“
I would be a horrible girlfriend at this point in my life, because I’m both needy and unavailable.
”
”
Lena Dunham (Not That Kind of Girl: A young woman tells you what she's "learned")
“
When I'm single, I'm this fabulous, independent, confident woman, and then I get involved with one disastrous man after another and I turn into this needy, insecure, fearful girl who becomes frightened of her own shadow.
”
”
Jane Green (Dune Road)
“
Daddy," she says again, this time putting more of a needy whine into her voice. It is the thing that has swayed him, these times when he has come near to turning on her: remembering that she is his little girl. Reminding him that he has been, up to today, a good father.
It is a manipulation. Something of her is warped out of true by this moment, and from now on all her acts of affection toward her father will be calculated, performative. Her childhood dies, for all intents and purposes. But that is better than all of her dying, she knows.
”
”
N.K. Jemisin (The Obelisk Gate (The Broken Earth, #2))
“
Trust God with your love life, and buckle up for the ride!
”
”
Paula Hendricks (Confessions of a Boy-Crazy Girl: On Her Journey From Neediness to Freedom (True Woman))
“
What was it about needy girls? Jules wondered. They felt like they had the right to be needy, because they knew that other people would be interested in—although annoyed at—their needs. … They got all the attention. Boys turned their focus toward them, and messy situations results.
”
”
Meg Wolitzer (The Interestings)
“
I’d fallen in love with Melanie Tucker.
Not some little-boy, bullshit needy “love”… This was deep, almost painful in its unholy intensity. It was like she’d sent tendrils burrowing deep inside, binding us together so tightly I’d die if I ever tried to pull them out.
I was truly, deeply, and utterly fucked, because I fucking loved this girl…and she wasn’t for me.
”
”
Joanna Wylde (Reaper's Fall (Reapers MC, #5))
“
The PUAs have a name for this: They call it one-itis. It’s a disease AFCs get: They become obsessed with a girl they’re neither dating nor sleeping with, and then start acting so needy and nervous around her that they end up driving her away. The cure for one-itis, PUAs like to say, is to go out and have sex with a dozen other girls—and then see if this flower is still so special.
”
”
Neil Strauss (The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists)
“
So if you think you’re dangerous, I’m a wrecking ball. I’m a loose cannon. A wildfire. I can burn houses down. I can burn cities down too. So don’t ever make the mistake of trying to kiss me again. Because I don’t want a needy girl clinging to me and you don’t want a guy giving you your first lesson in heartbreak.
”
”
Saffron A. Kent (My Darling Arrow (St. Mary’s Rebels, #1))
“
I don’t want a man. I don’t have time for a man. They’re needy, clingy, and never keep their promises.” Mack whistled. “Damn, girl. Who hurt you?” “The patriarchy,” she deadpanned.
”
”
Lyssa Kay Adams (Undercover Bromance (Bromance Book Club, #2))
“
Guys are like dogs—they can always tell when you’re needy.
”
”
Ally Carter (Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (Gallagher Girls, #2))
“
I am disappointed. Violette knows how I feel about smart girls turning into needy sex objects for dumb boys.
”
”
Melina Marchetta (Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil)
“
Everyone loves the single girl. She is the adorable needy human equivalent of a stray pet others want to domesticate.
”
”
Betsy Israel (Bachelor Girl: The Secret History of Single Women in the Twentieth Century)
“
God is more interested in securing my forever happiness than my temporary happiness.
”
”
Paula Hendricks (Confessions of a Boy-Crazy Girl: On Her Journey From Neediness to Freedom (True Woman))
“
provides American business with the only reliable domestic market in the world.
Schools train individuals to respond as a mass. Boys and girls are drilled in being bored, frightened, envious, emotionally needy, generally incomplete. A successful mass production economy requires such a clientele. A small business, small farm economy like that of the Amish requires individual competence, thoughtfulness, compassion, and universal participation; our own requires a managed mass of leveled, spiritless, anxious, familyless, friendless, godless, and obedient people who believe the difference between Cheers and Seinfeld is a subject worth arguing about.
”
”
John Taylor Gatto (The Underground History of American Education: An Intimate Investigation Into the Prison of Modern Schooling)
“
The opulent cars, driving by maniac males on the boulevard,
A needy girl impetrating down on the roadway,
Desperate humans, varied lifestyle, fallacious feelings.
Everything ends in ones death!
”
”
Jyoti Patel (Sensation of a Soul)
“
Such a good girl,” he praises me, and I can’t help but roll my hips, trying to get off on his teasing. “I can feel your pretty little pussy gripping onto my finger like the needy little thing you are. I like you like this, Holly,” he says, slipping his finger free of me. “Whimpering and desperate for me.
”
”
Dana Isaly (Dipped in Holly (Nick and Holly, #1))
“
Tonight, though, he could not help seeing his mother as a spiritual sister to the beautiful, needy and depressive girl who had broken apart on a frozen road, and to the plain, homeless outsider now lying in the chilly morgue. Leda, Lula and Rochelle had not been women like Lucy, or his Aunt Joan; they had not taken every reasonable precaution against violence or chance; they had not tethered themselves to life with mortgages and voluntary work, safe husbands and clean-faced dependants: their deathsm therefore, were not classed as "tragic", in the same way as those of staid and respectable housewives.
How easy it was to capitalise on a person's own bent for self-destruction; how simple to nudge them into non-being, then to stand back and shrug and agree tnat it had been the inevitable result of a chaotic, catastrophic life.
”
”
Robert Galbraith (The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike, #1))
“
What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, her post-orgasmic lassitude evaporating quickly as she struggled. Sean moved quickly and efficiently, thwarting every one of her attempts to free herself. Apparently he’d had some training, too. “I’m going to fuck you, Nicki,” he told her huskily. The pure heat in his glowing blue eyes made her squirm. No man had ever looked at her like that before – like he worshipped her. “I’ve made you come once by my hand and twice by my mouth. Guess how many times I’m going to make you come with my cock, baby?” “Three?” She tried to sound sarcastic, but her voice came out far too needy to be believable. “That’s right, baby. A fucking trifecta. And then, if you’re a good girl, I might let you rest a little before I do it all over again.
”
”
Abbie Zanders (Seeking Vengeance (Callaghan Brothers, #4))
“
Boy craziness is really just girl neediness.
”
”
Paula Hendricks
“
Girls will often set aside their own wishes to help a needy friend.
”
”
Lisa Damour (Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood)
“
I get needy I need more than any person should need anything
”
”
Bett Williams (Girl Walking Backwards)
“
She was disappointed in herself for being the typical girl. She never wants to be that girl. That girl…is an emotional wreck. That girl…was an excuse for men who cheat and lose respect for women. That girl…is weak and needy. Troy was better than That Girl! Troy was stronger than That Girl.
