Just a Little Crush Quotes

“You know, it kind of empowers people when you hate them. It’s a very strong emotion, and if you hate someone, you are allowing them to elicit that from you. I think some people don’t deserve my feelings. I’d rather save them for the people who do. And, really, anyone who would warrant my hate isn’t worth my time.”
― Renita Pizzitola, Just a Little Crush

“Though I will tell you, you ruined me. I’ve held a lot of girls I kissed to your standard and I’ve been sorely disappointed.”
― Renita Pizzitola, Just a Little Crush

“As we got into his car he tossed a glance my way. “So how much of that did you really hear?”

Shit.

I stared out the window. “Enough to know his heart’s in the right place”—I turned to Ryder—“and that he’s wrong.”

He was quiet for a moment, and I couldn’t tell if he was angry or thoughtful but then he reached over and slipped his fingers through mine. He raised my hand and pressed a kiss on my knuckles. “Well, he was definitely wrong about one thing.” He kept his eyes on the road, but a small smile finally ghosted across his lips. “For the record, I was interested in high school. But your burning hatred for me seemed a good reason to keep my distance.”

Fighting back a grin, I shook my head. “It wasn’t burning.”

With a sideways glance, he curved his mouth into the sexiest smile ever. “Yeah, I saw the way you looked at me, it kind of was.”

I peeked over at him. “Maybe that wasn’t hatred you saw.”

He raised an eyebrow.

I shrugged.

“Wow.” He puffed out air. “Now you tell me.”
― Renita Pizzitola, Just a Little Crush

“I hate this dress,” I grumbled, and slogged upstairs. Each step was a challenge due to the restrictive fabric.

“I don’t.”

I glanced back at a grinning Ryder. The door creaked as I pulled it open on the third floor. Ryder reached past me and held it.

“It’s my roommate’s, so if you want to borrow it, you have to take it up with her.” I slipped past him.

“You’re quite the feisty drunk”
― Renita Pizzitola, Just a Little Crush

“I wandered into the kitchen with my beer cup still in hand. There was nothing worse than being alone at a party. Well, not true. Being alone and sober.

“Hey.”

I turned and was actually happy to see Noah. At least I wouldn’t be the lonely loser. “Hi.”

He glanced at my still mostly full beer.

“I really hardly ever drink. My friend assumes if he puts a beer in my hand I’ll drink it; if I don’t, he does. I’m more or less his cupholder.”
― Renita Pizzitola, Just a Little Crush

“There she is,” he said.

I scanned the room for Mason’s current love interest. “Where?”

“Pink top, brown ponytail.”

“She’s cute. But a little too innocent for your taste.”

“Looks can be deceiving.” He grinned.

“How did a girl like me end up with a man-whore like you for a best friend?”

“I’m the one who should be asking how a guy like me ended up with a prude like you.”

“Hey, I’m not a prude. Well, at least I don’t think I am. Who knows?”

“I already volunteered my services. Telling you, once you’re devirginized you’re gonna go wild. Might as well get it out of the way.”

I hushed him and looked around. “Someone will hear you.”

“A guy who likes sex and a girl who’s a virgin. Yeah, that’s something no one’s ever seen before.” He shrugged. “I’m just trying to do you a favor.”

I laughed. “Your thoughtfulness amazes me.”

“No-strings-attached sex is very generous. You laugh now but one day you’ll come around.”

“No thanks. I know where you’ve been.”

“Good point.” He glanced back at the girl. “And you know where I’m going.”

I rolled my eyes. “Go. It’s fine.”

“That’s okay. I’ll find her later. I promised not to abandon you.”

“Go. Seriously. I’m fine. I’ll practice blending in with the walls.”

“Now I really can’t leave you.” He shifted his weight and stared at me.

“It was a joke. Anyway, I see a girl from one of my classes. I’ll go say hi.” I walked away and glanced back. With a shooing motion, I said, “Go.”

He shrugged and went to find his brunette.

