Patricia

“You are afraid of me?” Reed asks me, sounding unpleasantly surprised.
“Of course I’m afraid of you. You’re menacing, you’re overbearing, you’re arrogant, and if you don’t see that, then you can just add high to the list,” I say, using my fingers to tick off his shortcomings.”
― Amy A. Bartol, Inescapable

“...I have never seen him smile like that—it’s intoxicating, especially because I never thought he would smile like that at me.”
― Amy A. Bartol, Inescapable

“You have made no secret of the fact that you hate me.”
His eyes soften again. “Hate you?” he asks. “Not as much as you might think. And then there is the…what was it…butterflies? That can’t be a bad thing, can it?”
― Amy A. Bartol, Inescapable

“I don’t want you going there without me, ever…do you understand what I am saying?” he asks me, searching my face, probably looking for any sign of dissention.
“Let me get this straight, what if I got a craving for…I don’t know…Twinkies in the wee hours of the morning and all that was open was the Seven-Eleven. You’re saying I should wake you up, even if you’re crashed out, just so that you can go with me on a treat run?” I ask skeptically, trying to gauge his level of commitment to this course of action.
“Genevieve, Twinkies are really bad for you, but if you had to have one, then yes, that’s what I’m saying,” he smiles at my scenario. “Do you really like those things?”
“I’m not going to tell you if you’re going to tease me, but I will say that it’s suspiciously inhuman not to enjoy a Hostess snack from time to time,” I reply coyly. “I’ll buy you one. You’ll love it, I promise.”
And I’ll be doing the world a favor at the same time, I think, remembering him without his shirt on.”
― Amy A. Bartol, Inescapable