”
”
Iesha S. Walker (Seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer & Fall…A Girl’s Got to Have Them All)
“
So what are you thinking?" I asked.
I meant about the case, obviously, but Cassie was in a giddy mood--she generates more energy than most people, and she'd been sitting indoors most of the day.
"Will you listen to him? A woman asking a guy what he's thinking is the ultimate crime, she's clingy and needy and he runs a mile, but when it's the other--"
"Behave yourself," I said, pulling her hood over her face.
"Help! I'm being oppressed!" she yelled through it. "Call the Equality Commission." The stroller girl gave us a sour look.
"You're overexcited," I told Cassie. "Calm down or I'll take you home with no ice cream.
”
”
Tana French (In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad, #1))
“
For a young woman today, developing femininity successfully requires meeting three basic demands. The first of these is that she must defer to others, the second that she must anticipate and meet the needs of others, and the third, that she must seek self-definition through connection with another. The consequences of these requirements frequently mean that in denying themselves, women are unable to develop an authentic sense of their needs or a feeling of entitlement for their desires. Preoccupied with others' experience and unfamiliar with their own needs, women come to depend on the approval of those to whom they give. The imperative of affiliation, the culture demand that a woman must define herself through association with another, means that many aspects of self are under-developed, producing insecurity and a shaky sense of self. Under the competent carer who gives to the world lives a hungry, deprived and needy little girl who is unsure and ashamed of her desires and wants.
”
”
Susie Orbach (Hunger Strike: Starving Amidst Plenty)
“
She realizes her neediness simply comes from her natural instincts that have been programmed to “get a man and make babies” (even though she might be 40 or 60 and babies are the last thing on her rational mind). She knows this is just her primitive programming, and she surpasses that. She would love to be in a great relationship but not
”
”
Brian Keephimattracted (F*CK Him! - Nice Girls Always Finish Single)
“
I remained Ryan’s companion on the Hollywood party circuit, growing inured to sex and drugs before I was in my teens. A needy little girl, still haunted by neglect, I clung to him and even to the women in his life: Bianca Jagger, Angelica Huston, Melanie Griffith, and many more.
However, the more love I craved, the more distant and abusive he grew, emotionally and physically. The role I longed to play was never written into Ryan’s script: father.
”
”
Tatum O'Neal (A Paper Life)
“
But crooked pornographers have been lurking online for years searching out profiles and preying on unsuspecting sexualized females. Pretending to be teenage boys or male admirers posting flattering words like, “you’re the most beautiful girl” or “you’re so hot,” emotionally needy sexually aware teenage girls quickly fall into their trap. A few compliments later and a nice sized financial offer, we find ourselves standing in the middle of a porn agent’s office being talked out of “nude modeling” and into anal sex.
”
”
Shelley Lubben (Truth Behind the Fantasy of Porn)
“
As Elsie showered, she realized she had learned something. She was attracted to the kind of man Denver was. He drove fast and was dangerous and handsome but, she reflected, he was also, in his own way, needy. If he wasn’t showing off to a pretty girl, it was Elsie’s guess he was fairly miserable. Elsie was happy she didn’t have to put up with such a man all the way to Florida. Homer, despite all his many flaws—mostly, she had to concede, having to do with his good character—well, he would do just fine for that chore.
”
”
Homer Hickam (Carrying Albert Home)
“
women are socially conditioned to believe that they need a man in their life pretty much as soon as they become adults, whereas men are programmed to sow their wild oats and spread their options. Unfortunately while he’s terrified of missing out, his friends all drop off the radar and settle down, and after a while he becomes the odd one out, clinging to his bachelorhood and claiming that he hasn’t met the ‘right’ woman yet and that they’re all ‘psychos’ or ‘too needy’. At some point he’ll likely have a midlife crisis and panic himself into his version of commitment to some poor woman who thinks she’s hit the jackpot.
”
”
Natalie Lue (Mr Unavailable & The Fallback Girl)
“
I was hoping Betsy Nash would disappear. Literally. She was so insubstantial, I could imagine her slowly evaporating, leaving only a sticky spot on the edge of the sofa. But she lingered, eyes darting between me and her husband before we even began speaking. Like she was winding up for the conversation. The children, too, hovered about, little blonde ghosts trapped in a limbo between indolence and stupidity. The pretty girl might do all right. But the piggy middle child, who now waddled dazedly into the room, was destined for needy sex and snack-cake bingeing. The boy was the type who’d end up drinking in gas-station parking lots. The kind of angry, bored kid I saw on my way into town.
”
”
Gillian Flynn (Sharp Objects)
“
a cute girl. And her body… I take the hand suffering from exposure and it’s still very cold. I touch her cheek with the back of my other hand and it’s warm. She leans into that like she’s starving for a gentle gesture. It makes me close my eyes for a minute. She’s so needy. It would be easy to just take care of that need. Instead, I kick off my boots and take my shirt off, then place her hand under my armpit. She tries to pull away but I hold her still and smile. “It’s a nice warm place, Syd. You have to heat up this hand. I’m pretty sure it’s gonna blister no matter what, but it needs to be warmed up.” “It’s gross,” she says. “I can do it—” “No,” I tell her back, sitting down on the bed and pulling on her at the same time, so she can’t remove it. “I’ll do it.” I scoot all the way back on the half-moon-shaped bed, which takes up roughly one half of the circular room, making her crawl along with me. Her tits are nice and firm, and hang down and bounce a little in a very alluring way. I keep pulling her until she’s sitting next to me, her frozen hand slipping out of place. So I put my arm around her and place her hand under my opposite arm, making her hug me a little. She stiffens when I do this and that makes me laugh a little. “You afraid of intimacy, Sydney? Tough girl like you?” “You’re tricking me somehow, I can feel it.” But even as she says this, she rests her head on my chest. “Probably. If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I don’t give anything away for free. So now that I’m taking care of your mistake out there, let’s talk about that deal. I went above and beyond. I didn’t let you freeze, I came out of my nice warm house to save your ass. So the way I see it, you owe me. Start
”
”
J.A. Huss (Meet Me in the Dark)
“
Umar said: “One day when we were sitting with the Messenger of God there came unto us a man whose clothes were of exceeding whiteness and whose hair was of exceeding blackness, nor were there any signs of travel upon him, although none of us knew him. He sat down knee unto knee opposite the Prophet, upon whose thighs he placed the palms of his hands, saying: “O Muhammad, tell me what is the surrender (islam)’. The Messenger of God answered him saying: ‘The surrender is to testify that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is God’s Messenger, to perform the prayer, bestow the alms, fast Ramadan and make, if thou canst, the pilgrimage to the Holy House.’ He said: ‘Thou hast spoken truly,’ and we were amazed that having questioned him he should corroborate him. Then he said: ‘Tell me what is faith (iman).’ He answered: ‘To believe in God and His Angels and His Books and His Messengers and the Last Day, and to believe that no good or evil cometh but by His Providence.’ ‘Thou hast spoken truly,’ he said, and then: ‘Tell me what is excellence (ihsan).’ He answered: ‘To worship God as if thou sawest Him, for if thou seest Him not, yet seeth He thee.’ ‘Thou hast spoken truly,’ he said, and then: ‘Tell me of the Hour.’ He answered: ‘The questioned thereof knoweth no better than the questioner.’ He said: ‘Then tell me of its signs.’ He answered: ‘That the slave-girl shall give birth to her mistress; and that those who were but barefoot naked needy herdsmen shall build buildings ever higher and higher.’ Then the stranger went away, and I stayed a while after he had gone; and the Prophet said to me: ‘O ‘Umar, knowest thou the questioner, who he was?’ I said: ‘God and His Messenger know best.’ He said: ‘It was Gabriel. He came unto you to teach you your religion.
