Greatwater Lake A silent heart ticking under the ground

No worries!

His heart thumped in his chest as he listened to her. When she finished, he immediately said the word, "You..." then trailed off a second before completing his thought. "Wow, you really don't skirt around the issue, do you?" As he said it, his lips twitched into an awkward but but impish smile, as if he was impressed by Fox's straightforward, candid questions—and he was.

"I guess you could say I'm trying to strike a balance here. I like you and sure, the naughty side of me would probably like something to happen," he confessed, then took a breath and hastily added, "but I'm faithful to Hawkeye. I don't want to disrespect my relationship. And I don't want to... I don't want you to think I'm a cheater or that I'm just going after you because I'm lonely. That's not it. You're a genuinely attractive woman, Fox, and you're definitely worth more than that. You should never be somebody's mistress or second choice or whatever."

Peregrine paused for a long moment, then said, "I'm in a committed relationship and I want to do my best to honor that. It's difficult but it's the most respectful thing to all parties involved, you know? At the same time, I'm weak. I don't want to—and maybe can't—stay away from you completely, even though I probably should. That's why I want to try to keep you in my life... as a friend," he finished a bit lamely, wondering if he'd explained himself well at all or just made things even more confusing.