“
And if you don’t think I can hold my own against all those eighteenth-century mortals you were out tagging, then you’re a fool, Casanova.” ... “Oh, yes, I know all about you.”
He went still. “What are you talking about?”
“I was alive back then. And all the Lore heard about the ruthless warlord brothers from Estonia. The general, the scholar, the enigma, and . . . the manwhore.
”
”
Kresley Cole (Deep Kiss of Winter (Includes: Immortals After Dark, #7; Alien Huntress, #3.5))
“
We need to tell your brother."
And that would be terrifying. For Jase. But I smiled. "Maybe I'll just update my Facebook to 'in a relationship' and tag you?"
Jase snickered and then dropped another kiss on my forehead. "That should go over well.
”
”
J. Lynn (Be with Me (Wait for You, #2))
“
In your name, the family name is at last because it's the family name that lasts.
”
”
Amit Kalantri (Wealth of Words)
“
Some of us can live without a society but not without a family.
”
”
Amit Kalantri (Wealth of Words)
“
Even though Graham and I went back to arguing and stealing socks and hiding each other's toothbrushes in the litter box, I didn't forget that Graham didn't think I needed a best friend, because either it meant he thought I was cool enough to handle everything alone or—and this was what I hoped—it meant that he was my best friend, quietly, forever, no matter what.
I mean, after all, whose skates had I been wearing?
”
”
Hannah Moskowitz (Zombie Tag)
“
We’ve taken everything from her, brother,” Maven murmurs, drawing close. “Surely we can give her this?”
And then slowly, reluctantly, Cal nods and waves me into his room. Dizzy with excitement, I hurry inside, almost hopping from foot to foot.
I’m going home.
Maven lingers at the door, his smile fading a little when I leave his side. “You’re not coming.” It isn’t a question.
He shakes his head. “You’ll have enough to worry about without me tagging along.”
I don’t have to be a genius to see the truth in his words. But just because he isn’t coming doesn’t mean I will forget what he’s done for me already. Without thinking, I throw my arms around Maven. He doesn’t respond for a second, but slowly lets an arm drop around my shoulders. When I pull back, a silver blush paints his cheeks. I can feel my own blood run hot beneath my skin, pounding in my ears.
”
”
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
“
In united families, they might sleep with half filled stomach but no one sleeps with empty stomach.
”
”
Amit Kalantri (Wealth of Words)
“
Whenever one would see a little filly that caught his eye, he would look at her and simply say one word that would alert the others that she has been claimed and was strictly off-limits to the rest of the McCoys. Stepping closer to the table, he loudly proclaimed, "Tag!"
As soon as the word had left Aron's mouth, the younger men looked up at him in suprise. Issac bit back a snort, and Jacob simply said, "Thank God." Their brother has finally decided to come out of hiding.
”
”
Sable Hunter
“
Starting a business with brother either ends business or ends brotherhood.
”
”
Amit Kalantri
“
You can take the Indian out of the family, but you cannot take the family out of the Indian.
”
”
Amit Kalantri (Wealth of Words)
“
There dwells a life in every star;
With brother spheres it rolls afar
Its self-elected, radiant way.
Still throb within the great earth-ball
The forces which conduct us all
From day to night, from night to day.
- - -
GER:
Das Leben wohnt in jedem Sterne:
Er wandelt mit den andern gerne
Die selbsterwählte reine Bahn;
Im innern Erdenball pulsieren
Die Kräfte, die zur Nacht uns führen
Und wieder zu dem Tag heran.
Zahme Xenien VI.
”
”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Xenien)
“
The almost-35-year-old Terry Schmidt had very nearly nothing left anymore of the delusion that he differed from the great herd of the common run of men, not even in his despair at not making a difference or in the great hunger to have an impact that in his late twenties he'd clung to as evidence that even though he was emerging as sort of a failure the grand ambitions against which he judged himself a failure were somehow exceptional and superior to the common run's - not anymore, since now even the phrase Make A Difference had become a platitude so familiar that it was used as the mnemonic tag in low-budget Ad Council PSAs for Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the United Way, which used Make a Difference in a Child's Life and Making a Difference in Your Community respectively, with B.B./B.S. even acquiring the telephonic equivalent of DIF-FER-ENCE to serve as their Volunteer Hotline number in the metro area.