”
”
Martin Lings (Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources)
“
He sweeps his fingers over her folds, teasing her entrance.
"So nice and wet for me," he hums. "I'm going to make you feel so fucking good, sweetheart. Would you like that? Want me to fill you up?"
Eden shivers, electricity arcing from nerve to nerve. "Y-yes. Yes, Shang, I do."
He rubs the head of his cock against her clit, torturously teasing. "I don't know. What do good girls say if they want my cock?"
"Please," Eden shouts. "Please, I want---"
"Use your words. Come on, sweetheart. I know you can do it."
"I want your cock in me," she whines. "Fuck me like you own me---"
A loud moan rips itself from her throat as Shang presses into her. Splits her open.
Stretched her to the fullest.
It feels so good, it's almost blinding. All she can focus on is the way he thrusts in and out of her, makes her take his full length just to pull back and do it all over again. The sound of wet skin on skin drives her up the wall, but nothing makes her lose it quite like the way Shang grunts with each snap of his hips.
Feral. An animal. A man on a mission.
"'Like you own me,'" he growls. "You really know how to drive me fucking crazy, Eden."
"Shang---"
"What is it, sweetheart? Don't tell me I'm too much for you."
"No, never. I want---"
"What? You want what? You close already?"
Eden both loves and hates the pride in his voice. "Cocky bastard," she murmurs, too dizzy to see straight.
He grins. "Yep, that's me. This cocky bastard owns you and your tight little pussy. Look how well you take me, sweetheart. Like you were made for me."
"Fuck---" It's a whine. It's a whimper. It's desperate and choked off and needy.
He grips her waist and fucks her hard against the shower wall. "You sound so fucking hot, Eden. Come on. Take it. Fucking take it."
Her back arches as she climaxes, drags her nails across his back, waves of pleasure washing over her so hard and fast, she thinks she might collapse.
Shang doesn't let her, though. He holds her steady through her orgasm, still pumping his cock into her in pursuit of his own pleasure.
”
”
Katrina Kwan (Knives, Seasoning, & A Dash of Love)
“
He doesn’t take his gaze from her, but it looks less lascivious and more…needy. Do you think… His hands stop moving. “What? Spit it out already,” I prompt. Never mind. “What were you about to say?” I ask, turning to face him completely. “Ask it. I won’t be able to sleep tonight unless I get to hear what’s going in that head of yours,” I tease. I was just wondering… He looks toward Reagan again. Do you think there will ever be a girl that looks at me like she looks at you? I glance toward the lifeguard stand. “How does she look at me?” I ask. Like she wants to jump your bones. He laughs. But I can tell this is serious to him. More serious than he wants me to know. I tap his leg with my foot to get his attention. “That’s not the question you should be asking yourself, doofus.” I’m in a chair, Mr. Mentor Man. You think it’s a good idea to call me a doofus? You might affect my self-esteem. I roll my eyes. “If you had any ego problems, I’d already know it.” Forget I asked, he says. He looks everywhere but at me. “There’s a lid for every pot, Karl. Some fit better than others, but there’s one made just for you. You should be asking yourself if she’s good enough for you. Every single time. Don’t ask yourself if you’re good enough for her because when you find the right fit, you won’t doubt it.” He grins. I think he likes that answer. And I mean it. So you think she exists? I nod. “I think she’s just waiting to find you. So don’t fuck it up by being a smart-ass.” He points to himself. Me? Never!
”
”
Tammy Falkner (Calmly, Carefully, Completely (The Reed Brothers, #3))
“
Behind the Fan by Author Caroline Walken
Dottie stared at the flat white ceiling the tears subside replaced by a soft smile. All and all she has had a good life, not everyone was lucky enough to love that deeply. She remembered a time where she would catch him watching her. Nicky always looked at her with those dark, needy eyes, drinking her in. Dottie felt both exhilarated and alarmed by the emotion he evoked in her. She still recalls that first soft kiss, and then much later in the relationship, how good it felt entwined with him as dawn broke. In the beginning, it was a challenge to keep her head whenever he was near. Handsome and tall with an ornery twinkle in those soft brown eyes at all times. He was dangerous, and nothing she needed but everything she wanted. Dark hair, tall and broad-shouldered...the man was sin on earth to her. The old woman laid her head back; although weary, she resisted sleep having found comfort in her memories. Her mind tossed back his words, those that gave her solace in those early days after he passed. She expected them to fade over time until she no longer heard his voice within her. Instead, as she grew weaker, his words became stronger within her. Dottie wondered if anyone would believe their story and she regretted not having written it down before now. She feared her weary mind would never fully recall everything. It was a story of strength, one of love and partnership. Her girls could benefit from hearing it. Dottie turned to glance at her reflection; it was now deep in the night the city beyond her window slept. The woman in the glass bore silver hair and was thin, her eyes a watered version of their brilliance. Like her memory, she too had faded. She wondered if her family would see whom she had been or would they remain blinded by the frail being she had become. She had one more go left in her but after this; she was done. She had to make the most of this.
To the unadorned walls she promised, “I am nearly ready Nicky, soon darling, very soon.
”
”
Caroline Walken (Behind the Fan)
“
A clever, pretty girl with nice manners, but her willingness to meet him the very night following their first introduction, and that night a Saturday to boot, hinted at recklessness, or perhaps neediness.
”
”
Robert Galbraith (The Silkworm (Cormoran Strike, #2))
“
little girls baked and learned to dust furniture, and this pleased everyone—briefly. When I was needy, shy, worried, deeply sensitive, too skinny or, later, overweight—in other words, most me—not so much.
”
”
Anne Lamott (Almost Everything: Notes on Hope)
“
Now our father lived in a world where we didn’t belong, with a needy girlfriend who didn’t look much older than Henri, a saltwater pool in need of daily skimming, and a flashy Porsche that needed to be raced around the roads of wine country.
