“You can't control everything. Sometimes you just need to relax and have faith that things will work out. Let go a little and just let life happen.”
“I'm serious. They'll call me a pussy."
"And if you help them, I'll call you a dick. So no matter what you do, you're going to be some form of genitalia.”
“Because I want to see you with someone better than him. Someone who will see how lucky they are to have you.”
“It wasn't a game," Cash whispered. "Not to me.”
“Sometimes it's hard to predict who will make a person happy. But in the end, that's what matters.”
“Great. He was a hottie, a good kisser, and a literature buff. God really must have had a sense of humor, because if I had to name my biggest turn-on, it was literature. And he had just recommended a book that I didn’t know, that wasn’t taught in school. If I were single, there would be no better pick-up line. Suddenly, I found myself thinking back to Atonement—you know, the scene in the book where the two main characters have sex in the library? Even though Chloe said doing it against bookshelves would be really uncomfortable (and she’d probably know), it was still a fantasy of mine. Like, what’s more romantic than a quiet place full of books? But I shouldn’t have been thinking about my library fantasies. Especially while I was staring at Cash. In the middle of a library.”
“You amaze me Lissa Daniels. Most girls would cave as soon as I gave them the puppy-dog look with these amazing eyes."
"Sorry. I like boys. Not dogs. You should've dated a different girl if you wanted someone to bend to your will.”
“I don't want to hear the end of that sentence! It's bad enough that he's flirting with my coworker."
"He's flirting with Cash? Now that's hot."
"What? No! Jenna, not Cash. Geez, Chloe.”
“Hey there, Lissa Daniels," he said. He raised his Coke. "Would you like to say hello to your distant cousin, Jack?”
“I’d never felt like this, like I wanted to climb into another person’s skin.”
“So I asked around about The Blonde,” she said, sitting down on my bed once the room was completely slumber party–ready. “She’s a sophomore. Her name is Autumn Elliot. What the hell kind of name is Autumn? Why don’t they just call her Fall or The Depressing Season When Everything Starts to Die.”
“It was almost funny, really. Such a strong reaction to a bunch of shirtless guys.”
“Learn some manners or I'll email the whole high school about how small your dick is - because we both know that I'm aware of exactly how small it is."
"Whore," he muttered, shooting Chloe a filthy glare over his shoulder.
"Ha. You might have better luck with a whore, actually. Me You couldn't pay me to bang you again. Dick's too minuscule to keep a lady satisfied.”
“I wasn't trying to drive you crazy, just to get your attention," he said. "Lissa, I never tried to use you. Everything that happened between us-I meant it. Including that kiss in the library. I tried to tell you the other day at my house. That this"-he held up our entwined hands-"is more than just a game to me. But...”
“Seriously, if the bastards cheat on you, then they don't deserve you anyway. If that's a legit fear, then you probably shouldn't be with them to begin with.”
“I meant that a decent guy - a smart guy - wouldn't have let something like sex ruin a good thing.”
“On the ground, Cash gave a signal, and all the guys lined up by the pool. In unison, they stripped off their shirts and tossed them onto the grass. An audible sigh- like the ones you hear on a sitcom that is "filmed in front of a live studio audience"- filled the room. It was almost funny, really. Such a strong reaction to a bunch of shirtless boys.”
“This whole strike has turned into a way to fuck with people, Lissa," he snapped. "It was one thing when you were just boycotting sex, but now...Look at you. You're using sex to get what you want-playing with my feelings for your own benefit. That's why you came over, right? I'm not stupid. You're the one who's cruel, Lissa. Not me.”
“And there was no way I could talk about it with Dad. Our version of "the talk" had been him clearing his throat awkwardly for about ten minutes straight as he attempted to explain to me the importance of condoms. I was fourteen, and, needless to say, it was an experience I never wanted to relive.”
“Sorry," she said. "I'm just ... surprised. It's weird. Sex was never scary to me." She paused. "So what about it do you find scary? Like, penises? Because I can see how those might be a little scary.”
“...I felt like I had nothing. Nothing but my body. It's the one thing I can control. For me, sex is my way of taking control of my body. I'm in charge.”
“She's a Sophomore. Her name is Autumn Elliot. What the hell kind of name is Autumn? Why don't they just call her Fall or The Depressing Season Where Everything Starts to Die"
"It's a pretty name Chloe."
"Fine," she huffed. "But getting your freak on in a public bathroom? Who does that?"
"Um, Chloe..."
"Okay, fine. I've done that." She flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Jesus, Lisa, help me out here. I'm trying to console you, but you're making it difficult.”
“So when you’re nervous, you count?”
“Not just when I’m nervous,” I said. “It’s… all the time. I count the seconds during pauses in conversations. I count the minutes when I’m waiting on something. Sometimes, when I’m kind of panicked or anxious, I count my heartbeats. Something about counting makes me feel like… like I have the power. Like knowing how much time has passed or how many steps I’ve taken from one place to another will somehow keep me in control of the situation.”
“I was thinking about how much I wanted to reenact that part in the shower with my hot, sexy, gorgeous girlfriend. And how she wouldn't need a butt double because she's perfect already."
"You smooth talker, you."
"I was also thinking how much sexier I am than that guy she was screwing in the shower.”
“It's so screwed up, the standards...You should like it, but you shouldn't like it too much or talk about how much you like it. You should do it, but you shouldn't do it with too many people or talk about how much you're doing it. It's like there are so many rules, but none of them make sense.”
“Shut up, Kelsey, and just give Lissa a chance," Chloe snapped.
Kelsey mocked surprise. "Oh my God, Chloe can speak? I thought her mouth only worked for sucking dicks. It's a miracle.”
“Being ashamed of what you want or how you feel is pointless, and letting anyone else make you feel ashamed is a waste.”
“Chloe didn't have all the answers, either. I knew that now. But she had known something all along that I hadn't: that being ashamed of what you want or how you feel is pointless, and letting anyone else make you feel ashamed is a waste. We all wanted different things, and that was okay. Chloe wanted sex without commitment. Mary wanted to wait until she was ready. And I wasn't sure what I wanted, but I didn't want to make any decisions until I knew. And I was proud of that.”
“My mother used to say, better the devil you know than the one you don’t. I say, if you’re living with the devil, kick him out and find something different.”
“Penance should be but the means to increase virtue according to the needs of the individual, and according to what the soul sees she can do in the measure of her own possibility.”
“Insomnia.” She nods wisely. “You should take melatonin. It works wonders.”
“A crowd is not the sum of the individuals who compose it. Rather it is a species of animal, without language or real consciousness, born when they gather, dying when they depart.”
“But you are not my wife. You are a woman who will go to bed with anyone who flatters your antics. That’s”
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