”
”
David Foster Wallace (Oblivion)
“
Fathers need to take their sons hunting and fishing, work on cars with them, take them to work, coach their teams, take them to ball games, work out with them, take them on business trips, and let them tag along with them when they go out with the guys. All of these activities help boys move successfully into the male world. This process is not just limited to a man's biological sons. Nice Guys can get involved with young relatives, scouts, sports teams, school activities, or big brothers.
”
”
Robert A. Glover (No More Mr. Nice Guy)
“
The next day I picked up my electric guitar and amp at a tag sale. Grandma Dotty loves tag sales, and somehow she managed to bargain with the guy who was selling them, until we paid just three dollars
”
”
James Patterson (My Brother Is a Big, Fat Liar (Middle School #3))
“
You in pain brother”? Big Tag asked with his trademark sarcasm as he was placed in handcuffs. ”You better be happy they’ll take you to a hospital because I swear if I end up with a boyfriend named Juan, I’m going to kill you myself.
”
”
Lexi Blake (Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries, #11))
“
I’ve known Max since high school. He and Rel met at a UCLA summer film workshop: Rel was walking down the hall, singing “The Confrontation” from Les Misérables—“Valjean, at last, we see each other plain”—when, directly behind him, he heard some guy singing the next line of the song—“Monsieur, le Mayor, you wear a different chain.” It was Max. The rest was history. Max became my friend by default; I spent my high school years tagging along after him and my brother.
”
”
Nev Schulman (In Real Life: Love, Lies & Identity in the Digital Age)
“
How did you know the dog was a boy before you read the tag?”
Looking up at him with her cinnamon-colored eyes, she stated very matter-of-factly, “Boys have penises.”
At that moment, Michael was very aware that he, himself, was a boy.
”
”
Marissa Clarke (Neighbors with Benefits (Anderson Brothers, #2))
“
Maybe you should stop tagging," Castor says.
Ajax's face tilts down, his expression echoing a difficult thought. "I can't. Not yet."
"Jax," Pallas begins, like he's gearing up to give his brother a
lecture.
"I will-," Ajax interrupts. "But not just yet. There's one more thing I have to do."
"What's that?" Castor asks.
Ajax smiles. "I promised someone I'd paint the sky.
”
”
Josephine Angelini (Scions (Starcrossed, #4))
“
So once the zookeeper realized it was the monkeys who stole the bananas, he knew there was only one way he'd be able to get them back."
"How?" I whispered. My throat was so sore.
"Don't talk. He had to beat them in shuffleboard, of course."
"What?"
"I said don't talk. Monkeys love shuffleboard."
He used a page from a homework assignment he'd failed and a stack of quarters to make a shuffleboard court. I watched the monkeys and the zookeepers have their showdown while I sipped the last of my applejuice.
"Need more?" Graham asked me without looking up, when my straw skidded against the dry bottom of the box.
"Uh uh."
"You're supposed to drink juice."
"I just drank some."
"More, though."
I shook my head.
"Drink more juice or the monkeys are going to kill you. The only thing they love more than shuffleboard is beating up dehydrated sick boys.
”
”
Hannah Moskowitz (Zombie Tag)
“
He followed me into my fucking bathroom.” Kai turned to his brother. “I’m sorry. You’re going to have to find a new best friend.” Big Tag had a private bathroom. He took that shit seriously. “Do you understand what it means to be the only man in the fucking house? My kids don’t care about privacy. My wife thinks intimacy means I shouldn’t be able to spend an hour alone in the bathroom. I like my personal time, motherfucker. The only time I get it is here. Have you ever had to take a piss with not one but two babies in your arms?
”
”
Lexi Blake (From Sanctum with Love (Masters and Mercenaries, #10))
“
You would have PTSD too if someone took a cattle prod to your dick.” Tag’s eyes widened. “Holy sit, Ten. I take back everything I’ve ever said about you. You’re a motherfucking hero. You were abo to perform after that? Yeah, she tried to be quiet, but that bed squeaks. Seriously, every man alive should salute you. Can I see it?” “No you can’t see it,” Faith shot back. “What is wrong with you?”
