#juliette

"Lift your hips for me, love."

"Kenji snorts.“That’s because you’re not fragile,” Kenji says. “If anything, everyone needs to protect themselves from you. You’re like a freaking beast,” he says. Then adds, “I mean, you know—like, a cute beast. A little beast that tears shit up and breaks the earth and sucks the life out of people."

"His hands are holding my cheeks, and he pulls back just to look me in the eye and his chest is heaving and he says, "I think,"he says, "my heart is going to explode,"and I wish, more than ever, that I knew how to capture moments like these and revisit them forever. Because this.This is everything."

"I feel like I’ve been split open and stuffed with sunshine."

"Please,"he says. "I'm begging you to stop."I still. "I can't stomach your pain,"he says. "I can feel it so strongly and it's making me crazy- please,"he says to me. "Don't be sad. Or hurt. Or guilty. You've done nothing wrong.""I'm sorry-""Don't be sorry, either,"he says. "God, the only reason I'm not going to kill Kent for this is because I know it would only upset you more."

"I touch the tip of my finger to his lips. "There are secrets in here,"I say. "I want them out."He tries to bite my finger.I steal it back."