" We project energy when we use our joining, and it comes back at us like the flick of a rubber band. You’ve got to learn to buffer yourself from the rebound.”
“You’re not making a lot of sense,” I said wearily.
“Pay super-close attention then.” He put an arm across my shoulders. “You have to buffer yourself after you use your joining. Kind of like tightening your stomach muscles so it won’t hurt when you get punched in the gut.”
I shook his arm off, shuffled things around in my locker, closed the door, and spun the lock. “I’ve never been punched in the gut, so that analogy doesn’t mean much to me. I promise to think it through tomorrow. Maybe after I’ve slept eighteen hours I’ll understand what you’re talking about.”
He smiled and put an arm around my waist. “I give good massages,” he said with teasing eyes. “I think you could use one.”
“You need to work on your smolder,” I said. “Maybe lift an eyebrow or something.”
He laughed. “I’m only giving it 50 percent right now. When I give it all I’ve got, it will work so well you won’t remember your own name.”
“Is there an end to your ego?”
“If there is, I haven’t found it yet,” he said without shame. "

― , Atlantis Rising (Atlantis Rising, #1)