Jay Crownover

“I wasn’t the type that got jealous, I mean I lived my entire life not being as good as my twin, so I couldn’t understand the murderous rage that was suddenly flowing through me, the sudden need to claim something, to announce to the world that she was mine...”

“He was leaning back against the door watching me with hooded eyes. He wasn’t throwing sarcastic barbs at me or ignoring me, he was just watching me.”

“Hallelujah! It's about time you two idiots figured out that you were made for each other.”

“Come on Shaw, just a little kiss. It's my birthday and I missed you so bad.”

“Shaw, what if I did love you?”

“I understand what you meant about those closest to you hurting you the most now. I'll be in touch.”

“Ass in the chair, Soldier.”

“I've been in love with him since i was fourteen, Margot.”

“Have you told him that you're in love with him and have been for eternity?”

“Thank God. Now maybe he'll stop acting like a cranky toddler that skipped nap time.”

“You have me Shaw, anyway you need me, anyway you want me, you have me.”

“Your gonna change your mind and drop me for a rock star?”

“I thought maybe since it's you birthday Mr. Tall, Dark and Tattooed would be around. I'm telling you ladies, I'm in stage four lust and it can only be cured by Rule.”

“If he was the right guy you wouldn't have felt that way. You would have made the time because you wanted to be with him.”

“I’m not Jet so I can’t write you a song that makes you understand how important you are to me.  I’m not Nash so I can’t find a building and paint you a mural that makes see that it all starts and ends with you for me. I’m a tattoo artist, I’ll probably always be a tattoo artist (...) Here’s my heart Shaw.  You have it in your handsand I promise you’re the first and last person to ever touch it.  You need tobe careful with it because it’s far more fragile than I ever thought and if you try and give it back I’m not taking it.”

“I deserve it all because I’m willing to give it all.  I would haveworked through the darkness with you, Rule.  What I won’t do is watch you walkaway from me every time something happens that has the potential to hurt you”

“Opposites don't just attract they freaking catch fire and burn the entire city down1”

“I kissed her.  I kissed her so thatshe could feel my regret, my desire to do right, the way that she had a pieceof me now and I wasn’t letting go.  I kissed her because I had to and kissingher made me feel better.  When I lifted my head her mouth looked puffy and dampand her eyes were glassy with banked passion.I missed you too.”

“...there were redheads and there were brunettes and there was even asuper-hot chick that looked kinda like Pink but you think any of them did itfor me?  No, Shaw not one because they weren’t fucking you and ever since youwalked out on Sunday all I’ve been thinking of is you.”

“I wrapped an arm around her neck and pulled her to me so I could kissthe top of her head. “Because those are work. I put them on people and thenthey go out into the world where they are hopefully appreciated and loved byother people. Anything I do for you, anything between us isn’t work and it’sfor you and I to appreciate. When I work on you I do it knowing what I put on you will be with us forever. Like I said if you want it in there I’ll be happy to put it in, but if not then I’ll be happy to be the one to admire all my handiwork every day.”

“My favorite passage is from Rule: "I hated guys that called a girl "baby". Baby was what you used when you couldn't remember a girl's name or you were just too lazy to come up with your own nickname for her.”

“Love like this wasn't supposed to be missed, even for those of us that had never realized it was out there. Look at me being all optimistic and shit.”

“Happy birthday Rule, I’m giving you me for now and forever and if you want to give me back I’m not going.”

“This is what I have to offer you Shaw and just like you let me be your first, I'm letting you be mine.”

“I think I wanted it too much and you didn't want it enough.”

“I’ll always take care of you Rule, in fact I like doing it because it makes me happy and it feels good but I’m not ever going to let you use me to work out your demons like you did with all those girls that came before me so you better learn the difference.”

“Rule if this goes bad it’s gonna be so, so bad.” Her voice was just a husky whisper against my chest.“True, but if it’s good it’s going be so very, very good.”

“You’ve never wanted to be easy to love Rule and you make damn sure that nobody can ever forget it.”

“I hated guys that called girls baby. Baby was what you used when you didn't remember the girl's name or you were just too lazy to come up with your own nickname for her.”

“Look at me being all optimistic and shit.Remy would be so proud.”

“Tell me why when we do this it’s so much different than whenever I’ve done it before.”

“I almost saw your boyfriend naked this morning.”I laughed at the look on her face. “I don’t know what to say to that, you’re welcome?”

“You have to promise not to bail on me when I get lost, Shaw. You have to promise to just wait it out until I can find my way back. I need to know you’re at the end of the tunnel when everything goes black.”

“I’ve never trusted anyone all the time. It’s the people I care about the most that always seem to do the most damage.”

“Here's my heart Shaw. You have it in your hands and I promise you're the first and the last person to ever touch it. You need to be careful with it because it's far more fragile than I ever thought and if you try and give it back I'm not taking it.”

“I don’t care what color your hair is, if you’re pale or tan, if you have makeup on or just woke up all I care about is that when I look at you, you always look back and see me.  You’re beautiful inside and out and if you wanted to tattoo all that pretty white skin from head to toe I would be honored to put it there for you but if not I’ll take you all smooth and milky white any chance I get.”

“I don’t believe in skipping ahead Dale. I read the book all the way through.”

“Next time you could just pee in a circle around me so that they know you’ve already been there.”

“So Nash and I went out and there were redheads and there were brunettes and there was even a super-hot chick that looked kinda like Pink but you think any of them did it for me?   No, Shaw not one because they weren’t fucking you and ever since you walked out on Sunday all I’ve been thinking of is you.   Now why is that?”

“I adore Rule. I think it’s genetically impossible not to be kind of in love with him when you come equipped with a vagina.”

“It’s always been you even when I didn’t want it to be, even when it broke my heart over and over again. It’s just always been you.”

“You have me Shaw, any way you need me, any way you want me, you have me.”

“I know I messed up but I’m here for real now. We’re going to do this and I promise I’ll take care of you as best I can. You’re going to have to be patient with me because I’m flying blind.”

“Look I have somewhere I have to be and I don’t particularly love that I have to go, but you freaking out and making a scene is not going to do anything other than piss me off. I hope you had a good time last night and you can leave your number but we both know the chances of me calling you are slim to none. If you don’t want to be treated like crap maybe you should stop going home with drunken dudes you don’t know. Trust me we’re really only after one thing and the next morning all we really want is for you to go quietly away. I have a headache and I feel like I’m going to hurl, plus I have to spend the next hour in a car with someone that will be silently loathing me and joyously plotting my death so really can we just save the histrionics and get a move on it?”

“True enough and opposites don't just attract they freaking catch fire and burn the entire city down.”

“I think it’s genetically impossible not to be kind of in love with him when you come equipped with a vagina. It’s just something about all that angsty, moody swagger he has that makes you want to cuddle him up and make him feel better.”