“Kope!” the other guy yeled. “What the frick?! You got some cheetah blood in you or what?”“Seriously!” insisted Blake. “How did you run so fast?”“I am African.” Without taking his eyes from mine, Kopano eased himself off me, and I sat up.”

“Get up guys. We’ve got a visit to pay.”“What are you talking about?”“I am not hanging out with Blake Lazar again.”

“How'd you get the burn?"Ignoring him only got me a barrage of chatter."Yeah, how?"'Did something, or someone, do it?""You're bleeding.""It's her knee again.""She opened it up.""Did you fall?""You've got grass in your hair.""Were you in a fight?""How'd you get grass in your hair?""I think she was in a fight.""Leaves and some dirt, too. And...is that a feather?""You were in a fight with a bird?""Hey, how did you manage to knock Blake down?""She didn't knock me down! I caught her.""Hah! A little girl took you out.""Shut up or I'll take you out.""Her extreme velocity overcame Blake's superior mass.""I am superior.""How'd you get moving so fast?"I stopped abruptly and turned on them, arms gesturing wildly. "Shut up!”

“I don’t know what happened in your past, what he did to you, how he hurt you, but I’m not that guy. The only thing I want from you is you. I would never use you, Clair. I can’t make you trust me, but if you let me, I’ll prove to you that you can. What good is life without taking a chance?”

“You didn't have to take a punch for me, you know,' he said. 'I'm a lover, not a fighter.''You're a freak is what you are,' I said.He stuck out his hand. 'Come on, slugger. Walk with me. You know you want to.'And the thing was, despite everything I knew-that it was a mistake, that he was different from the others-I did. How he knew that, I had no idea. But I got up and did it anyway.”

“"What you got to give, Faye, here," his hips pressed into mine, "clean, pure, all fuckin' mine and that's beautiful right there. But the rest, how wet you get, how tight you are, you goin' wild for me like you did just now, baby. Fuck. You gotta know, coupled with the other, that's beauty that's off the charts."Hmm. I liked that.A frak of a lot.”