“It was what she imagined doing heroin would be like: terrible for you but impossible to resist.”

“I'm an orphan now, thought Charlotte. No matter how old you are, when your parents are gone, you are alone - an orphan.”

“Her mother's theory about germs was that one had to ingest and touch as many as possible in order to build up a healthy immunity.”

“Deep within every modern American female, whether she will admit it or not, lingers the image of an ideal man. It isn't necessarily photo quality, it rarely involves specific physical characteristics. No, this image is more like the promise of a feeling, a swept-off-your-feet, powerless-to-control-it, how-awesome-is-this-guy sentiment that she hopes someone special will someday inspire. Left to its own devices, the brain will keep this feeling dormant until truly warranted by a real-life flesh-and-blood person.”

“She was aware that reason had left the room. She was not sorry to see it go.”

“You just want to see me naked,” Alec peeled off his shirt, thenpopped the buttons on his jeans and slid them low on his hips.“I’ve seen you naked. Or have you forgotten?”Alec winced when Grier probed the wound. “Oh yeah. What’dyou think, by the way?”“The room was cold, so I won’t hold it against you.”

“The great myth of our times is that technology is communication.”