M. Leighton

“No, no buts," he interrupted with a shake of his head. "I'm tired of people telling what i feel and how i should feel. I know it sounds crazy, but i know what i feel. i know this is real.”

“No, not for a while. As long as you'll have me. Didn't you hear me, Miracle? I'm in love with you!”

“I wouldn't miss a day with you for anything. A sick day, a healthy day. I don't care. I mean, of course i wish you weren't sick, but i want to be with you regardless.”

“Her heart was in her eyes. He knew his heart was in his. Hardy couldn't hold back what he was feeling any longer. He was terrified he wouldn't get another chance to tell he if he did. squatting down beside her, Hardy brought Miracle's fingers to his lips. "Miracle, i'm in love with you. I'd never hurt you. Ever.”

“He wondered if that was her version of a green light. He hoped it was. If he thought she would believe him, he'd tell her how he wanted to protect Miracle, how he wanted to make her happy forever and make sure nothing happened to her, to make sure she never shed another tear as long as she lived.”

“Please. I love her.”

“Feel free to get....carried away as often as you like.”

“Miracle was thinking she'd finally fallen in love, for the first time and maybe the last, with someone who may or may not be around for very long. Hardy was thinking he'd found someone that made his past and his future not matter quite so much, someone who gave him a present that eclipsed everything else. But there was a chance he might lose her. Later, when he kissed her goodnight, it was a kiss full of promise, a kiss that said he'd be around forever, however long forever ended up being.”

“No, you're not. And you're not fooling anybody by trying to pretend you are. Maybe it's because of what you've been through. Maybe it's just the way you were born. I don't know, but you're special, Miracle. You may not think you're perfect, but to some people, you're everything they've wished for, whether they realized it or not.”

“In a way, you live vicariously through them. You have your first kiss with them, you go to your first party, skip out on your prom, and drink your first beer with them." She paused, a wistful smile fluttering across her lips before she spoke again. "You fall in love with them.”

“No, i'm not. Life is short. We gotta make the most of it.”

“For the first time he could remember, he had something in his life that he really looked forward to.”

“His face hovered above hers for several long tense seconds before he lowered his mouth to hers. Barely making contact, Hardy brushed his lips back and forth over Miracle's with the gentlest of pressure. He wanted more - wanted to kiss her and touch her so much more - but he wanted to leave her with something as delicate and perfect and special as the moment they were sharing there in the orange glow of the sunshine.”

“His long hovered above hers for several long tense seconds before he lowered his mouth to hers. Barely making contact, Hardy brushed his lips back and forth over Miracle's with the gentlest of pressure. He wanted more - wanted to kiss her and touch her so much more - but he wanted to leave her with something as delicate and perfect and special as the moment they were sharing there in the orange glow of the sunshine.”

“Oh, i'm sorry. I would never make fun of your extensive efforts to make me smile." "Actually," Hardy said, turning serious as he reached forward to trace the corner of Miracle's mouth. "I would do almost anything to see you smile.”

“Not yet maybe" "Not ever" "You say that now..." "Give me a chance, Miracle, i'll prove it to you." "Nobody deserves all the baggage i come with, Hardy. I should be the one running away from you." "I'd just follow you." Miracle laughed, but then looked at him oddly. "Why do i get the feeling you might be telling the truth?" "Because i am.”

“I can't imagine anyone running away from you for any reason.”

“How can you make me feel this way? I barely know you.”

“Hardy had long since come to terms with having an abusive father, but never in all the years that he had been abused had he encountered such sympathy. Miracle's reaction so warmed him, he wound his arms around her waist and pulled her close, melting into her compassion like an ice cube on hot pavement.”

“Hardy didn't care where they went, as long as he was with her.”

“I've never wanted anything more in my life, if i died tomorrow, being with you, like this tonight, will have been the best night of my entire existence. And it's not because of a stupid bucket list; it's because i love you.”

“It felt like he'd been starved for sunshine and had now been deprived the chance of standing in its warmth.”