“Why are we looking at junk? Has Ten finally come out of the closet?” Sean joined his brother. Tag shook his head. “Nah. Part of his torture was a cattle prod to the cock.” “Whoa,” Sean said. “Can I look?” “Told you.
”
”
Lexi Blake (Master No (Masters and Mercenaries, #9))
“
One day Marlboro Man invited my sister, Betsy, and me to the ranch to work cattle. She was home from college and bored, and Marlboro Man wanted Tim to meet another member of my family.
“Working cattle” is the term used to describe the process of pushing cattle, one by one, through a working chute, during which time they are branded, dehorned, ear tagged, and “doctored” (temperature taken, injections given). The idea is to get all the trauma and mess over with in one fell swoop so the animals can spend their days grazing peacefully in the pasture.
When Betsy and I pulled up and parked, Tim greeted us at the chute and immediately assigned us our duties. He handed my sister a hot shot, which is used to gently zap the animal’s behind to get it to move through the chute.
It’s considered the easy job.
“You’ll be pushing ’em through,” Tim told Betsy. She dutifully took the hot shot, studying the oddly shaped object in her hands.
Next, Tim handed me an eight-inch-long, thick-gauge probe with some kind of electronic device attached. “You’ll be taking their temperature,” Tim informed me.
Easy enough, I thought. But how does this thing fit into its ear? Or does it slide under its arm somehow? Perhaps I insert it under the tongue? Will the cows be okay with this?
Tim showed me to my location--at the hind end of the chute. “You just wait till the steer gets locked in the chute,” Tim directed. “Then you push the stick all the way in and wait till I tell you to take it out.”
Come again? The bottom fell out of my stomach as my sister shot me a worried look, and I suddenly wished I’d eaten something before we came. I felt weak. I didn’t dare question the brother of the man who made my heart go pitter-pat, but…in the bottom? Up the bottom? Seriously?
Before I knew it, the first animal had entered the chute. Various cowboys were at different positions around the animal and began carrying out their respective duties. Tim looked at me and yelled, “Stick it in!” With utter trepidation, I slid the wand deep into the steer’s rectum. This wasn’t natural. This wasn’t normal. At least it wasn’t for me. This was definitely against God’s plan.
”
”
Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels)
“
tagged along. He felt that Marvin was now his responsibility, and he wanted to keep an eye on him. No telling what the captain might say that could possibly upset Marvin. A brisk, cold wind was blowing as the passengers stepped from the ferry onto the dock at Ostend. Marvin later commented that he had never felt such raw weather, but his memory was short. He had forgotten the freezing winters we had lived through when we were growing up in Washington, D.C. From the waterfront at Ostend, Freddy led Marvin, Bubby, and Eugenie to a small boarding house at 77 Rue Promenade, just a block from the beach. Freddy’s wife, Lilliane, a joyous woman, was waiting for them with open arms. She had already prepared a room on the fifth floor for Freddy’s guests and had a hot meal simmering on the stove. The boarding house was owned by Freddy and managed by his wife. They lived in the basement apartment, along with their two young daughters. Lilliane had told them that a new playmate would be arriving, and they had eagerly anticipated meeting Bubby. Freddy seemed happy too, now that Marvin was safely in tow. As for Marvin, he was simply relieved to be warm again and on dry land. From the moment she first saw Marvin,
”
”
Frankie Gaye (Marvin Gaye, My Brother)
“
Send him away again.” “It’s not that simple. You’re actually lucky he didn’t take you to his jail.” “His jail?” Donovan was smiling and enjoying his narrative. “Oh yes. About five years ago, Romey’s brother found a late-model sedan with Ohio tags parked behind a barn on their family’s farm. He looked around, heard a noise, and found this guy from Ohio locked in a horse stall. It turns out Romey had fixed up the stall with chicken wire and barbed wire, and the poor guy had been there for three days.
”
”
John Grisham (Gray Mountain)
“
Look,” I say finally, scratching at the tag on my neck. “This is… was… my brother’s dog. It was his last wish for him to see Aplana Island, and I’d really like to grant him it. Respect the dead and all, you know?
