“
To us, your power comes from one simple thing: you’re a woman, and we men will do
anything humanly possible to impress you so that, ultimately, we can be with you. You’re the driving force behind why we wake up every day. Men go out and get jobs and hustle to make
money because of women. We drive fancy cars because of women. We dress nice, put on cologne, get haircuts and try to look all shiny and new for you. We do all of this because the more our game is stepped up, the more of you we get. You’re the ultimate prize to us.
”
”
Steve Harvey (Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment)
“
I believe in the sun
even when it is not shining
And I believe in love,
even when there’s no one there.
And I believe in God,
even when He is silent.
I believe through any trial,
there is always a way
But sometimes in this suffering
and hopeless despair
My heart cries for shelter,
to know someone’s there
But a voice rises within me, saying hold on
my child, I’ll give you strength,
I’ll give you hope. Just stay a little while.
I believe in the sun
even when it is not shining
And I believe in love
even when there’s no one there
But I believe in God
even when he is silent
I believe through any trial
there is always a way.
May there someday be sunshine
May there someday be happiness
May there someday be love
May there someday be peace….
”
”
Unknown (written during WW2, on the wall of a cellar, by a Jew in the Cologne concentration camp)
“
Old Money
Blue hydrangea, cold cash, divine,
Cashmere, cologne and white sunshine.
Red racing cars, Sunset and Vine,
The kids were young and pretty.
Where have you been? Where did you go?
Those summer nights seem long ago,
And so is the girl you used to call,
The Queen of New York City.
But if you send for me you know I'll come,
And if you call for me you know I'll run.
I'll run to you, I'll run to you, I'll run, run, run.
I'll come to you, I'll come to you, I'll come, come, come.
Ohh, Ohh.
Ahh, Ahh.
The power of youth is on my mind,
Sunsets, small town, I'm out of time.
Will you still love me when I shine,
From words but not from beauty?
My father's love was always strong,
My mother's glamour lives on and on,
Yet still inside I felt alone,
For reasons unknown to me.
But if you send for me you know I'll come,
And if you call for me you know I'll run.
I'll run to you, I'll run to you, I'll run, run, run.
I'll come to you, I'll come to you, I'll come, come, come.
Ohh, Ohh.
Ahh, Ahh.
And if you call, I'll run, run, run,
If you change your mind, I'll come, come, come.
Ohh, Ohh.
Ahh, Ahh.
Blue hydrangea, cold cash, divine,
Cashmere, cologne and hot sunshine.
Red racing cars, Sunset and Vine,
And we were young and pretty.
”
”
Lana Del Rey
“
No “Dear,” no “Love, Mom.” Just a new toothbrush, new tube of toothpaste, new bottle of cologne. Sometimes, he thought, real love is silent as well as blind.
”
”
Stephen King (The Stand)
“
Complexity looks at simplicity and laughs at it for being too simple. But this is stupidity. Which is more valuable? The drop of pure rose oil or the cologne that mixes that one drop with many other things in order to make it affordable enough? It takes 60,000 roses to make a single ounce of rose oil. In simplicity there is value, there is meaning. Complexity is what happens when value and meaning are watered down. Don’t play games with pure-hearted people; they don’t need your rubbish. And don’t try to water them down so you can afford them.
”
”
C. JoyBell C.
“
The warm bittersweet smell of clean Negro welcomed us as we entered the churchyard-Hearts of Love hairdressing mingled with asafoetida, snuff, Hoyt's Cologne, Brown's Mule, peppermint, and lilac talcum.
”
”
Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird)
“
I take a deep breath, which is meant to clear my head but which only serves to remind me that teen boys, as a group, really need to learn to stop using cologne as a replacement for deodorant. Reason number 2,347,683 why I love being a lesbian.
”
”
Auriane Desombre (I Think I Love You)
“
Often times you may find yourself in a relationship with a guy who looks like he is a mature adult, but then you find out that he’s just a selfish baby underneath that wonderful expensive cologne.
”
”
Osayi Emokpae Lasisi (Because You Deserve Love)
“
Werther identifies himself with the madman, with the footman. As a reader, I can identify myself with Werther. Historically, thousands of subjects have done so, suffering, killing themselves, dressing, perfuming themselves, writing as if they were Werther (songs, poems, candy boxes, belt buckles, fans, colognes a' la Werther). A long chain of equivalences links all the lovers in the world. In the theory of literature, "projection" (of the reader into the character) no longer has any currency: yet it is the appropriate tonality of imaginative readings: reading a love story, it is scarcely adequate to say I project myself; I cling to the image of the lover, shut up with his image in the very enclosure of the book (everyone knows that such stories are read in a state of secession, of retirement, of voluptuous absence: in the toilet).
