Marcus (Excerpt)

Don was smitten with her--overwhelmed by her never failing charm and not just that, but he was mesmerized by her heart. She seemed to the right things and he was more than flattered when he became one of them. he was, in fact, astonished that such a seemingly flawless person could invite him into her shower of endearment and affection.
She was his junior by six years, mature yet constantly full of an innocent energy, a youthful eagerness to live in motion. His own mother was that way, acting out of the innocence she had hidden from the thieves of adolescence. Sydney, too, had this ability: to draw the freshness of life, the youthfulness of growing up, out of thin air. Don was taken on a journey with her. While the rest of the population experienced bridge burning years during the shift from childhood to adulthood, Sydney had kept the fire from destroying her path back to those figment-filled days. Imagination still intact, she traveled with Don through the portal to the beautiful world of a passionate girl, touched, but untainted by the grown-up one.
They became almost inseparable--making sure they didn't go on for too long without being in each other's arms. She insisted to her family that he was the one and he made no indication that he felt differently. He was devoted to this beautiful woman, full of endless spark. Behind his eyes, replete with adoration, everyone guessed thoughts of an endless future with her were floating about. At least, they hoped to God this was true.
Don was that one exception to the theory that nice guys finish last. He was always fussed over, either by the girls, hopeful for his tenderness, or the boys, anxious to befriend him. He was a genius in that he was a remarkably good person with high standards, but not too high hopes.

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