Bright Side (Bright Side, #1)

by Kim Holden

But I love giving out compliments, not kiss-ass, brown nose, I-just-want-to-make-you-feel-good compliments, but genuine, no bullshit, I-mean-it-because-I-feel-it-in-my-heart compliments.

on the treadmill before I quit. I can't surf, so I run. I remind myself the pain in my exhausted muscles isn't pain, it's life. And life feels divine. Every day, every minute, every second.

Discovering something new is like magic. Music is out there to be heard, and I am of the opinion that as many people as possible should hear it. All of it. Because music is powerful. It connects people.

know it's weird, but I like to think of God as my homeboy. I'm not religious; I just talk to him a lot. I ask for a lot of favors. Sometimes things go my way, sometimes they don't. That's life. You just have to make the most of it.

Managing a childhood like mine taught me that helpful lesson. I can't let the bad consume me, or it would eat me whole.

listen, you are so special. You deserve someone who takes you out on real dates. Someone who buys you flowers and shit. Because if there's anyone in this world who's capable of insane amounts of love and who deserves to be loved that way in return, it's you."

Reading is an escape from the outside world. Everyone needs a little of that to keep their sanity.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't pursue dreams and goals. Just don't forsake the present for the unknowns of the future. A lot of happiness is bypassed, overlooked, postponed to a time years from now that may never come. Don't bide your time and miss out on this moment for a tomorrow with no guarantee."

"Raising Stella on your own will be the hardest thing you've ever done. Knowing that another human being depends on you to get her through life? That's hard, and it's tiring, and it's worrisome, and it's scary, but you know what? It's also fun, and rewarding, and fulfilling in a way that nothing else in this world is."

I should walk away quietly, but I'm too pissed not to push her on this. "This is bullshit, and you know it. I don't know what's going on with you, but nothing you could possibly say would change the way I feel about you. I haven't opened my heart to anyone in a very long time, and if you told me you weren't interested, fine. It would suck, but I'd walk away, lick my wounds, and go on with my life. But the fact that you aren't even allowing yourself the opportunity to experience whatever we might turn into, that pisses me off." I don't know if this is a trust issue or a commitment issue, but I don't like to see her deny herself. And that's exactly what she's doing. "I don't know about you, but this connection we have, this attraction,

it doesn't come along every day. It's been years…years…since I felt this way. Honestly, I never thought I'd feel it again. Does it scare me? Hell yes. Can I predict the future? Nope. But know this, I would never, ever, in a million years, hurt you. I'd be in it one hundred percent. The ball's in your court, Katie. At some point in your life, you have to trust someone."

press my lips against hers one last time and make a silent vow to make the most of every second I have left with her and to start living my life the way I want to live it.

"I don't want to leave you either, Keller, but that's how my story ends. I feel like the luckiest girl on Earth. I get to spend my last months with you, to love you, and be loved by you. I never thought I'd have that. What a blessing you are."