“My brain tells me it will be better to just let him go.
My heart... not so much.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“If you tiptoe into cold water, you're missing out on the rush of plunging in headfirst.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“I gave you my heart, but it wasn't enough.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“Doing something positive will help turn your mood around. When you smile, your body relaxes. When you experience human touch and interaction, it eases tension in your body.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“I wish I could turn back time, but I can't. I made a stupid decision because I thought I was invincible, and I'll pay for it the rest of my life.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“Love isn't about honesty. It's about protecting the people you love from things that will hurt them.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“Why shouldn't I be introspective? We dont' make sense."
"Neither do Chocolate and Peanut Butter, but it somehow works." He says "Somehow the mixture of two things is genius.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“In the end everything will be okay. But hurdles have to be jumped through first.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“Our lie is like a cancer that's spread to every single area of our lives.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“It's cool in the basement, so I pull the blanket up to my chest. Caleb slides in beside me, and I feel his bare legs against mine. "You're shivering," he says, his voice a low whisper.
"I'm a little cold... and a little nervous."
"Don't be nervous, Maggie. It's juste me."
It's the real Caleb, without the tough facade. I'm glad it's completely dark now and he can't see my trembling fingers as they move up to his beautiful face. "I know."
He pulls me closer. I rest my head in the crook of his arm and am more content than ever.
"Maggie ?"
"Yeah ?"
"Thanks."
"For what ?"
"For making me feel alive again."
I drape my arm across his chest, the warmth of his skin melting into mine. I want to remember this night forever, because we'll probably never get another chance to hold each other like this again. It makes me want to do more than just sleep in his arms. I try and relax, to slow my own erratic heartbeat as I wrap my right leg, the one that wasn't severely damaged in the accident, around him. It's a definite hint that I'm ready to do more than just lie in his arms.
He moans in response. "Maggie, you're treading into dangerous territory. I'm trying to be a good, honorable guy here."
" I know. But I'm not asking you to be one."
"You sure you know what you're getting into ?"
"Nope. I've got no clue." I start kissing and feeling my way across his broad chest.
"You're killing me", he says, his hands slowly reaching for me and urging me up so we're face to face.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“I'm the one who got hit by that car, not you,' I tell him. 'Don't act like you're the victim here. You made choices I didn't ask you to make. I'm not sure anyone asked you to make them.' I'm screaming the words, not caring that the entire world can probably hear me. 'You think I like limping everywhere I go? I don't. I'm the victim! Be honest with me! You didn't care about me enough to trust me. I gave you my heart, but it wasn't enough.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“...personal torture instructor...I mean physical therapist.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“Sometimes moving on takes effort. Sometimes moving on is harder than it looks.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“Who knew Lenny was an encyclopedia for useless information?”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“I lean back. "What the hell are you doing?"
"What do you mean?" she asks, innocently batting her eyelashes against the hot sun beaming down on us.
Is she kidding me?
"Where's you toungue?" I ask stupidly.
Her wet little eyebrows furrow. "In my mouth. Why, where's it supposed to be?”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“I guess we're all a bunch of mismatched couples - that actually fit”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“Trust me, he whispers against my lips. Maggie, you're my paradise.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“From the look of us, you'd never know we slept in the same bed last night and made out like the world was going to end if we stopped.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“If you let him go and he doesn't come back to you, he wasn't yours to begin with. It's a lesson learned in first grade”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“I don't play games with people's lives like you do.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“Maggie squeezes my hand. It’s a silent message that everything will be okay. Somehow I believe her. In the end everything will be okay. But hurdles have to be jumped through first.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“...there's no rule book or game plan when it comes to the grim realities of our lives.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“- Just do you know, Lenny this isn't a date.
- Then what is it?
- It's me falling sorry for you, because you're such a loser.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“Man, my girl is one tough chick when she wants to be. I wonder if it has something to do with those
big, comfy granny panties she’s got on.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“Just FYI," Lenny says, his face still red from the nasty sunburn. "I've got a shitload of condoms in my duffle. Front pocket."
"For what?"
"Listen if you don't know what condoms are for I'm not gonna teach you."
"I know what they're for, shithead. I just highly doubt you're getting any ass on this trip."
"Watch me," Lenny says. "My boy gets action all the time."
"Yeah, I bet your right hand is tired from all that action" I mumble as I walk to the bathroom. "I'm a leftie!" Lenny calls after me.
I try not to wince from thinking about it.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“Guys are control freaks and hate when other people know what's best for them”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“Love isn't about honesty. It's about protecting the people you love from things that will hurt them. That's love”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
“If you sprinkle when you tinkle please be neat and wipe the seat.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise
Simone Elkeles
Born place: Chicago, IL, The United States
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“one who knows how to balance between expectations and results is a far better achiever than others”
― quote from We Were Three
“JANUARY 26 GIVE UP THE ILLUSION that you deserve a problem-free life. Part of you is still hungering for the resolution of all difficulties. This is a false hope! As I told My disciples, in the world you will have trouble. Link your hope not to problem solving in this life but to the promise of an eternity of problem-free life in heaven. Instead of seeking perfection in this fallen world, pour your energy into seeking Me: the Perfect One. It is possible to enjoy Me and glorify Me in the midst of adverse circumstances. In fact, My Light shines most brightly through believers who trust Me in the dark. That kind of trust is supernatural: a production of My indwelling Spirit. When things seem all wrong, trust Me anyway. I am much less interested in right circumstances than in right responses to whatever comes your way. JOHN 16:33; PSALM 112:4,”
― quote from Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence
“The city was new again, and newly dangerous, and I would walk the streets quickly, eyes averted from those of passersby, like a spy in the employ of lust and happiness, carrying the secret deep within me but always on the tip of my tongue.”
― Michael Chabon, quote from The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
“the Iron Throne,”*1 Carlton said, cutting her off.”
― Kevin Kwan, quote from China Rich Girlfriend
“Well, it’s probably a good thing Anubis didn’t kiss me. I would have died all over again.”
― Leah Rooper, quote from Jane Unwrapped
The Moonstone
The Book of Lost Thi...
The Illustrated Man
The Kill Order
Rendezvous with Rama
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