”
”
Sav R. Miller (Arrows and Apologies (Monsters & Muses, #4))
“
With these uneasy thoughts urging me onward, I hurried toward home, praying I would make it in time for dinner and thereby avoid having to answer to my mother. That was the only way my day could get worse. I was forced to adjust that conclusion, however, when I spotted Saadi loitering nearby. The moment he laid eyes on me, I knew he’d been waiting for me, and I groaned. Why couldn’t he leave me alone?
“Shaselle!” he called, coming toward me.
I gritted my teeth, knowing I could not escape. The traffic on the thoroughfare had thinned, as was generally the case at this time of day, no longer providing the cover I needed to dart past him. He came abreast of me, but I didn’t slow or acknowledge him.
“I’m glad I caught you,” he said, and in my peripheral vision, I could see him smoothing that damn bronze hair forward, an impossible task, for as always it kinked upward at the midpoint of his hairline.
“Can’t say the same.”
“I didn’t take you to my sister.” He sounded like this small mercy should be eliciting gratitude from me.
“I realize that.”
Saadi exhaled, baffled and exasperated. “How can you be angry with me?”
I halted and stared at him in disbelief. “I’m not! You’re the Cokyrian soldier who arrested me when I broke the law. Our relationship ends there. It would be a waste of my time to be angry with you.”
“That’s it?” he said, eyebrows rising, and I was sure I detected disappointment. “I thought…I don’t know. I thought you were angry with me before, for not having mentioned I’m Rava’s brother. Weren’t you?”
“No,” I lied.
I still didn’t understand why it upset me to know that this annoying tag-along was related to the woman I hated with such intensity that my insides burned. But there was no reason to complicate things by letting him know the truth.
“Well, I saved you today, didn’t I? Just like I saved you before. You walked out of the Bastion free, without a scratch, and if any Cokyrian but me had caught you with that dagger, you might be drawn and quartered by now.”
“You didn’t save me from that butcher,” I said irritably. “But you’re right. About today, I mean.” I could sense his satisfaction, which irritated me all the more. “So accept my thanks, but stay away from me. We’re not friends, you know.”
I was nearing my neighborhood and didn’t want anyone to see me with him. He stepped in front of me, forcing me to stop.
“We’re not friends yet. But you’ve thought about it. And you just thanked me.”
“Are you delusional?”
“No. You just said thank you to the faceless Cokyrian soldier who arrested you.”
“Don’t you ever stop?” I demanded, trying in vain to move around him.
“I haven’t even started.”
“What does that mean?
”
”
Cayla Kluver (Sacrifice (Legacy, #3))
“
Speaking of feelings, there’s so much intense teasing between you and your brothers, Jep. Do feelings ever get hurt?
Jep: I love my brothers and would do anything for them. I know they feel the same about me. Alan has always been there for me with a nonjudgmental attitude, a listening ear, and wise advice. Jase is such a good teacher about wildlife, and he’s the best speaker in our family. He studies, prepares, and he’s always able to look at the funny side of life. I really respect his knowledge. I’ve always thought Willie is the coolest guy in the world. I’ve loved and looked up to him from the first moment I can remember. I’d tag along with him more than anybody else, and he took the time to teach me basketball and baseball. I copied him in just about everything, and I know sometimes it got on his nerves. I was so much younger than my brothers that I really didn’t start stuff, but I sure didn’t mind going to tell on them. They’d get spanked, and I wouldn’t.
”
”
Jep Robertson (The Good, the Bad, and the Grace of God: What Honesty and Pain Taught Us About Faith, Family, and Forgiveness)
“
I remember when I was five playing tag with Cara and her brother. I accidentally got pushed into the side of her trampoline, and I bit the inside of my mouth. Blood gushed everywhere. Cara’s mom held me until my parents came back. I didn’t need stitches, but it was nasty. I roll my tongue over a small bump on the side of my mouth. Yep. It’s still there. Real friendships have battle scars.
”
”
Jacquelyn Nicole Davis (Trace The Grace: A Memoir)
“
I forgive you,” she whispered. “But I’m never staying home again. That was the single most agonizing experience of my life.”
“I told you I would win. And then I’d come here. And here I am,” I said, nuzzling her hair.
“Will you marry us, Tag?” Henry asked intently, inserting himself back in the conversation.
“What?” I wasn’t sure I had heard him right.