”
”
Roland Barthes (A Lover's Discourse: Fragments)
“
Brewster Place became especially fond of its colored daughters as they milled like determined spirits among its decay, trying to make it home. Nutmeg arms leaned over windowsills, gnarled ebony legs carried groceries up double flights of steps, and saffron hands strung out wet laundry on backyard lines. Their perspiration mingled with the steam from boiling pots of smoked pork greens, and it curled on the edges of the aroma of vinegar douches and Evening in Paris cologne that drifted through the street where they stood together - hands on hips, straight-backed, round-bellied, high-behinded women who threw their heads back when they laughed and exposed strong teeth and dark gums. They cursed, badgered, worshiped, and shared their men. Their love drove them to fling dishcloths in someone else's kitchen to help him make the rent, or to fling hot lye to help him forget that bitch behind the counter at the five-and-dime. They were hard-edged, soft-centered, brutally demanding, and easily pleased, these women of Brewster Place. They came, they went, grew up, and grew old beyond their years. Like an ebony phoenix, each in her own time and with her own season had a story.
”
”
Gloria Naylor (The Women of Brewster Place)
“
AN INCOMPLETE LIST: THINGS I LOVE ABOUT HRH PRINCE HENRY OF WALES
1. The sound of your laugh when I piss you off.
2. The way you smell underneath your fancy cologne, like clean linens but somehow also fresh grass (what kind of magic is this?)
3. That thing you do where you stick out your chin to try to look tough.
4. How your hands look when you play piano.
5. All he things I understand about myself now because of you.
6. How you think Return of the Jedi is the best Star Wars (wrong) because deep down you're a gigantic, sappy, embarrassing romantic who just wants the happily ever after.
7. Your ability to recite Keats.
8. Your ability to recite Bernadette's "Don't let it drag you down" monologue from Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
9. How hard you try.
10. How hard you've always tried.
11. How determined you are to keep trying.
12. That when your shoulders cover mine, nothing else in the entire stupid world matters.
13. The goddamn issue of Le Monde you brought back to London with you and kept and have on your nightstand (yes, I saw it).
14. The way you look when you first wake up.
15. Your shoulder-to-waist ratio.
16. Your huge, generous, ridiculous, indestructible heart.
17. Your equally huge dick.
18. The face you just made when you read that last one.
19. The way you look when you first wake up (I know I already said this, but I really, really love it).
20. The fact that you loved me all along.
”
”
Red, White & Royal Blue
“
My father wore drugstore cologne. But right now, in this moment, I love this drugstore cologne more than I love the smell of Wimbledon grass or California oranges or the rubber of a freshly popped can of tennis balls. This drugstore cologne is my home.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (Carrie Soto Is Back)
“
We cannot choose the times we live in. Just as, sometimes, we cannot choose whom we love.
”
”
Tobsha Learner (The Witch of Cologne)
“
His chair glides a few inches closer and he's in my face, all shoulders and cologne.
”
”
S.M. Parker (The Girl Who Fell)
“
So…” I start. “I… You wanted me to stop by?” Just so we’re clear, he’s still melting my insides with a single look, and I’m still a babbling idiot who can’t form a sentence. Xavier moves closer to me, a single whiff of his cologne enough to make my knees buckle. “No,” he shocks me by saying. My jaw hangs limply. “I wanted you to come and stay,” he corrects, and a herd of murderous butterflies assault my stomach. “Stay tonight?” He moves closer again. “Forever,” he says unapologetically. I avoid his gaze. “Xav, I—” “Don’t fucking go, Vee.” He cuts to the chase, cupping my face in his hands without a single thought as to the possibility of people seeing us. “I know this is shitty, and complicated, and it’d be easier for you to get on that plane, but… I don’t want easy—fuck easy. I want you. I love you, Vee,” he croaks, pressing his forehead flush to mine. “Just… stay.
”
”
Eliah Greenwood (Dear Love, I Hate You (Easton High, #1))
“
Agnes Shay had the true spirit of a maid. Moistened with dishwater and mild eau de cologne, reared in narrow and sunless bedrooms, in back passages, back stairs, laundries, linen closets, and in those servants' halls that remind one of a prison, her soul had grown docile and bleak...Agnes loved the ceremonies of a big house. She drew the curtains in the living room at dark, lighted the candles on the table, and struck the dinner chimes like an eager altar boy. On fine evenings, when she sat on the back porch between the garbage pails and the woodbins, she liked to recall the faces of all the cooks she had known. It made her life seem rich.
