Code Name Hélène

by Ariel Lawhon

The power of a glance has been so much abused in love stories, that it has come to be disbelieved in. Few people dare now to say that two beings have fallen in love because they have looked at each other. Yet it is in this way that love begins, and in this way only. —VICTOR HUGO, LES MISÉRABLES

“You don’t look like a witch. Is that really what they call you?” he asks. “Sometimes they put a b in front.”

“My momma would yank a knot in my throat if I used either word for a lady.” “Lucky for you I’ve rarely been accused of being a lady,”

he shakes his head, perplexed, but I’m used to it. I have that effect on men.

Same girl same

I absolutely hate having to wear flats just because a man didn’t have the good sense to grow a few inches taller.

“I am not known for being nice.”

“What is life for, ma petite, if not for dancing?”

Her gown is open at the back and a long string of pearls is looped around her neck, but worn backward so they caress her spine. It’s never occurred to him before that he could be jealous of a piece of jewelry.

when a woman is speaking to you, you must listen to what she says with her eyes.

“I dance with anyone who asks, but I only dine with those who call.”

“The child will be lucky, from this day until the day she dies.” It is the only tender story my mother ever told me about my birth, but it has proven, over and over again, to be true.

I am a devoted fan of the male species. They are brave, brilliant, offer endless entertainment, are good for moving heavy objects, and make the act of procreation a great deal more enjoyable. I’d hate to see a world in which they did not exist. But sometimes they can be spectacular idiots.

“And you don’t have to be stupid. Show me a girl who gets wobbly at the sight of blood and I’ll show you someone who hasn’t hit puberty. Dealing with blood is one of the most basic realities for every woman alive.”

Same but different but same

It’s like bourbon, only better, somehow, as though bourbon got dressed up and went out for drinks.

And his voice. It is an aphrodisiac.

I have never been kissed like this. It is thunder and rose petals at once.

He looks at me as if I am sun, moon, and stars all rolled into one. A galaxy.

“Va te faire foutre,”

good to know

Rake nods, eyes glinting. “My own ballocks crawled right up inside my body. I’ll have to go through puberty again so they’ll drop.”

Lmao damn right

“Ma petite, say what you like to him, especially on the pillow, but never put it in writing. He will hold you to it forever otherwise.”

We discovered almost immediately how much we enjoy each other’s company, which is quite separate from being in love. Love is a choice. It is the active choosing of good for another person. But like? It is a gift and it cannot be forced.

All is fair in love and war after all.

At this particular moment I don’t give a rat’s ass about independence or careers. I just want to be with Henri.”

Goals

fils de pute,

Son of a bitch in french

enculé”—he

Asshole

Henri thought about music but decided against it, hoping to hear the music of her breath instead. The heavy drumbeat of her heart. That is the song he wants to hear tonight.

How vulnerable it is to be disrobed first. To be seen first. To be touched first. To have your body’s reactions seen and recorded and enjoyed first.

Gentlemen of the human race, I say to hell with the lot of you.

The thing about lipstick, the reason it’s so powerful, is that it is distracting. Men don’t see the flashes of anger in your eyes or your clenched fists when you wear it. They see a woman, not a warrior, and that gives me the advantage.

Gaspard does not like me. He will probably never like me. But in this moment I think he respects me, and that is far more important.

God is God regardless of which denominational peg I hang my hat upon.

Big men and small boys are much the same. They need female validation.

Like a cookie that smiles back right before you eat it.

Nancy is the sort of woman who bathes in a meteor shower.

Is an omission the same thing as a lie?

yes :)

The thing is, books are never really done. They are only due.

<3