“Will you marry Millie and be my brother?” he repeated, his expression completely serious. He wasn’t messing around. “We want to be part of Tag Team...”
I guess I’d always thought I would marry someday. When I was eighty. Yet Henry was proposing, and it didn’t alarm me in the slightest. In fact, the thought of marrying Millie made my pulse quicken. It made my palms tingle. It made my heart smile so big I could feel the edges of the grin poking me in the ribs. That, or I was starting to feel the hurt from the Santos fight.
“Because they both lost so many players to WWII military service, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles combined to become the Steagles during the 1943 season,” Henry recited.
“What? The Steagles?” My eyes were on Henry, but I needed to chase Millie down.
Henry nodded, straight-faced. “We could do that. We could combine. We could be the Taggersons.”
“That’s a very interesting idea, Henry.” I nodded, biting my lip so I wouldn’t laugh. “But I need to convince Millie. I’m not sure she wants to be a Taggerson just yet.”
“Andert?” Henry offered another combination, wrinkling his nose, and then shaking his head, as if it didn’t have the same ring.
“Give me a minute to see what Millie thinks. Okay?”
Henry gave me a solemn thumbs up and sat down on the bottom stair to wait for the verdict
”
”
Amy Harmon (The Song of David (The Law of Moses, #2))
“
Ellen.” Val’s smile disappeared. “I won’t hurt you.” Her gaze dipped to his groin then back up to his face, and he prayed he hadn’t lied. She’d been without a man for five damned years, and Val was… he was well endowed, and he knew this for a fact. Tagging along with Nick on this or that debauch, having four older brothers, spending a couple years at public school then several more at university… Val had seen enough to know his equipment was in proportion to the rest of him. “I won’t hurt you,” he said again, holding her gaze. “Because our first rule is you tell me if you don’t like something. Promise?” She nodded once, but her gaze drifted back to his groin. “If you can’t find your voice, then pinch me,” Val went on. “Pinch me hard, understand?” “Pinch you,” Ellen repeated. “Hard.” “Hard enough to bruise,” Val clarified. “And my arse doesn’t count, because when I’m in a certain mood, I like that.” “Dear heavens.” He smiled at her blush.
”
”
Grace Burrowes (The Virtuoso (Duke's Obsession, #3; Windham, #3))
“
Dex had never felt more content than the moment his lieutenant placed those tags around his neck, with his dad and brother looking on nearly busting at the seams with pride. Those tags were a reminder of his new life, and everyone who now depended on him. Destructive Delta had taken him in, even if it had been a shaky start, but one thing he knew for certain, he had no intention of letting them down. They
”
”
Charlie Cochet (Blood & Thunder (THIRDS, #2))
“
I am when my brothers tag-team me,
”
”
Sarah J. Maas (A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2))
“
Everyone shut up! I have an announcement to make.” Winter scoffs beside me, but everyone else quiets down. Except Rhett—leave it to him to make it into a fight. “This isn’t the military, bonehead. I don’t take orders from you.” Summer groans and gazes up at the ceiling. “Why are you like this?” “Should we take it outside like when we were kids, then?” I quirk a brow at my little brother. Shit disturber that he is. Rhett laughs. “No chance. You’ll kick my ass with your James Bond shit. I’m wild, not stupid.” Winter scoffs again, but just keeps drinking. I see Theo stifle a laugh behind his fist. “Take Cade with you,” Willa whispers as loudly as possible to Rhett from across the table while bouncing a baby on her lap. “A tag team situation. And I’ll watch. Or referee. Whatever you call it, I don’t care. It’s hot when he gets mad, so I’m all in on this idea.” “I’m on Uncle Beau’s team!” my nephew, Luke, announces. I point at him. “Smart, kid.” “At this rate, we’ll just be a bunch of skeletons sitting around the table by the time he makes his announcement,” Jasper says. “We’ll die never knowing what it is he meant to say because you all were planning a Royal Rumble in Bailey’s new house.” His eyes dance with amusement from across the table as he takes a swig of his shitty, cheap beer with a dog on the label. “I hate you.” Jasper grins at me, reaching to take Sloane’s hand. “Hate you too, bro.” “Listen, I’ll be the first of us to turn into a skeleton,” Harvey pitches in. “Out with it.
