Mariana

“Want to make out?”
“With who?” she asks, not bothering to look up.
“Me.”
She lifts her head from her book just long enough to give me a once-over. “No, thanks,” she says, then goes back to her homework.
She’s fuckin’ with me. She’s got to be fuckin’ with me, right?
“Because of that pendejo Tuck?”
“No. Because I don’t want Madison’s leftovers.”
Wait. Un. Momento. I’ve been called a lot of things before, but . . .
“You callin’ me leftovers?”
“Yeah. Besides, Tuck is a great kisser. I wouldn’t want you to feel bad when there’s no way you can compete.”
That guy hardly owns a pair of lips. “Wanna bet?”
― Simone Elkeles, Rules of Attraction

“Should I tell him I'm not afraid of being hurt? I'm afraid of not being in control.”
― Simone Elkeles, Perfect Chemistry

“We’ve been secretly datin’ since last week.” He gives me a smile and a look that says I’m his one-and-only. That smile might deceive Madison, but I know he’s full of it.
“Isn’t that right, K.?”
He squeezes me tighter. “Uh-huh,” I squeak out.
Madison shakes her head fast, as if she can’t believe what she’s hearing. “Nobody in their right mind chooses Kiara Westford over me.”
She’s right. We’re busted.
“Wanna bet?” My eyes go wide when Carlos bends his head down to me. “Kiss me, cariño.”
― Simone Elkeles, Rules of Attraction

“The urge to jump into his arms and feel the warmth of them surrounding me is so powerful, I wonder if it's medically possible to be addicted to another human being.”
― Simone Elkeles, Perfect Chemistry