”
”
John Cheever (The Stories of John Cheever)
“
A lovely deep timber sound that zips from his powerfully strong chest and enters my bones to reverberate through me. Turning in his arms without breaking the connection, I lay my forehead on his chest and inhale him, whatever cologne he selected today, he smells so good.
You know those men who get second glances in the street when he walks by because he smells like heaven dipped in chocolate and the scent of him makes women a little stupid for a few seconds and gives them crazy thoughts about following a strange man home? That’s my Grayson.
It’s a wonder my sugar D has any skin left because most every second of the day I want to claw into him like a diabolical savage.
”
”
V. Theia (Manhattan Heart (From Manhattan #5))
“
stopping to look at him sprawled out on the mattress, my brilliant, long-legged man with the rumpled hair and remarkable eyes, my comrade, my fuck-buddy, my wisecracking, true-blue companion for the long road ahead, and because I hated to leave him without saying good-bye, I would mist up the air above his body with half a dozen small blasts of my lily-of-the-valley eau de cologne so that a part of me would still be there with him when he opened his eyes.
”
”
Paul Auster (Baumgartner)
“
Dear Mr. Future Crush,
Right now you are frustratingly just a figment of my imagination, something I daydream about in times of loneliness or boredom.
Before going to sleep I idly wonder what you’re going to be like, however that’s like trying to imagine a new colour.
So instead you take the form of a happy song, the smell of a cologne, the hero in a novel.
You’re a collage of all my happy moments and a sense of comfort during the sad ones.
It’s silly I know – even though we’ve never met I can’t help but feel a strange sense of longing and hope.
All I know is that whoever you are, you’re going to be amazing.
(Perhaps one day) yours,
___________
P.S. You better like pizza.
”
”
Will Darbyshire (This Modern Love)
“
Whoever’s behind me is wearing the kind of cologne that pisses you off when the face doesn’t match the scent.
”
”
Trilina Pucci (Knot So Lucky (Destination Love, #1))
“
My very first kiss... was wrapped in cologne. It tasted like an aphrodisiac. I always hated guys who wore cologne... but I loved... that one scent to death.
”
”
Ai Yazawa (Paradise Kiss)
“
He was close enough that I caught a note of his cologne--- cedar and black tea and, faintly, the subtle scent of a well-loved paperback. Familiar and yearning. It was mystifying.
”
”
Ashley Poston (A Novel Love Story)
“
He was close enough that I caught a note of his cologne—cedar and black tea and, faintly, the subtle scent of a well-loved paperback. Familiar and yearning.
”
”
Ashley Poston (A Novel Love Story)
“
Smelling the hint of his cologne. Hearing his voice speak her name. It was like reopening a cut you thought already healed and pouring salt directly into it.
”
”
Nicole Douglas (Afraid to Fall)
“
I think the nature of faith is love an love of the goodness in man.
”
”
Tobsha Learner (The Witch of Cologne)
“
used a cologne called Zizanie and Neutrogena face soap; even today, those scents make me think of him. We would often sit on his bed and read for hours.
”
”
Ginger Alden (Elvis and Ginger: Elvis Presley's Fiancée and Last Love Finally Tells Her Story)
“
It occurred to me that it didn't matter if we never made it to Cologne, because hoping about life, however briefly, with another person is enough
”
”
Adrian Duncan (Love Notes from a German Building Site)
“
Ironically, in life, you sacrifice everything you love in the name of love"~ the motto of the romance novel Cupcakes and Cologne.
”
”
Doina Moulin
“
I make my own cologne. It’s called “Sweat,” and it’s hard work making it. But I can tell people love it, because they’re so envious and jealous when I wear it that they avoid me altogether.
”
”
Jarod Kintz (This Book Title is Invisible)
“
Children, awkward, isolate, their bodies crammed to bursting with caffein and sugar and pop music and cologne and perfume and hairgel and pimple cream and growth hormone-treated hamburger meat and premature sex drives and costly, fleeting, violent sublimations. It's all part of the conspiracy . . . all of it trying to convince them that they're here to be trained for lives of adventure and glamor and heroism, when in fact they're here only to be trained for more of the same, for lives of plunking in the quarters, paying a premium for the never-ending series of shabby fantasies to come, the whole lifelong laser light show of glamorous degradation and habitual novelty and fun-loving murder and global isolation.
