He finally manages to draw breath, his lungs burning.

"Dejah." Curtis cups her face in both hands. They're not trembling; he's grateful for that. "Look. If this was gonna be something quick it would've stopped months ago. I'm serious about it. You're -- "

Again, that pause as he tries to find the right words.

"You're incredible. You're somebody I want to spend time with. I swear to god I'm not just trying to get into your pants. I wanna share that with you sometime because I'm serious. Okay?"