Quotes from Endless Summer

“Love hurt. Honesty made it hurt worse, and I could hardly stand it.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“Oh, God," Lori said without looking at me, "what are they thinking, leaving the two of us alone out here on the dock together? We might TALK or something."

"That would be awful," I said. "I might give you a hickey."

She laughed, still watching for Cameron's start instead of looking at me. "Just by talking to me?"

"I can talk really dirty. You'd be surprised.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“Dad" I pleaded, "this is so [cuss word you never, ever say in front of your mother] ridiculous.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“A smaller rocket cut across the sky, trailing smoke. It exploded in a red heart.
"Awwwww!" said the crowd.
"Upside down," said Sean.
The heart was, indeed, upside down. It grew and grew, upside down, until it's lights trailed and faded.
A bigger rocket exploded in bright golden sparks, and then came another red heart.
"Upside down," said all the boys.
Three explosions layered on top of one another, gold, blue, pink. Then still another red heart exploded, growing and growing before it faded.
"Upside down," said everyone in the boat but me.
My own heart expanded for Adam.
I whispered, "I know what he meant.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“Her dad turned to me. "You. Follow Me."
"Woof," I said.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“Your confidence in me is heartwarming.
Makes me want to return all the money I stole from the little old ladies and kick the heroin.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“Adam ” Lori called loudly enough for me to hear her but not so loud that her voice would carry up to my mom in the marina office- or to her dad who might be listening from their screened porch facing the water.

“I came over to get some tips from the boys about teaching Tammy and Rachel to board. Of course I did not come over here to see you. How could you think such a thing That would be disobedient.”

I held up the wax.
“For my own disobedience I have to buff the boat. Then I’m going for a jog.”
She tilted her head. Probably her eyes widened but I couldn’t see them behind her sunglasses. I hated not being able to see her eyes.
She asked “In this heat?”
I didn’t mind jogging in the heat. The heat was a big friendly animal that liked to wrestle and only occasionally sat on me until I lost my breath. Anyway she was missing the point.

