Losers: Part I (Losers, #1)

by Harley Laroux

The hoodie smelled like him, like Manson. It reminded me of the autumn leaves outside, cloudy days, and bonfires.

That is a great description.

But damn, sometimes the universe surprised me. Sometimes its signs were subtle, and sometimes they were massive, flashing, and undeniable.

Vincent is this series' Leon.

It was obvious all the boys were devoted to each other, but Jason and Vincent had a romance between them that made me ache. It wasn’t jealousy. It was…longing?

💞

“I knew what I was getting into when I bought it, Jess,” he said. “It’s supposed to be sharp, it’s meant to be dangerous. No matter how much I practice, if I get lax, then I’ll get cut.”

Manson's metaphors are 👌🏼

“None of you hurt me. That night was weird…and amazing…and…” I shrugged helplessly. “I didn’t know what to do, okay? The next morning, I...I don’t know. It wasn’t supposed to be a long-term thing.”

“You need someone to punish you properly, fuck you good, and care about you enough not to let you hang out with friends who will stab you in the back the first chance they get.”

All the snaps!

But Vincent and Manson, Jason…even Lucas…They’d defended me. Instantly, without hesitation, all of them. I should have gone with them.

She was too much like me, in the worst of ways. Impulsive. Proud. So goddamn stubborn. But because I understood those parts of her, I also understood what she needed. Attention. Good, focused, four-on-one attention. And she was going to get it now.

🥵🥵

The world was sure to always remind me I didn’t fit. If I hooked up with a girl, I was straight, but if I dated a guy, I was gay. If I wanted sex to be rough, I was violent. If I wanted to choose my own family and build relationships in my own way, I was perverted. If I wanted to defend myself, to stand up to those who would harm me, I was dangerous.

I love the way that Laroux writes Manson, and that they based it on their husband? He must be a hell of a human.

“You’ve been best friends for years,” she said. “You’re calm and he’s…not…but I think you help him be. He looks at you like he wants to listen, and I didn’t think Lucas wanted to listen to anybody, so…yeah, it makes sense.”

😊

I was a big girl. There was nothing wrong with what I liked. So why the hell did it feel like there was? “I’m not…against…the trunk thing.” Lucas’s mouth twitched. Vincent muttered something that sounded very much like, “Thank you, Satan, I’ve finally been blessed.”

🤣🤣 I love Vincent.

But Manson didn’t bottom and I liked to switch.

I need to google this but I don't want my search history all messed up.

I wasn’t remotely surprised to see that orgasm control was a five out of five for Manson. I was already painfully well aware of how much he enjoyed that.

🤣🤣

“Girl, we broke into your house, shoved ice up your ass, and fucked you over your mother’s kitchen table. Eat some goddamn cookies.”

This might be my favorite line in the whole dang book! 🤣🤣💞

Normal people didn’t do that. Maybe normal people were boring.

I’d seen a side to Lucas last night I hadn’t known existed, a side of him that crept out after the viciousness had dissipated. He’d looked so out of place, nervous and uncertain. As if being in a normal suburban home was too much.

“God, Vincent, please don’t. I can’t…I-I can’t—” He waited until my gasping fell silent. His expression had sobered, and his words were sincere as he said, “Remember your safeword, baby. Don’t forget where you are.”

And even in the middle of the chaos, partners who care will always stop and check in. Bravo.

If you think that just because I smoke, I’m going to let you get away with that smartass shit, you’re in for a very uncomfortable awakening. Unless you want to spend some time hanging by your ankles and getting acquainted with a snake whip, I suggest you change your tone.”

😬🥵

“Come on,” I said. “Let’s get you cleaned up. You look like a toaster strudel.” She laughed so hard she snorted, and it was possibly one of the cutest things I’d ever heard.

OMG, a toaster strudel - LOLOLOL! It took me a minute, but when I got it, I laughed for a full 30 seconds.

“But I forgave you back then. I’ve forgiven you every day since. I’ll always forgive you. And if you talk to the boys like you just talked to me, I know they’ll forgive you too.”

😥😥 Gah, Manson. I just can't.

His imperfection made him sacred, his strength made him holy. But the lust he inspired in me made him wicked, and the ease with which he bent me to his will was the closest thing to divinity I could imagine.

This description is ... everything. 🤷🏼‍♀️