“Johnny it's Persephone Alcmedi. I..." "Hey Red." That threw me. My hair's dark dark brown. "Red " "I've decided I'm going to call you Red from now on." "All right. Why " He snickered in a very masculine way and lowered his voice. "Cause I like the idea of the big bad wolf visiting you and Grandma.”

“Red?" I asked. "I've decided I'm going to call you Red from now on." "All right, I'll bite - no pun intended. Why?" He snickered in a very masculine way and lowered his voice. "'Cause I like the idea of the big bad wolf visiting you and Grandma.”

“The right thing to do would be for you to acknowledge that you feel something for me that's remotely close to what I feel for you. I've asked only for a single grain of sand from you, Persephone, while I'm the whole fucking beach at your feet...”

“The way I figure it ... every red-blooded boy wants to make out with some hot heroine from the comic books. So, you could, you know, fulfill that dream for me. Please.”

“I'm never one, distinct color but a dichotomy of dark and bright. The hues follow me, reflecting my mood, displaying every tone and shade I feel. I can breathe in red and exhale blue, or swim in green and dry as a rainbow. It all depends on how I choose to react to every shadow and light beam headed my way.”

“Doesn’t Eva have warm and eager flesh?” “Of course. But the sweet thrill wanes somewhat when eagerness is so easily elicited. The succulent bliss of the moment is lost.” Johnny could’ve written a whole song around that one sentence, so I committed it to memory.”

“Hey, where are you going?" His voice, confused yet curious, called after me. "Hey. Why didn't your mother name you Maybe, or We'll see, or What's-Your-Number? That way, we could call our first born Absolutely.”