" Her words hurt, more than he’d have thought. He wanted to defend himself—but then, maybe she was right, maybe he was selfish and careless. And he was right as well, to think her prudish and overcautious. He looked out over the lake, which lay dark and still, somehow still unruffled by their argument.
“We can’t seem to talk without fighting.” He words were uncomfortably close to the drift of his mind; he sometimes wondered if he was as opaque to her as she thought. “It’s strange that we can be friends. I hope that you do consider me a friend, and not a burden. I don’t want these walks to be something you dread.” She glanced at him quickly, as if embarrassed. “It feels strange, not knowing. Were you someone else, I wouldn’t have to ask.”
It took him a moment to respond, and he had to dare himself to match her honesty. “I look forward to walking with you. I think I even look forward to the arguments. You understand what my life is like, even when we disagree. "

― Helene Wecker , The Golem and the Jinni (The Golem and the Jinni, #1)