I hadn’t really seen a friend but Mason came to have fun. I didn’t want to be his party paperweight.”
― Renita Pizzitola, Just a Little Crush

“It’s like the theory of oneness. One thing’s existence is dependent upon the other. Like if there was no up, we wouldn’t have down. Basically, this balance unifies everything. So for every sensation, every move, every action, there is a counteraction to balance it. Inhalation. Exhalation. Push. Pull. Over. Under. In. Out.”
― Renita Pizzitola, Just a Little Crush

“it out. “Thanks. I thought I’d lost it for good. Where did you”
― Renita Pizzitola, Just a Little Crush

“Night, Brinley.”

Goodnight? How was I supposed to sleep now?

“ ’Night,” I whispered back. I tucked into his chest and he kissed my head. “Hey, Ryder?” My words were muffled by his chest.

“Yeah.”

“Wanna have sex?”

He chuckled. “Yeah. But you have to ask when you’re sober.”

I yawned. “How long you think it will take until I’m sober?”

He rubbed the top of my head. “Oh, I think we’ll both know the second you are.”

...

The blanket tangled around my feet at some point during the night, leaving my legs cold though my body was nice and warm. With my eyes sealed shut, I fumbled for the blanket. My hand came down hard on something.

“Son of a bitch.” Ryder groaned and curled in on himself.

I shot upright and grabbed my head. “Crap.”

Still clinging to his crotch, he moaned. “Geez, I know you’re pissed about the no-sex thing but don’t take it out on the boys.”

My body went rigid, but my jaw slacked as I stared down at Ryder.

I buried my face in my hands. “Ohmigod. Ohmigod.” I shook my head and prayed I could wake up from this nightmare.

Ryder chuckled. “She’s sober.”

My head pounded and my stomach soured. Bits and pieces of the previous night replayed. I desperately tried to suppress them.

“Anything you want to ask me?” Ryder’s amused tone made me feel angry and humiliated all at once. “I’m game for it now…well, at least, I was. You may have broken something. Should we check to see if everything’s working?”

I bolted from the bed. “Shut up. Please. Shut up.” My face burned and I couldn’t even begin to make eye contact with him. “I need…I’m going…” I glanced at him as he tucked his hands behind his head and grinned. “Ugh, I’ll be right back.”
― Renita Pizzitola, Just a Little Crush

“An hour later, I laughed as Fallon danced around Luke. Everyone, except Ryder and me, had finished off several more shots, and Fallon was drunk. Usually I found drunk people annoying, but tonight she was pretty hilarious. She even made drinking look fun.

Ryder grinned. “You’re friend isn’t going to be able to stand upright much longer.”

Fallon spun in our direction. “Hey, she’s the one over a table, not walking right.” She pointed at me.

I slapped my hand over my mouth and tried not to laugh at her random slew of Ryder comments meshed into one indecipherable sentence.

“What?” Ryder’s eyebrows scrunched as he stared at her then me.

“Nothing. She’s drunk.” I pressed my lips together to avoid laughing.

He smirked. “Are you?”

I shook my head. “Nope.”

Fallon jumped back in. “No way. Brinley’s drunk!” Her eyes widened. “Hell just froze over.” She shifted her gaze to Ryder. “Don’t be taking advantage of my roomie. I know you want to occupy Vagistan and all that but she’d be sooo pissed at—”

“Oh my God. We’re done.” I pressed my hand to her mouth as my face seared with embarrassment.

Luke bent over in hysterics. “I think I love your friend.”

“Awesome. She’s yours. Just don’t let her talk anymore.”

“Keep her mouth busy? On it.”
― Renita Pizzitola, Just a Little Crush

“I'm not moping.”

She rolled her eyes and shoved a dress at me. “ ‘Will you call my phone? Is it working? Why hasn’t it rung?’ Blegh.” She stuck her tongue out. “No guy is worth that. Not even someone as insanely fuckable as Ryder Briggs. Try that on.” She gestured to the dress I held against my chest.