”
”
Alex Shakar (The Savage Girl)
“
Finally, he smiled, and although his smile was bumpy because some of his teeth were jagged and broken, it was a warming, infectious smile that was reflected in his eyes. It made her smile widely in return. She felt as if the room had been lit up. He held out his arms, and she went across the room to him, almost running. She buried her face in his shirt, her nose wrinkling up as the scent of his cologne mixed with the nutty, sourish smell of camphor that filled the room. He put his arms around her, but gently, so that there was space between his forearms and her back, holding her as if she was to fragile to hug properly. Awkwardly, he patted her light, bushy aureole of dark brown hair, repeating: "Good girl. Fine daughter.
”
”
Helen Oyeyemi (The Icarus Girl)
“
What a good morning it was. Tyler stood before her, six-plus feet of denim-clad hotness. A woodsy scent wafted toward her, and she inhaled deeply, loving the smell of his cologne. The man was gorgeous, and he was hers for the next twenty-four hours.
”
”
Rachel Harris (Accidentally Married on Purpose (Love and Games, #3))
“
One month. Thirty days. I could bury myself in my art and forget the feel of his lips sliding across mine. I could forget the scent of his cologne, the way my body reacted when he touched me.
I sighed. Thirty days suddenly seemed like an eternity.
”
”
E.M. Denning (Boomerang)
“
She inhaled him – the smell of his cologne, his shampoo, the scent she recognised as uniquely Adam. She felt him – the strong, steady thump of his heartbeat under her hand as it lay on his chest. And God, she tasted him – he tasted of coffee and desire.
”
”
Dorothy Ewels (Love At Last)
“
He chuckled and brought his face closer to mine, almost close enough that it was hard to focus on his features, the smell of his cologne from this close was something expensive and delicious. “Or you’ll what, Kacea? Kick my ass like you did when we were kids? I dare you to try, sweetling. I’m not the chubby simpleton I was then.” He dragged his thumb across my lower lip and his dark gaze followed it. “I’ve learned a lot of things since then. And I’d love to share them with you…” ~ Alain Reece & Kacea Meade (Lunacy, Ragnarok Legacy #1)
”
”
R.A. Sears
“
If you're going to jump, at least give me time to compose a ballad in your honor," said Nikolai. I turned to see him striding onto the terrace, blond hair shining. He'd thrown on an elegant greatcoat of army drab, marked with the golden double eagle. "Something with lots of sad fiddle and a verse devoted to your love of herring."
"If I wait, I may have to hear you sing it."
"I happen to have a more than passable baritone. And what's the rush? Is it my cologne?"
"You don't wear cologne."
"I have such a naturally delightful scent that it seems like overkill. But if you have a penchant for it, I'll start."
I wrinkled my nose. "No, thank you."
"I shall obey you in all things. Especially after that demonstration," he said with a nod to the lopped-off mountain. "Anytime you want me to take off my hat, please just ask.
”
”
Leigh Bardugo (Ruin and Rising (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy, #3))
“
Dude, what're you waiting for?" Carlos calls. "Plant one on her."
I lift my eyes and am shocked to see Brandon is staring at my mouth. He swallows audibly and flicks his gaze to mine. the emotions darkening the soft green color are too confusing to name.
Does he want to back out?
An exhale of breath leaves Brandon's lips, almost like a laugh, and he scoots closer to me on the blanket. I twist my legs under myself, sitting tall as I face him. He cups my chin and tilts it toward him, drowning me in the now dark-green depths of his eyes, the cologne I gave him for his birthday filling my head. It's woodsy and yummy and I always loved how it smelled on the store testers, but on Brandon, it's even sexier. My eyes flutter closed, and I inhale again, this time slowly. Goose bumps prickle my arms, and my head gets fuzzy.
Brandon slides his hand down the column of my neck and brings the other up, threading his fingers through the hair at my nape. His breath fans across my cheek, and everything south of my bellybutton squeezes tight.
When his mouth first meets mine, it's hesitant, questioning. But as I move my lips with his, he quickly grows bolder, coaxing them apart.
Desire, pure and raw, electrifies my veins as his tongue sweeps my mouth. A whimpering sound springs from my chest, and instinctively, I wrap my arms around his neck, tugging him closer. Needing more. My teeth graze his full bottom lip, and I pull it, sucking on it gently.
He moans and knots his fingers in my hair, and a thrill dances down my back.
