Xiaolin felt like the only person in the world I was intimate with. We were like family—family members always hurt each other. And Ben was not my family, Ben lived for himself. A Western body. When Ben and I slept together, he could forget all about the love that was lying next to him in the dark. I felt he didn’t need much warmth from anybody. His own 98.9°F were sufficient for him. His spirit slept alone.
