The sad little excuse for a laugh that Kim offered managed to make her dimples appear for a fraction of a second. "There they are," he said, his own grin widening. He leaned in to gently kiss the spot where one of them had been. He had their locations memorized.
He nodded, "I know he is. I know I'm not the man he thinks I am. He doesn't know me... you know me... and you wouldn't be with me if I was the fuck up your brother seems to believe me to be." Kim wouldn't have been willing to call this a real relationship, if she thought he was just another asshole, right? She cared about him. And, yes, she trusted him. He had to believe that she did, even though it was hard to get Ed's words out of his head.
"A few things.. or just one thing?" He was still tiptoeing, but he wasn't sure if she was or not. Maybe Ed hadn't told her. Maybe that meant Starbuck shouldn't either. Or maybe it meant he needed to, now, right now, before Ed did have a chance to tell her! Fuck, he was so confused! "I told him how I feel about you... how I really feel. It's not easy for me to say it, and apparently it's not something that's easy to hear either.. or at least that's been my experience." He was rambling suddenly, but he stopped himself just as fast. Starbuck took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, she was still looking at him. She was the most beautiful woman in the world. It calmed him enough to finally say, "I love you."