“What do you mean fainted?Took a dive, kissed the pavement. Swooned like a southern belle after her first kiss. Had a dreadful case of the vapors.”

“A first kiss after five months means more than a first kiss after five minutes.”

“Then he kissed her. Betsy didn't believe in letting boys kiss you. She thought it was silly to be letting first this boy and then that one kiss you, when it didn't mean a thing. But it was wonderful when Joe Willard kissed her. And it did mean a thing.”

“What are you doing?" she asked."Nothing too terrible. Just feeling you.""That's it?" she raised her eyes."Truth?""Yes.""I'm trying to get up the nerve to kiss you."*swoon*”

“Kiss me,” she said urgently.Sam’s eyes flickered with mild surprise. “Right now?”“Yes.”“What kind of kiss?”“What do you mean, what kind of kiss? Just a regular kiss.”“A friendly kiss, or a romantic kiss? Are we supposed to be going out together, or—““Oh, for heaven’s sake,” she exclaimed, and pulled his head down to hers.”

“He took her face in his hands and claimed her mouth with his. It felt like he had been drowning, and she was his life raft. This was not a soft, sensual kiss. This was a kiss of desperation. A kiss of need, not want. And Cali needed it just as much as Matthew.”