“Tipple sold his success much more effectively than he did. How to get excited about, take pride in something that came so naturally? It was like being honored for breathing.”

“He’d always prided himself on being more civilized than his brothers, but so much for that; he was becoming aroused in a damned sewer.”

“It came as naturally to him as breathing or lying, or worse. His mama had only taught her son to be cautious at all times. Garnette was more than that. Much, much more than that.”

“Something about being rejected at Church Camp felt so much more awful than being rejected at school. ”

“The thing I've found about exciting is that it's like fireworks. A big burst of color. It takes your breath away, and then nothing. But something that's always there, while it might not be as exciting, like the stars in the sky, they can still steal your breath.”

“There's something about seeing a guy's feelings written down, something about him taking that risk and committing that heart to paper, that means so much more than anything he could just say.”