“He wanted to tell himself that Miracle was just a girl, but he knew that wasn't the case. Miracle wasn't just a girl. She was.....something special.”

“Nobody' perfect, Cheyenne. We can all do better, but do it for yourself, not for me. Not for anyone else.”

“But that wasn't enough for him anymore. He wanted more. He wanted substance and depth and love. He wanted Miracle. It was as simple as that.”

“All the tequila in the world couldn't get her out of his mind and he knew it. She was in his head and in his heart to stay.”

“No i don't. I can't imagine how you, of all people, could be a burden to anyone. And i certainly don't think you're hard to love.”

“You're not gonna start writing 'Hardy loves Miracle' all over your notebooks, are you? Sing her a song and post it on YouTube?”

“Hardy recognized what it was that she made him feel. Hope. Miracle gave him hope.”

“But even as the thoughts bounced around inside his head, Hardy knew that none of it mattered. He felt it deep down. Miracle was a game changer. She was his game changer.”

“That's the day i decided to live every minute of every day like it might be my last.”

“You look...content. Happy. Like your heart is bursting.”

“I see someone who is afraid of giving up the only dream that will make them happy because he's too busy doing what everyone else wants him to do.”

“He knew that when he'd let Cheyenne lead him away, he'd lost his chance to find out the name of the girl who, without a single word spoken to him, had stolen his heart.”

“It was with increasing perplexity that he realized his mind - and his heart - went with Miracle.”

“In all his life - past, present and future - Hardy knew he would never find another person that set his body, his heart and his soul on fire the way that Miracle did.”

“It said thata we have now-right now- and that's it. We have no promises for tomorrow, only right now and we had to seize the day, the hour, the moment”

“Avoidance is never the answer. Yes, life is all about pain and trouble and frustration and anger, but it's also about love and friendship and good days and sunshine. You can't have one without the other. If you avoid pain, you avoid living.”

“I want to live. I want to live life with all it's emotions, all it's experiences, I don't want to miss anyhting. But I feel like I will.”

“Where did you get that dress?I stole it from a homeless person," I say straight-faced. "She was lying right beside the stripper that gave you yours.”

“There's an unsavory term for that- a guy forcing a girl to do sexual things. But what is it they say? You can't rape the willing. And I'd be willing. Oh, how I'd be willing.”

“I want to paper cut her. On every square inch of her body. And then roll her in salt water.”

“I stop in front of Olivia and cup her face in my hands, kissing her sweetly on the mouth. She looks up at me with her liquid eyes and something in me melts away. I think to myself that I hope it wasn't something important. Something that I needed.”

“I shouldn't have stayed as long as I did, but I wanted to hold her while she slept. I wanted her to know I wasn't going anywhere. That she was safe with me. In my arms.”

“Are you paying me a compliment? I just want to be sure, so I don't miss it.""You make it sound like I'm mean and horrible because I don't throw myself at your feet.""You don't have to throw yourself at my feet. Although if you want, I'm sure I can think of something for you to do while you're down there.”

“Is that what this is about? You think I'm sleeping with Taryn?""Of course I do! I'm sure it's no secret !""Why do you say that?""Well, first of all she's gorgeous and--""You're gorgeous.""And she flirts very openly with you.""I wish you'd flirt very openly with me.”

“I pull away to speak, but he puts his finger over my lips. "Shhh, just let me love you, okay? Don't think. Just feel.”

“You sure? Because I specialize in deassholization." This time she smiles. Deassholization?" "Yeah. Just think of me as the Orkin man of assholes--putting assholes in their place.”

“In the meantime, get those penis problems fixed. Every hen house needs a cock, but only the special hens can handle more than one. Try 'em out then pick one and stick with it. You're not old enough to play with two toys at the same time. That's cougar territory.”

“His eyes meet mine and one brow rises in that holy mother of hell-sexy way, then he mutters, "You've got one chance to make my mouth water.”