He Sees You When You're Sleeping

by Alta Hensley

“I’ve always found that the most interesting people are the ones with the most interesting bookshelves.”

“I’ve always believed that our deepest desires, our darkest fantasies, they’re nothing to be ashamed of. They’re what make us human.”

Her favorite song (“Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads).

Walking the streets of downtown Manhattan, near the water, in the winter, next to a fireman, and on our way to get hot chocolate. What could get more Christmas than that?

I know, I want to say. I want to admit that I was the one working the scene that night. That I was the firefighter who pulled her parents’ bodies from the wreckage. That I held her shaking hand as I got her into the ambulance. That I went to the hospital after my shift to check on her and have watched over ever since.

Die Hard is technically a Christmas movie, you know.”

You want a man who doesn’t ask. He just does. You want a man who takes control, who knows what you need before you even realize it yourself. I see a woman who craves intensity. Who wants to be pushed to her limits, to experience everything life has to offer. But I also see someone who’s afraid. Afraid of losing control, of being truly vulnerable.

Sometimes the quiet ones are the wildest behind closed doors.”

Find me a fireman. I want to be a badge bunny or a hose hoe.

“This is where the magic happens,”

“I don’t want you on the outside looking in. I want you to come inside.”