Fortunately, we didn’t need him either—that’s what Henri said.
”
”
Jessica Taylor (A Map for Wrecked Girls)
“
Sometimes I think I’m too proud, too self-protective, but then I see other girls making idiots of themselves over boys and I change my mind. I’d rather be too proud than make a laughingstock of myself. I think of how my mum acted when my dad left her for the awful Sif: no matter how upset Mum was, she never threw scenes, never begged him to stay. Maybe she lavished too much attention on me after he went, kept me a little too close, but I really admired how she behaved through the separation and divorce. Dad admired her too, I know. I’ve never been prouder of her. And I want to be like her. I won’t chase after a man; I won’t seem desperate or needy. I’ll be as cool as my mum.
”
”
Lauren Henderson (Flirting in Italian (Flirting in Italian #1))
“
Awful things, children. Needy, self-centered tyrants, the boys all teeth and firsts, the girls all claws and spit. Gathering into sniveling packs and sniffing out vulnerabilities — and woe to the child not cunning enough to hide their own — the others would close in like the grubby shark they were. Great pastime, savaging someone.
”
”
Steven Erikson (The Bonehunters (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #6))
“
They walked off together into the night. There was something ghostly about the misery that pushed its way into districts where some remnants of well-being still remained and where night life was provided for foreigners. Between the exhibition of neediness in the streets and the routine of the night clubs there was no bridge. The music of the entertainment business drowned out the whistles of the rescue cars, picking up people collapsing from starvation in front of doors behind which bands played for pleasure-seeking foreigners and for native Viennese who wrung a profit out of misery.
Martha Monica was frightened. But the Italian reassured her. “Don't think of bad people today. Rather think of me,” he said in his amusing accent.
Why were these people bad? the girl wanted to know.
Santa Madonna!
They were just people who made capital out of their infirmities, so she learned. Besides, some of these infirmities were not even real, but simulated. Would she bet him that that fellow over there in a tattered infantry uniform was artificially producing that chronic trembling in his limbs?
With the unfathomable readiness of human nature to insult the misery of others in order to lull its own conscience, the smooth-speaking Italian piled proof on proof. In its abundance it sounded plausible, and besides, Martha Monica had no possible way of checking it. Foreigners always knew better than the residents.
”
”
Ernst Lothar (The Vienna Melody)
“
Hundreds of thousands of Korean girls and women were captured and used as sex slaves for needy Japanese imperial troops.
”
”
Jonas Jonasson (The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared)
“
She told me what classes she liked, and what nonsense the rich sorority girls were up to, so needy of attention they would pretend it was too hot and take off their jewelry in class.
”
”
Barbara Kingsolver (Demon Copperhead)
“
always considered it a limiting life. A life of dependency and neediness. I didn’t want to need anyone but myself. I didn’t want to count on anyone but me. As I looked up at the man before me, however, I knew needing him and depending on him would never limit me—it would only set me free. With James I would fly with wings constructed of trust and dreams for the future, on a breeze of laughter and shared declarations of love. Love that I believed in. Love that I returned.
”
”
Noelle Salazar (The Flight Girls)
Kia Carrington-Russell (Virtuous Vows (Lethal Vows, #2))
“
Constant smiling is a needy act that makes a girl think you’re faking, weird, or high on drugs.
”
”
Roosh V. (Day Bang: How To Casually Pick Up Girls During The Day)
“
The clothes were humble, but conveyed—inversely—an aura of status. “Chanel is master of her art and her art resides in jersey,” declared Vogue. Chanel had found a way to charge duchesses a fortune for the privilege of dressing in materials worn by their servants—the ultimate revenge for this nécessiteuse—this once “needy girl” from the provincial orphanage.
”
”
Rhonda K. Garelick (Mademoiselle: Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History)
“
Wriggling out of his grasp she braced herself on his shoulders and tried to stand. Next thing she knew, he had her around the legs and took her down to the mattress in some sort of super-fast ninja move. She screamed and laughed, and he was laughing every bit as hard as he came down on top of her. And, oh God, his laughter was a sweet and sexy rumble that lit her up inside.
“You fight dirty, Easy,” she said around her chuckles.
“I haven’t had this much fun in so long.”
She caressed his face with her fingers. “Me neither. Between overloading on classes and my epilepsy, I often feel like a little old lady trapped in the body of a twenty-year-old. All I need is some cats.”
“Cats are awesome,” he said. “When I was a kid, I used to sneak stray cats into the house, just for a night or two. I’d keep them in my room and bring up bowls of milk and cans of tuna for them.”
“Aw, you were a sweet little boy, weren’t you?” she asked, loving how he was opening up to her. The closeness, the sharing, the way his big body was lying on her legs and hips, leading him to prop his head up on her lower stomach—both her heart and her body reacted.
“Maybe for about five minutes.” He winked. “Mostly, I was a hell-raiser. Growing up, we didn’t live in the best neighborhood. Drug dealers on the corner, gang activity trying to pull in even the younger kids, crack house one block over. All that. Trouble wasn’t hard to find.” He shrugged. “Army straightened me out, though.”
“Well, we lived in a nice neighborhood growing up and here my father was the freaking drug dealer on the corner. Or close enough, anyway.” Jenna stared at the ceiling and shook her head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get serious.”
His thumb stroked along her side, sliding the cotton of her borrowed shirt against her skin in a way that almost tickled. “Don’t apologize. Our histories are what they are, you know?”
She nodded and gave him a little smile. “Yeah.”
Shifting off her, Easy stretched out alongside her and propped his head up on his arm. “I’m thirty, Jenna,” he said out of nowhere.
And he was telling her this because? He thought their age difference was too great? He thought she was too young? He was worried she would think he was too old? Probably D) all of the above. Thing was, all she saw when she looked at Easy was a guy she really freaking liked. One who’d saved her life, helped make her sister safe, and gave her a sense of security she hadn’t felt in years. He was hot as hell, easy to talk to, and one of the kindest guys she’d ever known. Maybe some of that was because he was older. Who knew?
“And I need to know this because?” she asked, resting her head on her arm.
The muscles of his shoulders lifted into a shrug, but his face was contemplative. “Because there’s clearly something going on between us.”
Heat rushed across her body. She held up a hand, and he laced his fingers between hers. “When I look at you, I don’t see a bunch of differences, Easy.”
“What do you see then?”
Warmth flooded into Jenna’s cheeks, and she chuckled. He’d said that she was beautiful, after all, so why couldn’t she give him a compliment in return? “A really hot guy I’d like to get to know more.”
A smug smile slipped onto his face, and she might’ve rolled her eyes if it weren’t so damn sexy. “Really hot, huh?”
