"Isn't that just a little selfish of you?"
"Of course it is. Have I ever pretended to be anything else? I always get what I want if I can, and I never give up anything I want without trying for it. Why should I?"
"An unanswerable proposition," he made reply, with his subtly ironic smile. "But the tide never runs all one way; I'm afraid that you've got some harsh disillusionments in prospect."
"I don't care. If I have to pay, I'll pay."
"It may hurt."
"Let it! I'm not afraid."
"Because you've never been hurt. If I were a praying man I'd pray that you never may be. But that's foolish of course. Life will hurt you. It hurts all of us."
"Has it hurt you, Cary?"
"It is hurting me now—a little. Not more than I deserve."
"Why do you deserve? You couldn't help liking"—he smiled—"being in love with me, could you?"