I tossed it onto the bed and peeled off my shirt, slipped the dress on, then dropped my jeans from under it.

Her face pinched on the side as she twisted her lips and studied me. “Nope.” She spun back to her closet and pulled out a blue dress. “Here.”

“This is like three sizes too small,” I pointed out.

“It stretches. Put it on.”

I yanked off the first dress and forced the other over my boobs and down my body. “Oh my God. I don’t think I can breathe.”

“It’s spandex. You can breathe, it just feels tight. Get used to it. You’re wearing it.”

“What? Are you kidding me? I feel like a sausage on a stick.”

“Well, you look like sex on a stick, all tan skin, blue eyes, long legs. Guys will go crazy. You’re wearing it. Trust me, I don’t like the idea of you looking so damn hot in my dress either, but if you can meet someone to get your mind off Ryder, it’s worth it.”
― Renita Pizzitola, Just a Little Crush

“I’m sorry,” he said.

I looked into his eyes and saw genuine regret. “It’s fine.”

“I can tell everyone I wanted to kiss you, but you wouldn’t let me.”

I stared at the ceiling. “How in the world would that help? And anyway, no one would buy it.”

“Why not?”

“No one would believe you’d want to kiss me.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” He’d scrunched his face but somehow still managed to look gorgeous. “You’re pretty, you’re smart, I see no reason not to.”

“Because I’m not one of you.”

“One of who?”

“Forget it. It doesn’t matter. No one will believe anything. Whether you say you wanted to or said we did, no one will believe it. Guys like you don’t kiss girls li—”

He pushed off the sink and pressed his mouth to mine. His lips were soft as they brushed over me, moving gently against my mouth.

Having no experience kissing boys, my brain went into overdrive trying to remember everything from the magazines I kept hidden under my bed.

Step one: Relax your mouth. Step two: Part lips. Step thr—

He slipped his tongue past my parted lips. It swept over mine, bypassing steps three through five. I was out of steps. What now?”
― Renita Pizzitola, Just a Little Crush

“I kicked my flip-flops off and pulled my knees to my chest.

Mason sprawled next to me, his head propped on a pillow. His legs, which almost hung off the end of the tiny bed, were crossed at the ankle.

“How was work?” I asked.

He rolled his eyes and grumbled about the students who used the computer lab, compatibility issues and a whole bunch of other stuff I didn’t understand. Being that he was a computer science major, he was always frustrated by questions he found dumb. I tried to be supportive by letting him vent, but I also enjoyed giving him a hard time about it.

I stared blankly at him. “I’m sorry, you’re speaking nerd again.”

“You’re hilarious. Considering you’re fluent in it.” He made his voice girly. “Did you hear about the nucleotide enzymatic compound synthesis?”

I bit back my smile. “That doesn’t even make sense. And I don’t sound like that. But I am impressed you remembered all that from Biology.”

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to use all those words in one sentence.”

I laughed as he grinned proudly”
― Renita Pizzitola, Just a Little Crush

“Fallon was a good three inches shorter than me, yet somehow I’d let her talk me into wearing her dress. Thankfully it was black, unlike the flaming red one she wore. At least my outfit wouldn’t draw attention. Well, as long as I didn’t bend over…or fall. Oh, please, dear God, don’t let me fall. The wedge shoes I’d worn laced up at my ankles, binding me to the inevitable cruelty that was gravity.”
― Renita Pizzitola, Just a Little Crush

“From what I could tell, he seemed like a nice guy, so not reciprocating his interest made me feel bad, but it didn’t faze him. And though his advances might look subtle from the outside, he was actually pretty relentless.”
― Renita Pizzitola, Just a Little Crush

“he ran his fingers up and down my arm and occasionally planted light kisses on my neck.”
― Renita Pizzitola, Just a Little Crush

“The perfect kiss.” “The perfect everything. You just need balance.”
― Renita Pizzitola, Just a Little Crush