Brandon is an amazing kisser, just as I knew he would be. I have no control over my body's reactions. I lose myself in his lips, his tongue, and his strong arms, forgetting time and space and even my surroundings...
”
”
Rachel Harris (The Fine Art of Pretending (The Fine Art of Pretending, #1))
“
For all their weirdness, I LOVE the penis people. I don't understand them. I can't imagine I'll ever learn their language of grunting and scratching, but I'm going to try. If I have to devote my life to learning, I will do it. I can't explain the compulsion that is me thinking about Stephen now. Or just watching a boy walk by and wondering what is going on inside his head. To have him want to play with my hair and take me exciting places. To touch his amazingly fabulous butt and not be arrested for assault.
Don't they have a distinct smell? When do they start producing that spicy, manly, different-from-me scent? I don't mean the sweaty, take-a-shower odor, but the yummy soap and a hint of cologne. The kind of scent that makes me want to inhale in their general vicinity just because I can.
I get fluttery and gooey and cease to function at higher levels. Like I shut down except for feeling things; like the hot rays of Stephen's manliness and the solid rock of femur and muscle under his denim cargo pants.
”
”
Amber Kizer (One Butt Cheek at a Time (Gert Garibaldi's Rants and Raves, #1))
“
My dad has always had this same smell - a smell I've been fond of my entire life. I always assumed it was his natural scent. Until one day as a teenager, I wandered into the fragrance section of the pharmacy and smelled English Leather.
I'm embarrassed to say that, for a second, it mystified me - how could a drugstore bottle know what my father smelled of? And then I realized the answer was much more mundane. My father wore drugstore cologne.
But right now, in this moment, I love this drugstore cologne more than I love the smell of Wimbledon grass or California oranges or the rubber of a freshly popped can of tennis balls. This drugstore cologne is my home.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (Carrie Soto Is Back)
“
What are you doing?” I ask, astonished.
“It’s called a hug, Toy.” He says it with gentle mockery.
He’s hugging me to make me feel better.
His arms tighten around me, and I melt into him before I can stop myself. His body is so strong, his grip so firm. I rest my head on his shoulder and close my eyes and breathe in his warm, masculine scent, the faint whiff of cologne and sweat and male musk. Then I circle his waist with my hands and hug him back.
I hug my kidnapper.
I hug my torturer.
I just want to feel better about everything, I want to leave my nightmare behind even if it’s just for a few moments of make-believe, so I pretend that he’s none of those things. I keep my eyes closed tight and pretend that he’s my boyfriend, my lover, my protector. And in a way he is. I have no doubt that if anyone tried to harm me, Joshua would kill them or die trying. He’s the only man in my life. The only man who’s ever given me an orgasm. When we have sex now, it feels like making love, and he always, always makes sure that I come first.
Why couldn’t he have been like this when he first took me? I think I’d have been in love with him by now.
He begins stroking my hair, gently, fingers trailing through the tresses.
“This isn’t so bad,” he murmurs, and I’m not sure if he’s talking to himself or me. And a little bit of me melts. This is probably the first time he’s ever hugged anyone, and, heart-breakingly, the first time he’s ever been hugged. Several minutes slide by, slowly, sweetly
”
”
Ginger Talbot (Tamara, Taken (Blue Eyed Monsters #1))
“
What touched our hearts that day was the way she noticed the slightest agreeable sensation: it was as though, at the age of seventy eight, she were waking afresh to the miracle of living. While the nurse was settling her pillows the metal of a tube touched her thigh—“It’s cool! How pleasant!” She breathed in the smell of eau de Cologne and talcum powder—“How good it smells”…She asked us to raise the curtain that was covering the window and she looked at the golden leaves of the trees. “How lovely. I shouldn’t see that from my flat!” She smiled. And both of us, my sister and I, had the same thought: it was that same smile that had dazzled us when we were little children, the radiant smile of a young woman. Where had it been between then and now?
”
”
Simone de Beauvoir
“
Cassandra, I can't marry you and go about business as usual the next day. Newlyweds need privacy."
He had a point. But he looked so disgruntled, Cassandra couldn't resist teasing. With a glance of wide-eyed innocence, she asked, "What for?"
Tom appeared increasingly flustered as he tried to come up with an explanation.
Cassandra waited, gnawing on the inside of her lips.
Tom's face changed as he saw the dance of laughter in her eyes. "I'll show you what for," he said, and lunged for her.
