It bothers me, you know, to hear things like “I won’t hurt you,” because it reeks of crap. It reeks of the bullshit I used to spew when I heard about others’ tales of love and woe. It smacks of too much effort and not enough experience. It makes someone obvious and, frankly, bland. Too defensive and not enough trust in a person’s ability to observe and learn. You won’t hurt me? I won’t hurt you? There’s only one way to prove it, and it ain’t through some declaration of intent. Our words are best saved for our writing and the full communication of what the fuck’s going on with us.

The flaw here, near as I can tell at this point in life, is when you say you will hurt me, and I challenge you to try.