Crushed Quotes

“Michael, listen. I get it. Nobody’s ever loved you first. You’re tired of being second choice. Or nobody’s choice. I get it. Because nobody ever loved me first, either. But I’ve been thinking about this, and Michael…I don’t think it’s about who loves you first. It’s about who loves you best. And that’s me.”
… “I love you best. More than I love anyone. More than you’ve ever been loved.”
― Lauren Layne, Crushed

“I do a squat to demonstrate. Generally I do squats with weight – lots of it – but since the most physical exercise Chloe seems accustomed to is running her mouth. I figure I’d better start at the beginning. The very beginning.
“Okay?” I say, doing another since she didn’t mimic my motion the second time.
She watches my movement in the mirror. “One more time,” she says.
I comply, and then mutter a string of curses because Chloe Bellamy has just reached out in the middle of a busy gym and patted my ass.
“Very nice,” she says, sounding surprised.
“Chloe!”
She shrugs. “You just got so upset when I was ogling that other guy instead of you, so I wanted to make you feel good.”
― Lauren Layne, Crushed

“I don’t want the guy who wanted the swan. I want the guy who wanted the duckling.”
A long moment of silence passes.
Then: “Chloe, I don’t know what that means.”
She stomps her foot. “Seriously? Do mothers not read nursery rhymes to their sons?”
― Lauren Layne, Crushed

“The thought of Chloe changing kills me a little. She’s one of the most real girls I know, and I’d give anything to have her stay that way, just as she is.”
― Lauren Layne, Crushed

“A girl wants to be loved, sure, and I thought I wanted that. I thought I wanted that from Devon. And now…I don’t know about that. But I do know that I want to be wanted. I want to be wanted by you.”
― Lauren Layne, Crushed

“I’ve tried being someone’s second choice.”
I frown and pause, although I don’t turn around. Can’t.
His voice is raspy, and so quiet that I barely hear what he says next. “I can’t do it again.”
― Lauren Layne, Crushed

“I mean, why would you want the funny sidekick when you can have the heroine?”
― Lauren Layne, Crushed

“Jesus, am I actually checking her out?
Yes. Yes, I am.”
― Lauren Layne, Crushed

“I don’t know why I keep doing that. Coming back to Chloe. She’s annoying as fuck, and yet there’s something strangely calming about her manic personality.”
― Lauren Layne, Crushed

“You play tennis, Chloe?” I call out as I pull out another ball and serve it to Kristin, harder this time.
“Do I look like I’m all about cardio?” she calls back in a cheerful voice.
“What about when you were younger? You didn’t take lessons?”
“Um, that’s a negative,” Chloe says around a mouthful of chocolate. She has a candy bar now. “Some of us were reading Harry Potter like normal kids.”
― Lauren Layne, Crushed

“I’ve tried being someone’s second choice. I can’t do it again.”
― Lauren Layne, Crushed

“My crush is old enough to have its own driver’s licence. As naïve as it sounds, I want to give Devon a chance to see that he’s with the wrong sister, because I believe in my heart that he is.
But unlike skeevy Beefcake, I’ll never make an actual move.”
― Lauren Layne, Crushed

“They told me I’d have to grovel.”

“Who told you?”

His chin nods over my head, in the direction of where his friends have gone. “Them. Well, the girls, mostly.”
― Lauren Layne, Crushed

“Well, that’s sort of the problem,” I say, glancing down at my feet. “I’m really good at talking. Not so good at the other thing.”

“What other thing?” He looks half-confused, half-annoyed.

“Kissing. Jesus, keep up, Beefcake.”

He frowns. “You’ve never kissed a guy before?”

“Of course I have,” I snap. “I’ve kissed plenty of guys.” Well, not plenty. But enough.

“So, what’s the problem?” he asks.

“I just … it’s never like it is in the movies.”

Michael makes a strangled noise and turns toward my nightstand, opening the drawer.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Looking for a gun,” he mutters.”
― Lauren Layne, Crushed