When You Get the Chance Quotes

“I wish more than anything I could ask him something now. I was prepared to lose him, maybe. But I wasn't prepared for what happens after the losing.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“Like I finally get the sentiment behind all those sappy power ballads, where the music in them actually comes from: not from some burst of creative genius or some big, sweeping feeling. But from the moments in between. The sneaky ones. The ones where you look up at someone and your heart understands something before the rest of you does.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“Because I drink coffee like a real New Yorker and you drink tea like the American Revolution never happened.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“When you know someone inside out, so well that they feel less like another person and more like an extension of yourself. All your battles, all your victories—they’re always shared, always known. Always fought for side by side, whether you’re propping each other up or balancing each other out.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“how quiet it is and how loud my brain feels. Like the emptiness of the apartment left too much extra space for me.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“Millie, you’re not a person,” he says. “You’re a roller coaster. My seat belt is buckled. I have no idea where you’re going, but I’m in for the ride.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“Heather whistles to round us all up. Oliver and I reach for each other’s hands at the same time, falling into step with each other as easily as breathing. “To the Milkshake Bar,” Heather calls. “Millie Mias on the house!” “That’s what I was hoping she’d say,” says Oliver. Perhaps the most delicious consequence of all this is that Heather coined a new sundae on the menu based on last summer’s shenanigans. It’s got a scoop of mint chip for me and Georgie, strawberry for Heather and Chloe, vanilla for my dad and Beth, Nutella for Farrah, sea salt chocolate chip cookie pieces for Oliver, and Reese’s Puffs for Teddy. The whole thing is a big ooey-gooey fantastic mess, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“My back is turned, so I see the smirk on Chloe’s and Elliot’s faces and figure out Oliver is approaching before I even hear the footsteps behind me. “Hey, Ollie,” says Chloe cheekily. Elliot snickers. He and Chloe have formed tight ranks among the underclassmen at Cornelia, which unfortunately for Oliver means that Elliot is constantly giving Chloe ammo to tease him.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“and then we’d be flying the entire operation of “Fellowship of the Ring (Cooper Is Giving to Beth)” blind.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“I’ll see you tonight, Oliver.” I turn on my heel with the intention of fleeing the scene, Cooper Price–style, before the adrenaline dies down and either one of us can fully contemplate the audacity of what I just did. Then Oliver’s voice pulls me back. “And after?” he asks. I stop, turning back. The afternoon light is pouring in through the window, casting warm colors on his face, streaming into his eyes. I drink in the sight of him, doing something I’m usually not very good at: taking my time. “And after,” I say quietly. He smiles his Millie smile, and I smile my Oliver one. We’ve said a lot of things to each other over the years, tossed more mean words between us than I could ever count. But making a promise only takes two.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“two performers who know each other’s overblown, ridiculous hearts all too well.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“A “place to sit” ends up being Washington Square Park, where we find a bench and Oliver lays out his sandwich and I pop open my seltzer.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“I’m gonna miss you, too.” One of the regular shift workers shows up early for the club’s opening and nudges past us. Oliver steps back and so do I, and before I can say anything, we’re interrupted by “Seventeen” by MARINA blasting from the dance floor. Oliver nods, and so do I, even though I’m not sure what we’re nodding about—whether it’s an acknowledgment of the secret I asked him to keep or the secret I suspect we are both keeping.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“Oliver nods, and so do I, even though I’m not sure what we’re nodding about—whether it’s an acknowledgment of the secret I asked him to keep or the secret I suspect we are both keeping.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“Because I drink coffee like a real New Yorker and you drink tea like the American Revolution never happened”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“So how do you talk to your crushes?” Chloe asks, hot on my heels. “Pfft.” I wave a dismissive hand, flipping my hair over my shoulder. “That I can’t help you with. I can confidently say I’ve never had the time.” But even then, my laugh at Oliver’s text lingers in the back of my throat the rest of the way home—and for the first time in the history of ever, I fall asleep looking forward to seeing him the next day.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“But even then, my laugh at Oliver’s text lingers in the back of my throat the rest of the way home—and for the first time in the history of ever, I fall asleep looking forward to seeing him the next day.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“Oh.” I’m suddenly so hungry I could have taken one of those sheet cakes we delivered to the face. “Wanna go to Big League Burger?”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“But Chloe is practically tipping over like a teapot with excitement. “I heard the valedictorian last year snapped over a grilled cheese recipe and started working at a deli—” Teddy waves his hand at Chloe. “She’s fine. She’s at Columbia. But she makes a mean blondie, if you’re into desserts.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“It is, in fact, a life-size cutout of all three Schuyler sisters from Hamilton, mid-snap.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“shift my butt in my seat, trying to sit up straighter and seem less like a teenage girl who had a month-long pie-baking phase after seeing Waitress and more like a force to be reckoned with.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“with this kind of affection that I understand all too well.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“I don't hate you, Millie," Oliver exclaims, throwing up his hands in a very un-Oliver-like gesture. It appears that after all these years, I've finally found his last nerve. If it weren't so insulting, it's be kind of fun to watch. "I'm just exhausted by you.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“I heard the valedictorian last year snapped over a grilled cheese recipe and started working at a deli—”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance

“But from the moments in between. The sneaky ones. The ones where you look up at someone and your heart understands something before the rest of you does.”
― Emma Lord, When You Get the Chance