Cynthia Hand

“Creo que está convencido de que desflorar a un ángel podría suponeruna eternidad en el infierno -Clara”

“También quería que te entonara una cancioncilla, como si fuera unmensajero cantarín. —Me mira por encima del hombro, insinuando unasonrisa—. La mandé a freír espárragos. -Tucker”

“She watched you wrestle Toby Jameson, who probably weighs two hundred pounds, without even working up a sweat. And she said to herself, wow, that's a good wrestler, he must be an angel.”

“I sneaked out to his house a couple times in the middle of the night to watch over him while he slept, just in case, I don't know, his comic book collection decided to spontaneously combust. This was dumb and admittedly creepy in an Edward Cullen kind of way.”

“What? I demand to know. "What is it now?""You're not going to go." he says."Watch me.""I've been having a vision of this place, too." This stops me from my wild, cowardly (how can he think I'm brave?) retreat back to the road ..."You're having a new vision, too?" I ask. "It's right here." He walks toward me, his strides long and purposeful across the grass. "Right now. I've been seeing it for weeks, and it's happening right now."He stops in front of me. "This is the part where I kiss you," he says.”

“Just so you know, this is the last time I ever trust you," I say. "But you're so cute all covered in snow." "Shut up and help me find my ski." We search through the powder for a while, but don't locate my missing ski. After ten fruitless minutes I'm convinced that the mountain has eaten it.”

“I lie down on my bed, my back to the window, and the tears finally arrive, running down my face, into my ears, onto my pillow. I lie there for a long time, for hours maybe, and right as I'm about to finally drift to sleep I think I hear the flutter of Christian's wings as he flies away.”

“Hi there," Tucker says brightly, like we're bumping into each other on the street. "Uh, hi.""Nice night for stalking," he observes."No, I was---""Get your butt in here, Carrots.”

“Your a member? I think at him incredulously. He blinks in surprise that I am talking to him via brain. That it could be that easy, between us, when it's so hard with everyone else. Yes. As of his morning. And how does one become a member exactly? You make a promise to serve the light. To fight for the side of good. I thought they said they don't fight.He gives me the mental equivalent of a shrug.And that's what you did this morning?Yes, he says unwaveringly. I took an oath. And so the revelations keep on coming.”

“Coward, says the nagging voice inside my head. You should talk to him. Find out what he has to say.What if he says we belong together?Well, then you'll have to deal with that. But at least you won't be running away.I think it's more of a brisk walk.Whatever.I'm having an argument with myself. And I'm losing. So not a good sign.”

“Your hair smells like wind, did you know that?" Yep, me and Tucker, smelling each other.”

“So who's lucky number three?No answer.I turn around to look at him again.No.He grins. Now I get it, I tell him. You're stalking me.”

“When I was a kid my mom used to tell me that if i have sex before i was married, my... junk would turn black and fall off.”

“She has a nice reading voice, I’ll give her that, even though I suspect that underneath her polished exterior beats a heart of pure evil.”

“Christian is staring at us. He’s an only child and could never understand the delicate joys of sibling abuse.”

“Girl, you have a knack for drawing trouble,” Billy says, clapping an affectionate hand on my shoulder.”

“Come on, pretty boy,” he taunts. “Show me what you’ve got.”

“He seems relieved to hear me say that. I guess idiots love company.”

“It’s stupid not to communicate what you know to the adults. They’re only trying to protect us. And as far as the no-secrets zone, I can’t agree to that. I don’t even really know you guys, so why would I tell you my secrets? No way.”

“I want to explain to him that Angela is like a bloodhound when it comes to secrets, virtually impossible to get anything by her, but it doesn’t matter. She knows. He knows she knows. Damage is done.”

“She’s one too,” I say simply, mostly because I know Angela wanted to spring it on him herself, and it makes me feel better to ruin her plans. “And she’s crazy, obviously.” Christian nods, like this revelation comes as no surprise.”

“I mean, what good is a women's lib if we can't use it to ask guys to dances?”

“See, that's what I like about you, Carrots You're not fussy.”

“We've got lots of time to fall in love.”

“That's ironic, because I always thought you were the ugliest out of all the angels.”

“You have made my life into something so extraordinary, you can't even know.”

“The look that passes between Jeffrey and Kimber right then feels like it requires a swell of cheesy music in the background. Aw, I think. Baby brother's in love. I also find this kind of gross.”