“Well, kinda hot, anyway.”
“Nuh-uh,” he said, tugging her hand to his chest. “Can’t take it back now.”
Cheeks burning and big smile threatening, she rolled onto her side to face him.
They lay there, side by side, her chest almost touching his, looking at each other. Tension and desire and anticipation crackled in the space between them, making it hard to breathe.
“What do you see when you look at me?” she whispered, half-afraid to ask but even more curious to hear what he’d say. Did he mostly see someone who was too young for him? Or a needy girl he had to save and babysit?
”
”
Laura Kaye (Hard to Hold on To (Hard Ink, #2.5))
“
Recovery is a resumption of the work that was not completed when the woman was a girl. It is a coming into her own. It is an opportunity to resume the normal process of development that was sidetracked, perhaps first by constrained roles, perhaps by trauma, and then multiplied many times by hiding in the addiction. Her development was sidetracked by not accepting her needs as legitimate and not finding healthy ways to meet them, by not even knowing her needs. And so this is what recovery is: a developmental process of finding and building a new self. Recovery is a process of radical growth and change. When you are in recovery, you give birth to a new self. [...] Many women initially think that recovery means a move from bad to good. They think that being addicted is evidence of shameful neediness, of deep and lasting failures. Recovery is not a move from bad to good, but from false to real. [...] It is reality, being real, that now guides her rather than her efforts to be good or bad.
”
”
Stephanie Brown
“
Recovery is a resumption of the work that was not completed when the woman was a girl. It is a coming into her own. It is an opportunity to resume the normal process of development that was sidetracked, perhaps first by constrained roles, perhaps by trauma, and then multiplied many times by hiding in the addiction. Her development was sidetracked by not accepting her needs as legitimate and not finding healthy ways to meet them, by not even knowing her needs. And so this is what recovery is: a developmental process of finding and building a new self. Recovery is a process of radical growth and change. When you are in recovery, you give birth to a new self. [...] Many women initially think that recovery means a move from bad to good. They think that being addicted is evidence of shameful neediness, of deep and lasting failures. Recovery is not a move from bad to good, but from false to real. [...] It is reality, being real, that now guides her rather than her efforts to be good or bad.
”
”
Stephanie Brown, Yvonne Pearson
“
I guess there’s nothing else to say.” “Oh, I don’t know about that,” he said, crooking a finger. “Come here.” Her throat went dry, and her heart gave a thud. On instinct, she shook her head. His expression turned ruthlessly intent. “Maddie, I’ve been thinking about that mouth of yours for almost twenty-four hours straight. You don’t think I’m going to let you go without touching you, do you?” Had it only been one day? How was that even possible? It seemed as though a lifetime had passed since she’d run out on her wedding. “Um . . .” She swallowed hard and squeaked out, “Yes?” A long pause filled with sexual awareness so thick it practically coated the air. How did he do it, flip the mood? Only moments ago, she’d felt bereft, but with one wicked glance she’d forgotten everything dogging her. “I’ll tell you what.” He smiled, and it was so filled with cunning that the fine hairs on her neck rose in anticipation. “Tell me you won’t regret it and we can end things right here with a friendly pat on the back.” “I-I d-don’t know what you mean,” she lied, loving and hating the direction the conversation had taken. “Do I need to spell it out?” “No?” The word was a question instead of the statement she’d intended. “You want to take care of yourself, right?” She nodded, sensing a trap but unable to stop playing into his hands. He leaned close, placing his elbow on the console, taking up every spare inch of breathing room. “You’re ready to ditch the good Catholic girl and start doing what you want?” The strange mixture of lust and irritation he evoked pulled in her stomach. “Well, when you put it that way.” The curve of his lips held a distinct sexual tilt. “If you get out of this car untouched, tell me you won’t lie in bed late at night and regret it. Tell me you won’t wonder and wish you’d done things differently.” Her pulse hammered and her throat dried up, leaving her unable to breathe, let alone speak. He stroked a path over the line of her jaw, and Maddie forced her eyes to stay open instead of fluttering closed from sheer desire. Why did it feel like an eternity since he’d touched her? Even more troubling, why did his hands feel so right? The slightly rough pads of his fingers trailed down the curve of her neck, leaving an explosion of tingles coursing through her. “And remember, Princess,” he said, in a deep rumble of a voice that vibrated through her as though he were her own personal tuning fork. “Lying is a sin.” She gasped, sucking in the last available bit of air left in the car. “That’s a low blow.” He gave a seductive laugh, filled with heat and promise and the kind of raw passion she’d always dreamed about. “I’m not above playing dirty.” A sly smirk as he rubbed a lazy circle over skin she hadn’t known was sensitive. “In fact, I think you prefer it that way.” “I do not!” Her heart beating far too fast, she clutched at the credit card hard enough to snap it in two. “Liar.” He slipped under the collar of her T-shirt to wrap a possessive hand around the nape of her neck. “I’m waiting.” She gritted her teeth to keep from moaning. How did one man feel so good? Hot and sinful. Irresistible. She whispered, “For what?” “My answer,” he said, inching closer. Their mouths mere inches away. She swallowed hard. The truth sat on the tip of her tongue, and for once in her life, she decided to speak it instead of stuffing it back down. “I’d regret it.” “Exactly,” he said, the word a soft breath against her skin. The pad of his thumb brushed over her bottom lip, sliding over the dampness until it felt swollen. Needy. “I can’t live with myself unless I’ve tasted this mouth.” This
”
”
Jennifer Dawson (Take a Chance on Me (Something New, #1))
“
We were quiet for a minute. I wanted him to continue. “Although sexually I swing both ways, I prefer males to females. I can relate to a male companion more easily. I have a girlfriend in Manila, but she is naive and very needy. I like the Oasis School because I get to have practical carnal training with some of the females from the girl's school. They are in the same situation as we are; they have been taught how to please men sexually.
”
”
Young (Initiation (A Harem Boy's Saga Book 1))
“
Persistence - This is another way to relieve her of any responsibility for what is happening. Of course, don't confuse persistence with begging, arguing, or being pushy, needy, or creepy. All it means is don't give up too easily. Girls may test you to find out how easily you throw in the towel—they want to gauge your self-confidence. Just assume that she is giving a little token resistance, and continue. If she didn't resist at least a little bit, she would feel like a slut—and that's not going to happen. And if you can't take her crap, how in the world are you going to protect her from other people's crap?
This can be tricky—an overly aggressive man might misinterpret all resistance as being merely token and could eventually find himself facing a rape charge. However, a man who isn't persistence enough will acquiesce every time a women resists, when in may cases she was secretly hoping he could be a little more forceful.
”
”
Mystery (The Mystery Method: How to Get Beautiful Women Into Bed)
“
A question I sometimes ask myself is, Will saying this or doing this or dressing this way distract guys from Jesus?
