Boyfriend Material Quotes

“I'm conscious this could be rather burdensome to hear, but you remain the thing I have most chosen for myself. The thing that's most exclusively mine. The one thing that brings me the deepest joy.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“I don’t want fine. Fine isn’t enough. Isn’t not about the open fire or whatever other clichés you can conjure up, but yes, I want a connection. I want you to care as much as I care. I want you to need it and want it and mean it. I want it to matter.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“You know you’re wearing pyjamas wrong, right?”
He didn’t look up. “Oh?”
“Yeah, you’re supposed to just wear the bottoms, and have them hanging low on your hips, displaying your perfectly chiselled V-cut.”
“Maybe next time.”
I thought about this for a moment. “Are you saying you have a perfectly chiselled v-cut?”
“I’m not sure that’s any of your business.”
“What if someone asks? I should know for verisimilitude.”
The corners of his mouth twitched slightly. “You can say I’m a gentleman and we haven’t got that far.”
“You” – I gave a thwarted sigh – “are a terrible fake boyfriend.”
“I’m building fake anticipation.”
“You’d better be fake worth it.”
“I am.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“I think it’s usually better to face the world as it is. The more we try to hide from something, the more power we give it.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“You’re more than a bonus, Lucien. You’re integral.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“I knew how to make him angry and how to make him laugh, and I hoped I could make him happy.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“It was just a dick, looking at a dick, asking why he was always such a dick.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“I miss you.
Sorry. Was that too much?
I know it’s only been a few days.
Maybe this is why people don’t want to go out with me.
Not that you’re really going out with me anyway.
I hope I didn’t sound presumptuous.
I’m probably sounding really weird now.
I’m assuming you’re not texting back because you’re still asleep. Not because you think I’m disgustingly clingy.
If you’re awake and think I’m disgustingly clingy, could you at least tell me.
Right. You’re probably asleep.
And now you’re going to wake up and read all this and I’m going to die of embarrassment.
Sorry.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“Mum patted him reassuringly. “Oh, Oliver … I am sure you are one of the best gays.”
I glanced back to find Oliver looking faintly flustered. “Mum, stop ranking homosexuals. It doesn’t work like that.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“In any case, I wasn’t prepared for the truth of you.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“I'm in love with you, Lucien. But it hardly seems adequate.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“The conversation hadn’t so much died on us as been taken out back and shot in the head. And I knew I should be playing paramedic but I couldn’t quite bring myself to or work out how.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“These weren’t just yeah whatever kisses. They weren’t take it or leave it, get your coat you’ve pulled kisses. They were everything I thought I could never have, everything I’d been pretending I never wanted, telling me that I was worth it, that he’d be there for me and put up with me and wouldn’t let me drive him away.
Oliver Blackwood was giving all that to me, and I was giving it right back. In the clutch of hands and the press of bodies and the urgent heat of his mouth on mine.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“You really do own your illiteracy, don’t you?” “Yeah, I’m thinking about moving to America and running for public office.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“There should really be a word for the feeling you get when you do a thing you don't particularly want to do to support somebody else but then realise they didn't actually need you and nobody would have noticed if you'd stayed home in your pyjamas eating Nutella straight from the jar.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“It's hard for me to understand why anyone wouldn't want you in their life.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“It will never stop hurting but it will stop mattering.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“It is true. You should never let anyone tell you it is wrong to be how you are.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“Someone else’s actions may affect you. But what other people choose to do is about them.” We were both quiet for a moment.. “Will it…will it ever stop hurting?” “Non.” Mum shook her head. “But it will stop mattering.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“And I was pretty sure this was how love felt: fuzzy and scary and confusing and light enough to whisk you away like a Tesco’s bag on the wind.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“But you had a boyfriend, and he made you happy for a while, and now it is over. And if we let happy things make us unhappy when they stopped, there would be no point having happy things.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“It's just easier to push people away than watch them leave”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“Is this just a polite way of saying you need time to recover from my flat?

I won't lie. It was fairly terrible. But there were some compensations.

Like what?

You.

I stared at the word for a really long time. Remember this is fake. Remember this is fake. Remember this is fake.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“I was a cagey, grumpy, paranoid mess who would find a way to ruin even the most basic human interaction.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“I think what you're underestimating here is how much better I can get and still be a complete disaster.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“You are wonderful. But you need to believe that I don't like you in spite of all... all of that. I like you because you're you, and all of that is part of you.... And, anyway, I don't like you - I mean, I do like you, but you should probably know that I love you as well.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“I’m conscious this could be rather burdensome to hear, but you remain the thing I have most chosen for myself. The thing that’s most exclusively mine. The one that brings me the deepest joy.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“I’d lost whatever capacity I ever had to relate to people in a romantic way.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“Explain to me again,” said Oliver finally, “why you need a boyfriend?”
It was the least I owed him. “Mainly for this big fundraiser we’ve got coming up at the end of April. Our donors all think I’m a bad gay.”
He frowned. “What’s a good gay?”
“Someone like you.”
“I see.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material

“Well, isn’t this cosy.” Alex beamed at me. “Would you like anything else while we wait for the ladies? I mean my lady and your boylady.”
“I’m not sure ‘boylady’ is the correct term.”
“Terribly sorry. Still a bit of a novel sitch. Not that isn’t fearfully nice that you’re a homosexual. Just never brought one to the club before.”
― Alexis Hall, Boyfriend Material