fight for you for a hundred years and then a hundred years more. Please, let me fight for you for a hundred years.

I love you, Bailey Brown. More than anything or anyone I have ever loved before. I love you like I love my country and I fought for it for eleven years. I would fight for you for a hundred years and then a hundred years more. Please, let me fight for you for a hundred years.” “Hank. I don’t want you to fight for me, I want you to fight with me.

This man had a way of completely undoing me with the smallest gestures and I loved him for it.

I love watching you come undone under me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen something so beautiful before.

I loved leg day. Hopefully, the cute soldier at the gym loved leg day too.

Yes, Hank Martínez, I would love to be your girlfriend. Your girl. Your blondie. Whatever you wanna call me, I’ll be it.

To those who have been broken or bruised in the past, please know that you won’t be broken or bruised forever. One day you’ll find someone who loves all your damaged pieces and helps you mend.

In our world, where a man had to prove himself every day, there was not much room for petty bigotries. A man was judged by his peers on the basis of his courage, his honor, and his abilities—and the color of his skin had little to do with those. The dogmas of the old states were rarely practiced in our world. In truth, the early westerners had much more in common with the Indians than many of them would have ever liked to admit. The Old West was full of colored men who left their mark. Beckwourth, Love, and Reeves were just a few of them, but there were more, many more. History may have chosen to forget, but those of us who lived it never will.

I realize too late I still had a Loved One in my hand, just in time to watch her fly up and out of my grip.

Fuck you, Nat.” “Love you, too. And in my humble opinion as a risk analyst, you really do have nothing to lose.

His gaze held hers, making Emma feel as if she was the most beautiful and most loved woman in the world. Tonight he even sang, his deep voice joining Nat King Cole’s in professing her unforgettable as they danced beneath the moonlight. It was magical. He was magical. “I’m so in love with you,” she murmured. Smiling, he swiveled slightly and lowered her in a gentle dip. “You’re the love of my life, Emma.” She had never been happier than in that moment.

In Asheville I often visited Nat Belz, who with his older brother Joel created World magazine in 1986 in a basement office. The Belz brothers’ magazine was a labor of love, like the Bailey Brothers Building and Loan in It’s a Wonderful Life.

I want to be happy.” His grip tightened on me then, crushing me against his chest. “I want to be appreciated, treated like I’m fucking special for once and not someone’s afterthought. I want to be—” “Loved.” His voice was deep, rich and throbbing with emotion. “You want to be loved in the way you fucking deserve, Nat, and I promise you, we’ll spend our entire lives trying to do that.