”
”
Paula Hendricks (Confessions of a Boy-Crazy Girl: On Her Journey From Neediness to Freedom (True Woman))
“
You really are a beautiful girl.” I yank on her hair, despite the gentle praise. “Needy and desperate. Good thing you have us.” “More,” she moans, her voice hoarse from the deep throat fucking. “Soon, greedy girl.” Only once I see she’s okay do I return to Carter. “And you. Turn around on all fours, and come on top of her. Lick her pussy. Make her come again.
”
”
Eva Marks (Voltage)
“
I knew you’d be a screamer. Mild-mannered doctor, but a noisy, needy girl in bed.
”
”
C.C. Gedling (Steel Protection (Steel Ventures #2))
“
I’m going to fuck you rough and hard, baby girl until your womb is filled with my seed. Until it’s close enough to take root in your fertile body. I’m going to destroy your needy little pussy and make sure you can’t walk tomorrow.
”
”
Jade Swallow (Breeding the Babysitter (Forbidden Daddies))
“
I didn’t look like the good, respectable girl I’d been raised to be. I looked wanton and needy and ravished beyond comprehension.
”
”
Ana Huang (King of Wrath (Kings of Sin, #1))
“
What spurred this on?” Shrugging, she says, “That needy bitch was annoying me. Then I remembered when you said you thought about me in your classroom, and I couldn’t resist.
”
”
E.M. Moore (Pretty Secrets (Pretty Little Dead Girl, #1))
“
Such a good girl,” he praises me, and I can’t help but roll my hips, trying to get off on his teasing. “I can feel your pretty little pussy gripping onto my finger like the needy little thing you are. I like you like this, Holly,” he says, slipping his finger free of me. “Whimpering and desperate for me.” I
”
”
Dana Isaly (Dipped in Holly (Nick and Holly, #1))
“
I’m not trying to “Kumbaya” you. My daughters are teenagers, man. Sydni is in perpetual eye-roll mode and Taelor is a typical college student; she’ll call for advice or to ask for money or to share a joke—only, of course, not as often as her needy Dad wishes she would. Teenage girls are a whole ’nother thing. They get angry with me, annoyed, embarrassed. Friends tell me they’ll come around. Teenage girls always come around to their dad eventually. But that well-meaning advice strikes to the heart of my fear. I don’t have “eventually.” The truth is, I’m not as afraid of dying as I am of not being here for my daughters’ aha moment. I’m on the clock and I want to be here when they get it—when they get what I got about my dad: that all the stuff he did that ticked me off? He did that for me.
”
”
Stuart Scott (Every Day I Fight)
“
Jack ignored him. He called out an encouragement to his girls, trotting on their ponies. He felt Cliff shifting beside him. Silence was how Jack dealt with needy, desperate clients. No one had taught him that; he had always known it was the smoothest way to get the result you wanted, particularly when dealing with volatile, emotional people.
”
”
Poppy Gee (Vanishing Falls)
“
Then let me live with you. In the pink house.” Edith’s voice trembles and she hates herself for being so weak, so vulnerable, so needy. She’s never needed anyone her whole life. It’s as though their roles have been reversed.
”
”
Alice Feeney (Good Bad Girl)
“
No, he only fed off me. That's why he was so hard to fight; he's fueled by whatever is in my blood. But his bite had, uh, side effects."
Ryker grunted, knowing full well what I was talking about. A frustrated sigh escaped me as I tilted my head back, willing the cool air to take some of this heat from me.
"Do you need help taking care of it?" Ryker asked. His tone was surprisingly serious, no playful hints or innuendos marring his offer. I must have had a puzzled look on my face, because he elaborated. "I'm not going to fuck you tonight, Dani. When I take you, it's going to be because you begged me for it, not because another man forced this on you."
My lips parted as I stared at Ryker. If he'd wanted to cool me down, his words had the opposite effect. Now all I could picture was finding out just what he kept under that worn pair of jeans. Preferably, I'd be back in a black cotton dress and not Mina's club-wear, and there wouldn't be a vampire after me. But the picture Ryker just painted? I wanted that.
My thighs pressed together. I could feel the wetness on my skin. "Fucking hell," I groaned out, gritting my teeth. "No, Ryker. I'd rather let it wear off with time. I'm not going to get off on something Apollo started."
The glint in Ryker's eyes was filled with hungry appreciation. Satisfaction was dripping in his voice as he reached out and cupped my chin. "Good girl; I can promise your efforts to wait will be well rewarded."
Another needy sound keened from my throat. "Bastard.
”
”
Sabrina Blackburry (Dirty Lying Dragons (The Enchanted Fates, #2))
“
Stop teasing me."
His voice was low, needy.
"Or what?" she challenged boldly.
"Or you're going to be the first girl I've ever bent over this motorcycle."
-- Page 88
”
”
Cassidy Hudspeth (Red Summer)
“
The corner
She sat there crouched in a corner,
Her will was broken and nothing in her looked stronger,
There were no signs of smiles or moments of joy,
Around her an army of misfortunes time did deploy,
So she lay there tied to her weariness,
And her eyes revealed a deep emptiness,
She had a benighted existence,
And in her, sadness sought its own permanence,
Many passed by her side,
But all were busy dealing with their life’s own tide,
A few turned and noticed her wretched state,
But nobody wanted to uplift her spirits and mend her fate,
She resided in a place that is neither hell nor paradise,
Because in her state even soul refuses to rise,
So she hangs between nowhere and nothing,
Between everything and something,
Between the Hell that is there and yet it is not anywhere,
Between the Paradise that is there but actually nowhere,
And her grief deepened every moment,
And with every passing day she got cast into hopelessness’s basement,
Now she lies there trapped and feelingless,
Dealing with the life that is lifeless,
Today when I saw her and her stock of misfortunes,
I could hear her heart’s sad tunes,
I stood there frozen in the moment,
As she slipped deeper into despondency’s basement,
And by the time I reached out my hand,
There was the corner, an endless pile of misfortunes, and my empty hand,
The basement had consumed her and everything related to her,
It was an empty corner with nothing to offer and nothing to incur,
But a realisation that how often we all fail,
To sympathise with someone needy and frail,
I too extended my hand but it was too late,
And now for a lifetime I am caught in a debate,
Where the guilt shall push all heedless passers by in the same basement,
To clash with their own conscience and the girl’s every sentiment!
”
”
Javid Ahmad Tak (They Loved in 2075!)
“
Ghislaine Maxwell was the classic contradiction in terms: insecure and needy but overpowering and in your face. A girl with both an inferiority and a god complex. She was a bit like a Labrador; the more someone kicked her the more she loved them.