Cassandra fled with a shriek, skirting nimbly around the table, but he was as fast as a leopard. After snatching her up with ease, he deposited her on the settee, and pounced. She giggled and twisted as the amorous male weight of him lowered over her.
The scent of him was clean but salted with sweat, a touch of bay rum cologne sharpened with body warmth. His face was right above hers, a few locks of dark hair tumbling on his forehead. Grinning at her efforts to dislodge him, he braced his forearms on either side of her head.
She'd never played with a man like this, and it was incredibly entertaining and fun, and the tiniest bit scary in a way that excited her. Her giggles collapsed slowly, like champagne froth, and she wriggled as if to twist away from him even though she had no intention of doing so. He countered by settling more heavily into the cradle of her hips, pressing her into the cushions. Even through the mass of her skirts, she felt an unfamiliar pressure of his arousal. The thick ridge fit perfectly against the juncture of her thighs, aligning intimately with her in a way that was both embarrassing and stirring.
A stab of desire went through her as she realized this was how it would be... the anchoring weight of him, all hard muscle and heat... his eyes heavy-lidded and hot as he stared down at her.
Dazedly she reached up and pulled his head to hers. A whimper of pleasure escaped her as he kissed her thoroughly, wringing sensation from her softness, licking deep.
”
”
Lisa Kleypas (Chasing Cassandra (The Ravenels, #6))
“
To this day when I inhale a light scent of Wrangler—its sweet sharpness—or the stronger, darker scent of Musk, I return to those hours and it ceases to be just cologne that I take in but the very scent of age, of youth at its most beautiful peak. It bears the memory of possibility, of unknown forests, unchartered territories, and a heart light and skipping, hell-bent as the captain of any of the three ships, determined at all costs to prevail to the new world. Turning back was no option. Whatever the gales, whatever the emaciation, whatever the casualty to self, onward I kept my course. My heart felt the magnetism of its own compass guiding me on—its direction constant and sure. There was no other way through. I feel it again as once it had been, before it was broken-in; its strength and resolute ardency. The years of solitude were nothing compared to what lay ahead. In sailing for the horizon that part of my life had been sealed up, a gentle eddy, a trough of gentle waves diminishing further, receding away. Whatever loneliness and
pain went with the years between the ages of 14 and 20, was closed, irretrievable—I was already cast in form and direction in a certain course.
When I open the little bottle of eau de toilette five hundred different days unfold within me, conversations so strained, breaking slowly, so painstakingly, to a comfortable place. A place so warm and inviting after the years of silence and introspect, of hiding.
A place in the sun that would burn me alive before I let it cast a shadow on me. Until that time I had not known, I had not been conscious of my loneliness. Yes, I had been taciturn in school, alone, I had set myself apart when others tried to engage. But though I was alone, I had not felt the pangs of loneliness. It had not burdened or tormented as such when I first felt the clear tang of its opposite in the form of another’s company. Of Regn’s company. We came, each in our own way, in our own need—listening, wanting, tentatively, as though we came upon each other from the side in spite of having seen each other head on for two years. It was a gradual advance, much again like a vessel waiting for its sails to catch wind, grasping hold of the ropes and learning much too quickly, all at once, how to move in a certain direction. There was no practicing. It was everything and all—for the first and last time. Everything had to be right, whether it was or not. The waters were beautiful, the work harder than anything in my life, but the very glimpse of any tempest of defeat was never in my line of vision. I’d never failed at anything. And though this may sound quite an exaggeration, I tell you earnestly, it is true. Everything to this point I’d ever set my mind to, I’d achieved. But this wasn’t about conquering some land, nor had any of my other desires ever been about proving something. It just had to be—I could not break, could not turn or retract once I’d committed myself to my course. You cannot force a clock to run backwards when it is made to persevere always, and ever, forward. Had I not been so young I’d never have had the courage to love her.
”
”
Wheston Chancellor Grove (Who Has Known Heights)
“
You got to be rich to go mucking around in Africa.
For all her chic thinness, she had an almost breakfast-cereal air of health, a soap and lemon cleanness, a rough pink darkening in the cheeks.
I want to still be me when I wake up one fine morning and have breakfast at Tiffany's.
I don't want to own anything until I know I've found the place where me and my things belong together.
It's tacky to wear diamonds before you're forty; and even that's risky. They only look right on the really old girls. Wrinkles and bones, white hair and diamonds.
He's been put together with care, his brown hair and bullfighter's figure had an exactness, a perfection, like an apple, an orange, something nature has made just right. Added to this, as decoration, were an English suite and a brisk cologne and what is still more unlatin, a bashful manner.