“I'm tired of this 'we better lay low, or someone will figure out we're different' crap. I mean, it's not like if I win a match people are going to say, who's that kid, he's a really good wrestler, he must be an angel.”

“You do know we're officially the talk of the town," I say to Tucker. He might as well have taken a marker to my forehead and written PROPERTY OF TUCKER in big black letters.His eyebrows lift. "Do you mind?"I reach for his hand and lace his fingers with mine. "Nope."I'm with Tucker. In spite of my failed purpose and everything, it looks like I'm actually going to get to keep him. I'm the luckiest girl in the world.”

“Bug spray.” Mosquitoes never bother me, but apparently they eat Tucker alive if he forgets bug spray. So I wear it for solidarity. “All the kids wearit,” I explain to Mom. “They say the mosquito is the Wyoming state bird.”

“I think you must be some kind of a freak. Either that or you’re trying toconvert me to your secret horse religion.”“Darn, you got me,” she says theatrically. “You thwarted my evil plan.”

“Every moment I'm away from you, I die a little," I say in return.”

“I’ve learned that a storm isn’t always just bad weather, and a fire can be the start of something. I’ve found out that there are a lot more shades of gray in this world than I ever knew about. I’ve learned that sometimes, when you´re afraid but you keep on moving forward, that’s the biggest kind of courage there is. And finally, I’ve learned that life isn’t really about failure and success. It’s about being present, in the moment when big things happen, when everything changes, including yourself.”

“I just need to be mad for a little while, okay? I know it might not be the most mature thing, but there it is.”

“The backcountry signs say stuff like BEYOND THIS POINT IS A HIGH RISK AREA, WHICH HAS MANY HAZARDS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, AVALANCHES, CLIFFS, AND HIDDEN OBSTACLES, YOU MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COST OF YOUR RESCUE and I think, um, no thanks. I choose life.”

“First rule of Angel Club, you do not talk about Angel Club.”

“They stare at each other, one of those high-testosterone stares. “Amazing,” Tucker says. There’s a challenge in his voice. “Best summer of my life.”I wonder if it’s too late to get out of this class.“Well, that’s the thing about summers, isn’t it?” says Christian after a minute. “They have to end sometime.”

“And then I can feel what he feels. He’s waited such a long time for this moment. He loves how I feel in his arms. He loves the smell of my hair. He loves the way I looked at him just now, flushed and wanting more from him. He loves the color of my lips and now the taste of my mouth is making his knees feel weak and he doesn’t want to seem weak in front of me.”

“So with my luck, I'll never make it in time to save the boy in the forest because my hair will have snagged on a tree branch a mile back.”

“Tucker snorts. "Sage is a fighter, it spreads over the land like wildfire, sucking up all the water, the nutrients in the earth, until everything else dies. It's a hearty little plant, that I'll give it. But it's gray and ugly and ticks love to hide in it. You ever seen a tick?" He glances over at me. The look on my face must be pretty appalled because suddenly he gives and uncomfortable cough and says quietly, "Sage does have a nice smell.”

“Nice tree," he says.That boy has unexpected depth.”

“Hasta la vista, baby," he tells me, and I shake my head and smile at how adorably dorky he can be. His Spanish only comes from Arnold Schwarzenegger.”

“I'm having an argument with myself. And I'm losing. So not good.”

“Can we go somewhere?" I ask. "Let's go somewhere off in the woods and I'll show you."He hesitates, of course. What if I'm an alien invader trying to lure him to a secluded place so I can suck his brains out? Or a vampire, ravenous for his blood?"I won't hurt you." Be not afraid.His eyes flash with anger like I've come right out and called him a chicken."Okay." His jaw tightens. "But I drive.""Of course.”

“This moment was written in the stars, and it is everything he thought it would be.”

“I have a sense that no matter what, no matter what darkness lies ahead, there is nothing that can overcome this power.”

“It's been nice knowing you, Clara.'Huh? My brain still a bit shell-shocked.'Say a prayer for me, will you? He gives me a shaky grin. Because I'm pretty sure my parents are going to kill me”

“Esto era tonto y sin duda escalofriante a la manera de Edward Cullen, pero era lo único que se me ocurrió hacer.”

“Alguien a quien amo va a morir”

“He grins. Unbelievable how gorgeous he is. And that he's mine. He loves me and I love him and how rare and beautiful is that?”