"Do I hear a challenge? she whispers, 'Oh, Carlos. You know I can't resist a challenge."

"I have trust issues.'I know. I'm on a mission to cure you of that."

"Fifty percent of all doctors graduate in the bottom half of their class - Hope your surgery went well!"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be a dickhead. Well, I did."

"This is a team of gay dudes, isn't it?'What gave it away? The pink shirts, or half our team drooling over you?"

"And while my mind is telling me I'm flirting with her just to prove a point, my body wants to play 'you show me your perky privates and I'll show you mine."

"Why shouldn't I be introspective? We dont' make sense.''Neither do Chocolate and Peanut Butter, but it somehow works.' He says 'Somehow the mixture of two things is genius."

"Mujer, you own my soul."

"When they're together, the world could fall apart around them and they'd never notice or care as long as they have each other."

"Are you going to dance with me tonight?' I ask.'Hell, yeah.''Colin never wanted to dance with me.''I'm not Colin, querida, and never will be.''Good. I've got you, Alex. I realize it's all I need and I'm ready to share it with the world.'Inside the club, Alex immediately heads for the dance floor with me. I ignore the gawking stares from Fairfield students from my side of town as I pull Alex close to me and we move as one to the beat.We move together as if we've been a couple forever, every movement in sync with each other. For the first time I'm not afraid of what people think of me and Alex together. Next year, in college, it won't matter who came from what side of town."

"When she wraps her arms around my neck, all I want to do is protect this girl for the rest of my life."

"Shelley,' I say. 'You should've let him win. You know, to be polite.' Shelley's response is a shake of her head. Applesauce drips on her chin. 'That's the way it's going to be, huh?' I say, hoping the scene doesn't gross Alex out. Maybe I'm testing him, to see if he can handle a glimpse of my home life. If so, he's passing. 'Wait until Alex leaves. I'll show you who the checkers champion is.'My sister smiles that sweet, crooked smile of hers. It's like a thousand words put into one expression. For a moment I forget Alex is still watching me. It's so weird having him inside my life and my house. He doesn't belong, yet he doesn't seem to mind being here."

"The urge to jump into his arms and feel the warmth of them surrounding me is so powerful, I wonder if it's medically possible to be addicted to another human being."

"She ignores me, so I cup my hands over my mouth and do something I haven't done in years- barnyard sounds."

"Dios mio, I think my brother lost his balls somewhere between here and Mexico. Or maybe Brittany has them zipped inside that fancy purse (of hers)."

"Next time I want to do something nice, slap me."

"You're an asshole.''And you're a bitch,' he says. 'A bitch with a kick-ass smile and eyes that can seriously screw with a guy's head."

"You're stressing too much about what might be. Do something to take your mind off thinking about what might never happen."

"My brain tells me it will be better to just let him go.My heart... not so much."

"I wonder if it's medically possible to be addicted to another human being."

"Sylvia grabs my sleeve. 'He's a looker.'I know. The problem is, he knows it, too."

"Say it again, he says.'That whole drawn-out speech? I remember something about a solar system, but I'm too light-headed to recite the entire thing all over again.He steps closer. 'No. The part about you fallin' for me."

"NO PDA,school rules. And besides she's my partner dickhead.' said Alex."

"You've got a big ego, Fuentes.'That's not all I've got."

"A text pops up on the screen. It's from Luis. I can't help but grin when I read his perfectly thought-out me."

"Thoughts of being a pirate and stealing her away to my ship race across my mind. Although I'm not a pirate, and she's not my captured princess."

"You're not the only one in this relationship who loves achallenge, he says. 'And just so you know for the future, I like my double-chocolate chipcookies warm and soft in the middle . . . and without magnets glued to them."

"What's with all those tattoos? Makes you look like a hooligan.'I suspect I am a hooligan."

"You are the one girl that made me risk eveything for a future worth having."

"Look at me, chica.' When she does, I repeat, 'Eres hermosa.''What does it mean?''You're beautiful."

"Tell me what we had was real, I whisper."

"Consider me your candy stripper... I mean striper."

"The percentage of couples who stay together after high school is, like, less than five percent, you guys."

"Please, amigo. We need you, Kimosabe, O Mighty Powerful One. We need you more than the earth rises in the west.'The sun rises in the east, dickhead.'Only if you're standing on the earth. If you're on the moon, the earth rises in the west."

"You're dangerous, he says.'Why?'Because you make me believe in the impossible."

"Paco Fuentes,' Mrs. Peterson says, pointing to the table behind Mary.The handsome young man with pale blue eyes like his mother's and smoky black hair like his father's takes his assigned seat.Mrs. Peterson regards her new student over the glasses perched on her nose. 'Mr. Fuentes, don't think this class will be a piece of cake because your parents got lucky and developed a medication to halt the progression of Alzheimer's. Your father never did finish my class and he flunked one of my tests, although I have a feeling your mother was the one who should have failed. But that just means I'll expect extra from you."

"The scary part is that people don't realize how much they've changed ."

"Daddy, What's the horizontal tango?"

"I give her the only honest and true answer I have.'You're where I want to be."

"Do you think about making love with me?'I lie awake most nights, fantasizing about sleeping next to her ... loving her. 'Right now, muneca, makin' love to you is the only thing on my mind."

"Sometimes you have to steer away from the crowd in order to be a better person. It's not always easy, that's for sure. But it's right. And sometimes doing the right thing feels good, even if it does end up in a trip to the principal's office."

"I have to protect you, he says softly."

"Normal? I'm not normal enough for you?' Carlos says. 'You want this guy instead? Did you notice his hair doesn't move? That's not normal. You want to date him again, go ahead. Hell, if you want to marry him and be Kiara Barra the rest of your life, be my guest.''That's not want I--''I don't want to hear it. Hasta,' Carlos says, ignoring me and walking away.I feel my face heat in embarrassment as I look at Michael. 'Sorry. Carlos can he abrasive sometimes.''Don't apologize. The guy obviously has major issues and, for the record, my hair moves... when I want it to."

"Personal torture instructorI mean physical therapist."

"Don't try and make me feel better, Alex. I hate you.'I hate you, too."

"But wishes are only granted in fairy tales."

"Girls like you want to cut guy's nuts off and hang 'em from your rearview mirror."

"Shelley, you think she'll take me back?' Alex asks her, his hair dangerously close to her fingers. She doesn't pull his hair . . . just pats his head gently. I feel the tears running down my cheeks at full speed.'Yeah!' Shelley yells with a goofy, gummy grin. She looks happier and more content than she's been in a long time. Both of my favorite people are with me right here; what more could I ask for?"

"Being afraid to take chances is scarier than actually doing things that challenge you."

"I write edgy, sexy teen romances, and that's what I'll continue to do."