Anyone who ever gave you confidence, you owe them a lot.
Never love a wild thing. You can't give your heart to a wild thing: the more you do, the stronger they get. Until they are strong enough to run into the woods.
Brazil was beastly but Buenos Aires the best. Not Tiffany, but almost.
”
”
Truman Capote (Breakfast at Tiffany's)
“
POEM – MY AMAZING
TRAVELS
[My composition in my book Travel Memoirs with Pictures]
My very first trip I still cannot believe
Was planned and executed with such great ease.
My father, an Inspector of Schools, was such a strict man,
He gave in to my wishes when I told him of the plan.
I got my first long vacation while working as a banker
One of my co-workers wanted a travelling partner.
She visited my father and discussed the matter
Arrangements were made without any flutter.
We travelled to New York, Toronto, London, and Germany,
In each of those places, there was somebody,
To guide and protect us and to take us wonderful places,
It was a dream come true at our young ages.
We even visited Holland, which was across the Border.
To drive across from Germany was quite in order.
Memories of great times continue to linger,
I thank God for an understanding father.
That trip in 1968 was the beginning of much more,
I visited many countries afterward I am still in awe.
Barbados, Tobago, St. Maarten, and Buffalo,
Cirencester in the United Kingdom, Miami, and Orlando.
I was accompanied by my husband on many trips.
Sisters, nieces, children, grandchildren, and friends, travelled with me a bit.
Puerto Rico, Los Angeles, New York, and Hialeah,
Curacao, Caracas, Margarita, Virginia, and Anguilla.
We sailed aboard the Creole Queen
On the Mississippi in New Orleans
We traversed the Rockies in Colorado
And walked the streets in Cozumel, Mexico.
We were thrilled to visit the Vatican in Rome,
The Trevi Fountain and the Colosseum.
To explore the countryside in Florence,
And to sail on a Gondola in Venice.
My fridge is decorated with magnets
Souvenirs of all my visits
London, Madrid, Bahamas, Coco Cay, Barcelona.
And the Leaning Tower of Pisa
How can I forget the Spanish Steps in Rome?
Stratford upon Avon, where Shakespeare was born.
CN Tower in Toronto so very high
I thought the elevator would take me to the sky.
Then there was El Poble and Toledo
Noted for Spanish Gold
We travelled on the Euro star.
The scenery was beautiful to behold!
I must not omit Cartagena in Columbia,
Anaheim, Las Vegas, and Catalina,
Key West, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, and Pembroke Pines,
Places I love to lime.
Of course, I would like to make special mention,
Of two exciting cruises with Royal Caribbean.
Majesty of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas
Two ships which grace the Seas.
Last but not least and best of all
We visited Paris in the fall.
Cologne, Dusseldorf, and Berlin
Amazing places, which made my head, spin.
Copyright@BrendaMohammed
”
”
Brenda C. Mohammed (Travel Memoirs with Pictures)
“
I have an-odd ability-to read very quickly.”
“Oh,” Elizabeth replied, “how lucky you are. I never heard of a talent like that.”
A lazy glamorous smile swept across his face, and he squeezed her hand. “It’s not nearly as uncommon as your eyes,” he said.
Elizabeth thought it must be a great deal more uncommon, but she wasn’t completely certain and she let it pass. The following day, that discovery was completely eclipsed by another one. At Ian’s insistence, she’d spread the books from Havenhurst across his desk in order to go over the quarter’s accounts, and as the morning wore on, the long columns of figures she’d been adding and multiplying began to blur together and transpose themselves in her mind-due in part, she thought with a weary smile, to the fact that her husband had kept her awake half the night making love to her. For the third time, she added the same long columns of expenditures, and for the third time, she came up with a different sum. So frustrated was she that she didn’t realize Ian had come into the room, until he leaned over her from behind and put his hands on the desk on either side of her own. “Problems?” he asked, kissing the top of her head.
“Yes,” she said, glancing at the clock and realizing that the business acquaintances he was expecting would be there momentarily. As she explained her problem to him, she started shoving loose papers into the books, hurriedly trying to reassemble everything and clear his desk. “For the last forty-five minutes, I’ve been adding the same four columns, so that I could divide them by eighteen servants, multiply that by forty servants which we now have there, times four quarters. Once I know that, I can forecast the real cost of food and supplies with the increased staff. I’ve gotten three different answers to those miserable columns, and I haven’t even tried the rest of the calculations. Tomorrow I’ll have to start all over again,” she finished irritably, “and it takes forever just to get all this laid out and organized.” She reached out to close the book and shove her calculations into it, but Ian stopped her.