I repeated carefully ”I am GOING for a JOG.”
“I HEARD you the FIRST time ” she said. “It’s late afternoon in the middle of June. It’s ninety-five degrees out here.”
“He means he’s GOING for a JOG” Rachel and Tammy said at the same time.
“He’s GOING for a JOG.”
Lori still didn’t get it. Normally her blondeness was one of the things I loved about her. At the moment not so much.
Exasperated Cameron told her “Adam wants you to go for a jog too.”
She said “Oh ”
“If you two airheads have to hook up secretly for very long ” Sean said “you’re not going to make it.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“Think like a middle-aged man with OCD, a dead wife, and a teenage daughter.
Think like a woman with three teenage sons who once ran a golf cart into the side of their granddad's house."
"Cameron and Sean shouldn't have let me drive," Adam said in his own defense. "I was seven."
"You shouldn't have ASKED to drive. You were seven.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“Let's go," I said.
"Go where?"
"On Lori's date with Parker."
Now he looked at me over the nerdy spectacles he wore for reading.
"I wasn't aware it was a double date. And you're not my type.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“Stay away from her."
"Okay."
"Keep your hands off her."
"I'll try."
He scowled at me.
"I will," I said.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“I'm not stalking her," I insisted.
"I'm making sure she's safe. Besides, how could you stalk Lori McGillicuddy?
She'd see you and come out to your truck and say, "Hi, I'm Lori. Are you my stalker? It's so neat to meet you! While you're stuck here watching my every move, can I bring you anything? Sweet tea?”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“And you’re beautiful. You’d have to work pretty hard to mess that up.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“He kissed the corner of my mouth, kissed my cheek, and growled in my ear, “Fireworks or what?”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“I put both hands on his chest and backed him up a pace. The black sky behind him was filled with color. I said, “Go. Hurry. You can still help. You’re missing it.”
He pulled me close again and gazed down at me, tracing one finger so tenderly along my cheekbone. His finger was black, and he might be leaving an attractive black
streak across my skin. I didn’t mind. The way he was looking at me with those light blue eyes, I had never felt more beautiful.
He bent his head close to my ear again so I could hear him whisper, “I’m not missing anything”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“Son," he said, "you monkeyed up.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“I need to explain all this to Adam in private. I can't get McGillicuddy to explain it to him. Something will be lost in translation."
"Well, excuse me that I can't look at him all googly-eyed," my brother said.
"And he's liable to punch you," I said.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“What did Kevin Ye get arrested for anyway? Didn't he steal a car?"
"He stole the driver's ed car."
I laughed. Then I saw how Adam was looking at me.
"He gave it back."
"They MAKE you give stuff back, Lori, after they arrest you for stealing it.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“What the monkey!” My dad slammed through my door and burst into my room wearing nothing but his bathrobe.
We all looked up at him in surprise. “You tell us,” I said.
“Oh.” My dad actually looked sheepish. “It’s one o’clock in the morning and I was going to tell you to shut the monkey up and go to bed. I didn’t realize what was
going on in here.”
“What’s going on in here?” Cameron asked suspiciously.
“Maturity.” My dad backed out of the room and closed the door.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“He sighed, then said, "So basically, you're stalking her."
"I am NOT stalking her." I insisted.
"That's where you come in. If I followed her by myself, someone who did not understand the situation and did not realize that I am so responsible-"
McGillicuddy snorted.
"- might mistake what I am doing for stalking.
However, her big brother is with me. Therefore we are protecting her.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“You make terrible, terrible plans."
"Hey, " I protested. "One of my plans caught you didn't it?"
"Yeah, but you meant to catch Sean."
He took his hand off my shoulder.
I waved his concerns away, along with a cloud of gnats that had found us in the forest.
"You're getting lost in the details. Keep the big picture in mind.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“Adam thinks that you two are in an argument."
My body zinged into alert mode. My mind didn't know what Mrs. Vader meant, but my body already did. Even Sean glanced over at her with a cautious look.
"He does?" I asked faintly.
"A bad one," she confirmed.
"How could we be in a bad argument without me even knowing about it?”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“What I wanted to talk to you about was—”
He kissed me. At first he gently touched his lips to mine. e more exciting development was that in order to do this, he’d stepped very close. His chest was an inch
from mine. I could feel his heat. He tasted of blackberries. He leaned even closer and braced his muscular arms on the tree on either side of me.
When he broke the kiss to take a breath, I whispered, “Tree hugger.”
He opened his eyes, blue as the afternoon sky, and gave me this look. A combination of amusement and exasperation and hunger. He looked like a teenager making out
in the woods. Puzzling through this, I realized that I was gazing at him from the perspective of a six-year-old girl playing army and dodging rubber snakes.
But he was this teenager, and so was I. I felt the same need for him that he felt for me, like a force was drawing me forward into his heat. I just didn’t know how to say
it.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“Stubble or what?"
Eyes still closed he chuckled. "I'm not shaving until our parents let us date again."
He kissed my cheek.
"What if it takes... a... while?"
I asked struggling to talk. He'd made his way down to my neck. His tongue circled there slowly.
"There are only six or seven weeks until August football practice starts right?"
"Hm." His mouth moved up my neck toward my ear. Oh.
"Will you be able to stuff your beard into your helmet?" I croaked.
In answer he put his lips on my ear.
I forgot the next joke I'd planned to make and lost myself in Adam.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“Lori, did you and Adam have a fight? I mean, another fight? A humdinger?”
I snorted. “No, I’m sobbing in Frances’s lap because she will marry our father someday and bring back the vegi/soy mayonnaise.”
“What’s the matter with vegi/soy mayonnaise?” Frances asked.
McGillicuddy wrinkled his nose at the memory.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“Here’s what you did wrong, Adam,” he barked. “I told your parents to make it clear to you that you were not to see Lori again. You did it anyway. at’s what you did
wrong.”
“But—,” I started.
“Shhh,” Lori said beside me.
“That’s—,” I started again.
“Shut up,” Lori muttered.
“—ridiculous,” I finished.
“Adam, stop talking,” Lori said.
“Adam, stop talking,” Frances repeated.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“Better you than Cameron " McGillicuddy grumbled. "I know where Cameron's been."
Sean snorted.
Cameron said "I already told you I did NOT come on to Lori.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“Sean stood there with a mischievous grin, hand still forming a claw. He’d tapped on the door with his fingernails to fool me.
I slammed the door in his face.
Before the latch caught, the door bounced open again. Cameron stood just behind Sean with the rubber toe of his shoe blocking the door from shutting. “You look like
hell,” Cameron said.
“I look like Sean.” is was a joke from my darkest memory. If Sean told me I was ugly, I could deflect the insult easily, because he was calling himself the same name. If
Cameron told me I was ugly, he was also insulting Sean, and Sean would get revenge on him without me having to do a thing.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“He cupped my chin with his big hand and watched me. He breathed hard through his nose. His shoulders heaved way harder than they should have after a few minutes
of kissing. I was about to suggest some additional conditioning exercises before football season started. I opened my mouth to tell him.
He kissed me again. His tongue passed my lips and played across my teeth. We’d only been kissing like this for a week, but it seemed very natural when I kissed him back
the same way. My body was on autopilot as I reached blindly for his waist and dragged him even closer, his torso skin-to-skin with mine against the tree. Who were we? I
was turning into any of the assorted older girls who’d been seen leaving the cab of Sean’s truck at night. I’d always viewed those girls with a mixture of awe and derision.
Sexual attraction was funny. Lust was hilarious.
Now, not so much. Those girls had my sympathy, because I totally got it. I ran my fingers lightly up Adam’s bare back.
He gasped.
I opened my eyes to see if I’d done something wrong. He still touched the tree, but his muscles were taut, holding on to it for dear life. His eyes were closed. He rubbed
his rough cheek slowly against mine. I had done nothing wrong. He was savoring.
I knew how he felt. Tracing my fingernails down his back again, I whispered, “Stubble or what?”
Eyes still closed, he chuckled. “I’m not shaving until our parents let us date again.” He kissed my cheek.
“What if it takes… a… while?” I asked, struggling to talk.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“Even though Sean still held my head down I was the only one who thought to ask
"Who's driving the boat?"
Over the motor I heard girls screaming at us the instant before we crashed.”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

“Oh wait, I already fell.' He touched the tip of my nose with his finger. 'For you”
― Jennifer Echols, quote from Endless Summer

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