”
”
Susannah Constantine (Ready For Absolutely Nothing)
“
In Blaming Mode, you might say, “We broke up because I was angry with him for letting me down and not turning up. Maybe if I hadn’t been so upset, we’d still be together.” In Accountability Mode, you’d instead say, “We did break up when I expressed how upset I was about him disappointing me by failing to turn up, however, it was a culmination of repeated poor behaviour. The truth is, if I’m willing to be with someone who hasn’t actually properly left his wife, is inconsistent, disappears, calls me ‘needy’, and continuously devalues me with his behaviour, I’m contributing by setting the status quo and accepting it. I need to look at why I’m willing to accept this behaviour and the first thing I recognise is that I end up in relationships like this because I don’t believe I’m good enough.” That, ladies, is acknowledgement and accountability.
”
”
Natalie Lue (Mr Unavailable & The Fallback Girl)
“
On further reflection, I realized that I often become my own worst enemy, constantly signing myself up for combat duty when I really want to stay home, pet my cat, and read a book. Or, I harm myself when I truly want to see a friend, but make no time for it because I am too busy meeting the real or imagined needs of others. This story of being a rescuer comes from a long time ago, when I was a needy little girl who could only feel safe if I reassured myself that I was helpful. I don’t judge that little girl. Her story was, I still believe, quite close to reality.
”
”
Mary Pipher (Women Rowing North: Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing As We Age)
“
When I was a graduate student, I read an article by Peter Singer arguing that citizens of prosperous countries should direct most of their money toward helping the truly needy. Singer argued that choosing to spend our money on luxuries like fancy clothing and expensive meals is really no different from seeing a girl drowning in a shallow lake and doing nothing because you don’t want to ruin your expensive shoes by wading in to save her. I was moved by this argument and would repeat the analogy to my friends, often when we were in bars and restaurants, and it suddenly occurred to me that we were engaged in the moral equivalent of killing children.
”
”
Paul Bloom (Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion)
“
A Wife of Noble Character 10[*]Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies. 11 Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life. 12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. 13 She finds wool and flax and busily spins it. 14 She is like a merchant’s ship, bringing her food from afar. 15 She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day’s work for her servant girls. 16 She goes to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard. 17 She is energetic and strong, a hard worker. 18 She makes sure her dealings are profitable; her lamp burns late into the night. 19 Her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber. 20 She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy. 21 She has no fear of winter for her household, for everyone has warm[*] clothes. 22 She makes her own bedspreads. She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns. 23 Her husband is well known at the city gates, where he sits with the other civic leaders. 24 She makes belted linen garments and sashes to sell to the merchants. 25 She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. 26 When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness. 27 She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness. 28 Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: 29 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!” 30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the LORD will be greatly praised. 31 Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise. Ecclesiastes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
”
”
Anonymous (Holy Bible Text Edition NLT: New Living Translation)
“
You’re a needy boyfriend.” Ian shivered in his office chair, his eyes sliding closed. “You know what that word does to me, dirty girl.
”
”
Fiona Cole (Another (Voyeur, #4))
“
All of us carry around countless bags of dusty old knickknacks dated from childhood: collected resentments, long lists of wounds of greater or lesser significance, glorified memories, absolute certainties that later turn out to be wrong. Humans are emotional pack rats. These bags define us. My baggage made me someone I did not want to be: a cringing girl, a sensitive plant, a needy greedy sort of thing. I began, at an early age, to try to rid myself of my bags. I began to construct a new role. I made a plan. When I was six, I wrote it down with my green calligraphy pen and buried it in the backyard. My plan: To get thin. To be great. To get out.
”
”
Marya Hornbacher
“
Vaughn tells a story about a call girl he once represented who went by the name of Wednesday. “So I asked her why not pick some other day of the week, say, Saturday or Monday? She looks at me like I’m dumb as wood. ‘Isn’t it obvious?’ she says. ‘Wednesday is hump day.’” We all burst out laughing. Vaughn’s punch line opens a valve, unleashing the pressure that’s been building inside of us for the past few months. Susan and I take turns regaling the table with our own tales, and I realize this is what I love about practicing in a firm like ours. It is a truism among lawyers that the practice of law would be great were it not for the clients. And criminal-defense attorneys complain the loudest of all. After all, our clients are not only needy and demanding—they are also, for the most part, criminals. Some are violent criminals, sociopaths, or pathological narcissists. But these are the worst of the lot, and the fewest. Most of our clients don’t find themselves in orange jumpsuits because they harbor a truly malicious nature. They run afoul of the law because their neighborhoods and schools teem with indolence, indifference, and outright criminality. They fail not because they’re unable to adapt to society’s mores, but because they adapt too well to the rules of poverty and violence that govern the world in which they’re raised. Lawyers like me, firms like mine, do our best to guide these men and women through the intestines of the dragon they woke up inside. If they’re lucky, we’ll get them out the other end before too much more damage is done. If we’re lucky, we’ll get paid fairly and enjoy a few laughs along the way—to go with the tears, frustrations,
”
”
William L. Myers Jr. (A Criminal Defense (Philadelphia Legal, #1))
“
Ash, you were my girl for years. But before that, we were friends. The best of friends. I should have never let one snag in the road cause me to turn on you like I did. It was wrong. You took all the blame for something that wasn’t entirely your fault. It was Beau’s and it was mine.”
“Yours? How?”
“I knew Beau loved you. I’d seen the way he looked at you. I also knew you loved him more than you loved me. You two had a secret bond I didn’t get to be a part of. I was jealous. Beau was my cousin and you were the prettiest girl I’d ever seen. I wanted you for myself. So I asked you out, never once going to Beau first. Never once asking him how he felt about it. You accepted, and just like magic I broke up the bond you two shared. You guys never talked anymore. There were no more late-night roof talks and no more bailing y’all out of trouble. Beau was my cousin and you were my girlfriend. It was as if your friendship had never been. I was selfish and ignored the guilt until it went away. Only the times I saw him watching you with that pained, needy expression did the guilt stir in my gut. It was mixed with fear. Fear you’d see that I’d done and go to him. Fear I’d lose you.”
I reached down and ran my hand over his hair. “I loved you, too. I wanted to be good enough for you. I wanted to be the good girl you deserved.”
“Ash, you were perfect just the way you were. I was the one who let you change. I liked the change. It’s one of the many reasons I feared I’d lose you. Deep down I knew one day that free spirit you’d quenched would fight to be released. It happened. And the fact it happened with Beau doesn’t surprise me in the least.”
“I’m sorry, Sawyer. I never meant to hurt you. I made a mess of things. You aren’t going to have to watch Beau and me together. I’m stepping out of both of your lives. You can get back what was lost.”
Sawyer reached up and grabbed my hand. “Don’t do that, Ash. He needs you.”