“Which columns are they?” he asked calmly, his surprised gaze studying the genuine ire on her face.
“Those long ones down the left-hand side. It doesn’t matter, I’ll fight it out tomorrow,” she said. She shoved the chair back, dropped two sheets of paper, and bent over to pick them up. They’d slid beneath the kneehole of the desk, and in growing disgust Elizabeth crawled underneath to get them. Above her, Ian said, “$364.”
“Pardon?” she asked when she reemerged, clutching the errant sheets of paper.
He was writing it down on a scrap of paper. “$364.”
“Do not make light of my wanting to know the figures,” she warned him with an exasperated smile. “Besides,” she continued, leaning up and pressing an apologetic kiss on his cheek, loving the tangy scent of his cologne, “I usually enjoy the bookwork. I’m simply a little short of sleep today, because,” she whispered, “my husband kept me awake half the night.”
“Elizabeth,” he began hesitantly, “there’s something I-“ Then he shook his head and changed his mind, and since Shipley was already standing in the doorway to announce the arrival of his business acquaintances, Elizabeth thought no more of it.
Until the next morning.
”
”
Judith McNaught (Almost Heaven (Sequels, #3))
“
He doesn't know how lucky he is that I didn't come sooner to obliterate him until he was chunks of meat ground into the floor. It's only because I'm the bigger man and carry actual respect for pack hierarchy. You don't deserve disrespect, not when you're one of the most caring, intelligent, brave Omegas in the pack."
He reached out tentatively to touch my cheek where tears had dampened it. His fingers were warm against my skin, sending shivers down my spine.
"If he does a damn thing…Aria, I won't let him touch you again. We'll figure it out, okay? This isn't permanent."
Without thinking about it, I leaned into him, seeking solace in his strength. He pulled me up to my feet, straightening me as I wobbled a bit. Unable to meet his concerned gaze, I swore under my breath.
"Ugh, I'm a mess. I'm sorry. I just need a second."
"Shh, it's no problem. You take your time. Don't worry about it or me."
He wrapped his arms around me gently, pulling me close until we were chest-to-chest. I numbly wrapped my arms around his slightly squishy waist and nuzzled into him. The scent of his cologne wafted up, mingling with the earthy undertones of his natural musk. Each breath seemed like coming home.
His scent was intoxicating, making my head spin with safety, comfort, joy. My nose filled with him.
I had smelled him a million times, this was nothing new.
But now? Something inside me unclenched, while at the same time, my cells twisted with a new emotion.
Something deeper, darker, primal. An urge that unlocked inside me, twisting a sense of familiarity into something so much more.
From hot tears to a cellular connection that quaked all the way down to the tips of my toes.
My fingers spasmed around him. My mouth both dry and salivating as the same time.
Was I losing my mind? Had I finally hit a mental breakdown?
”
”
Rarity Rush (Knot A Typical Love Story)
“
She feels good. That, and the scent of his cologne works like magic on her. Something about him reminds her of the ocean. A little cold and dark sometimes, but with moments of shining brilliance, hidden treasures and vibrant life hidden somewhere deep below.
She wants to dive straight in.
”
”
Katrina Kwan (Knives, Seasoning, & A Dash of Love)
“
Though his lips didn't touch my ear, I felt them there like a hot stroke to my skin. I nearly shivered when his voice rumbled out in a dark whisper. "Thank you, Emma, for saving me from my masculine pride."
I couldn't have hidden my answering smile if I'd tried; it fell over me like sunshine, warming me from the crests of my cheeks to the tips of my tingling toes. "You're welcome, Lucian."
He grunted---oh, how I loved the way this man grunted---and then took the driver's seat.
We didn't speak as he pulled out, but he turned the radio back on and appeared relaxed behind the wheel. I swore I caught a hint of vanilla emanating from him. Not the cakey sweetness of a scented candle but the dark floral note of true vanilla. I couldn't imagine a guy like Lucian splashing on cologne, but it was so enticing I was tempted to lean in and give him a sniff.
”
”
Kristen Callihan (Make It Sweet)
“
I won’t admit to how long I’d spent at the Nordstrom’s make-up counter, sniffing cologne after cologne until I found his scent.
”
”
Crystal Liechty (First: Get Caught: A Stalker's Guide to Love (Pruitt Prep #1))