“No, it’s what he wants too. Today he hardly acknowledged me. He only spoke to me when he was making a point to everyone else that I was to be left alone.”
Sawyer let out a sad laugh. “He won’t last long. He’s never been able to ignore you. Not even when he knew I was watching him. Right now he’s dealing with a lot. And he’s dealing with it alone. Don’t push him away.”
I jumped down from the branch and hugged Sawyer. “Thank you. Your acceptance means the world to me. But right now he needs you. You’re his brother. I’ll just be hindrance to you two dealing with everything.”
Sawyer reached out and twirled a strand of my hair around his finger. “Even if I was wrong to take you without a thought to Beau’s feelings, I can’t make myself regret it. I’ve had three amazing years with you, Ash.”
I didn’t know what to say. I’d had good times too, but I did regret choosing the wrong Vincent boy. He gave me one last sad smile, then dropped my hair and walked away.
”
”
Abbi Glines (The Vincent Boys (The Vincent Boys, #1))
“
The author and relationship coach Mark Manson said, “I always tell men, if every girl you date is unstable and crazy, that’s a reflection of your emotional maturity level. It’s a reflection of your confidence or lack of confidence. It’s a reflection of your neediness.
”
”
Patrick Bet-David (Your Next Five Moves: Master the Art of Business Strategy)
“
They do this with women. Their teachers, their friends’ mothers. Well, you saw it at the restaurant. They sort of throw themselves at them. It breaks my heart because what is it going to look like in ten years with girls their age? All that neediness.
”
”
Lily King (Writers & Lovers)
“
Everybody likes to act like girls are all over-sensitive and needy, but anyone who's ever dated a guy knows exactly how fragile dudes' egos are.
”
”
Andrea Contos (Throwaway Girls)
“
It hurts so much it's causing me to become this helpless, needy, confused girl. I don't blame him for wanting to get away from me, I wish I could get away from me too.
”
”
Ashley Beale (Illusion)
“
Frankly, we hesitate to pile on the data, since even when numbers are persuasive, they are not galvanizing. A growing collection of psychological studies show that statistics have a dulling effect, while it is individual stories that move people to act. In one experiment, research subjects were divided into several group, and each person was asked to donate $5 to alleviate hunger abroad. One group was told the money would go to Rokia, a seven-year-old girl in Mali. Another group was told that the money would go to address malnutrition among 21 million Africans. The third group was told that the donations would go to Roka, as in the first group, but this time her own hunger was presented as part of a background tapestry of global hunger, with some statistics thrown in. People were much more willing to donate to Rokia than to 21 million hungry people, and even a mention of the larger problem made people less inclined to help her. In another experiment, people were asked to donate to a $300,000 fund to fight cancer. One group was told that the money would be used to save the life of one child, while another group was told it would save the lives of eight children. People contributed almost twice as much to save one child as to save eight. Social psychologists argue that all this reflects the way our consciences and ethical systems are based on individual stories and are distinct from the parts of our brain concerned with logical and rationality. Indeed, when subjects in experiments are first asked to solve math problems, thus putting in play the parts of the brain that govern logic, afterward they are less generous to the needy.
”
”
Nicholas D. Kristof
“
I know you’re armed and dangerous, but I’m asking you to stay at Harp House while I’m gone. This is a polite request, not an order.”
He’d tried to take care of her. “You’re such a girl,” she said.
He answered that by leaning back on his heels and glaring at her, every inch of him the embodiment of pissed-off masculinity.
“That was a compliment,” she said. “Sort of. The whole nurturing thing you have going…? As much as I appreciate your watchdog attitude, I’m not one of those needy females you tend to collect.”
He gave her his baddest badass sneer. “That whip idea you had … I’m liking it more and more.”
She wanted to rip off his clothes and devour him right there. Instead, she sniffed, “I’ll stay at Harp House, girlfriend, just to keep you from worrying.
”
”
Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Heroes Are My Weakness)
“
Massachusetts Senior, Claire Kinney is the girl everyone loves to hate in private and hates to love in public. She’s the tall, athletic, perfectly proportioned blonde you don’t make eye contact with at the gym or the halls of Dark Hollow High. You know the one. Long legs, perfect glutes and ample, voluptuous curves in all the right places. She’s the girl who disses you at the water fountain. Not because she’s drinking out of it but because you are; while she sips on S. Pellegrino, kept chilled in the faculty fridge. You wouldn’t think an eighteen-year-old would need a personal assistant. She has two; Charity Pope and Lamar Daly. If this surprises you, you aren’t thinking like a spoiled, needy, pampered, manicured and catered to diva like Claire Kinney. While her daddy, Superintendent Mason Kinney, runs the school district, Claire runs the halls of Dark Hollow High.
”
”
Shaunna Rodriguez (The Quiet Girl (The Coven Book 1))
“
Is my girl feeling needy?” I groan against her skin before sinking my teeth into the swell of her breast. “Fuck, Kaos, please.” “I like it when you beg for me, Princess.” I sink my teeth into her other tit and drag her hips closer. Fuck, she makes me crazy. “On your hands and knees, Camilla.
”
”
Montana Fyre (From the Ashes (Syndicate of the Legion, #3))
“
Baby girl, enough." My voice sounded strained. "I'm not done," Blake teased. He swiped his tongue over my entrance one more time pulling more needy sounds from me.
”
”
Brea Alepoú (End It All (Vitale Brothers, #5))
“
Over years of working with clients in this way, I have noticed that clients’ images of exiles fit the same categories that attachment theorists use with children. That is, some clients see an image of a crying, needy boy or girl who frantically clings to them, much as ambivalently attached children cling to their mothers. Others find an inner child who seems totally distracted, unaware, or ignoring of their presence or angrily pouting and rejecting, like the avoidant children in the experiments.
”
”
Richard C. Schwartz (You Are the One You've Been Waiting For: Applying Internal Family Systems to Intimate Relationships)
“
We were girls. That’s what they called us in their articles and their speeches and their files: bad girls, neurotic girls, needy girls, wayward girls, selfish girls, girls with Electra complexes, girls trying to fill a void, girls who needed attention, girls with pasts, girls from broken homes, girls who needed discipline, girls desperate to fit in, girls in trouble, girls who couldn’t say no.
”
”
Grady Hendrix (Witchcraft for Wayward Girls)
“
What we can know, though, is that by offering young boys and men a window into a nonmilitant, peaceful, loving, caring, friendly, hopeful, vulnerable, needy, well-adjusted, occasionally tearful Jesus—we can offer young, white Christian boys and men a much fuller, healthier, and more accessible vision of masculinity: one that's more reflective of the wide spectrum of masculinity and femininity occupied by both boys and girls.
”
”
Angela Denker (Disciples of White Jesus: The Radicalization of American Boyhood)