”
”
Elsie Silver (Hopeless (Chestnut Springs, #5))
“
Garrick has always been my best friend. His father was my father’s aide, which in a way makes him my Dain, except trustworthy. After Liam, Bodhi was and still is the closest thing I have to a brother, perpetually tagging along a step behind. —RECOVERED CORRESPONDENCE OF LIEUTENANT XADEN RIORSON TO CADET VIOLET SORRENGAIL
”
”
Rebecca Yarros (Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2))
“
I’ve fallen into the thought process of “I’ll be happy when I’m a size _____.” This is shallow and untrue. We cannot find our self-worth or happiness in our size. There is no such thing as a “size happy.” Large or small, Jesus loves us all. Friend, please stop looking for your validation in the mirror or on a scale. Your identity cannot be found there no matter how long you stare. Your worth cannot be found on the tag inside your jeans or leggings. Your beauty cannot be measured. Your appearance does not define you. Your identity is found in something that no one but God can truly see. Check out what God said when the prophet Samuel saw David’s impressive elder brother and thought Eliab must be the man God had chosen to be king: The LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) God looks at the heart. Your weight will fluctuate, your body will change, but his love for you remains the same. Your body is a vessel. It’s a tool. It does not determine your value. Only Christ can do that. Your body is not an object for others to look at for pleasure. Your identity is safely hidden in God’s care. The apostle Paul said it this way: “You died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3 NLT). No amount of Photoshop can change who we are in Christ. It’s time to remove the filters we hide behind and allow God to reveal our identity in him.
”
”
Brittany Maher (Her True Worth: Breaking Free from a Culture of Selfies, Side Hustles, and People Pleasing to Embrace Your True Identity in Christ)
“
I’m too old for this shit,” Tag groaned. “Theo, dude, she will tear your dick off.” “The heart wants what the heart wants, I guess,” Theo tossed back with a smirk on his face. Tag stared at his brother. “Then your heart needs to have a long discussion with your dick because again—she will rip it off. It’s why I hired her. Please, can we stuff the sexual tension down where it should be? Like deep down. I don’t want to hear about anyone’s fucking feelings or dark desires or childhood anxieties. Shove it down like a man and yes, I mean you, Erin.
”
”
Lexi Blake (You Only Love Twice (Masters and Mercenaries, #8))
“
The whiffs of coffee and chicory and fried dough danced awkwardly with the occasional and unmistakable wafts of urine left by naive tourists or wild fraternity brothers or desperate homeless people or all of the above. Beset among throngs of tourists identified by lanyards and name tags, and dramatic straw hats, the board awaited the delivery of mountains of beignets dusted like the Alps with sweet snow.
”
”
Parker Bauman
“
We used to be really happy if Father wasn’t at home; we couldn’t wait till he went off somewhere or the other. It was then that my older and younger brothers and I played tag and climbed the mango tree. We were very happy when Father was hospitalised for quite a few days because of asthma.
”
”
Nalini Jameela (The Autobiography of a Sex Worker)
“
Megan was over at the Morgan brothers’ house, having a casual dinner with Drew and his brother, Alan. It was casual in the sense that there were only three courses and no ice sculpture.
When Alan left the room to get dessert, Megan said, “If you don’t give me whatever’s in your pocket, I’m going to reach in there and grab it myself.”
He got a devilish grin and threw his hands in the air. “Help yourself!”
She reached in and found a ring. Not an engagement ring but a ring with a large stone in the middle. A cheap-looking stone.
Megan frowned. “Is this plastic?”
“It’s a mood ring,” he said. “I bought it at a carnival when I was a kid. I wore it to school once because I thought it was cool. I got my first black eye that day.”
“You got bullied?”
“Not exactly. The guy who punched me once got two right back.”
She handed the ring back. “You can wear it now, if you want. You’re an adult. Nobody’s going to beat you up.” She made a fist and punched her palm. “Not if they don’t want me to tag in and finish the match.”
He put the ring back in his pocket. “Never mind,” he said.
She put her hand in his pocket and grabbed the ring back. “Don’t tell me to never mind. Why do you have this? Were you going to give it to me?”
“I thought it would be funny,” he said. “You’re reading all those books Feather recommended, and you’re doing that thing where you name your emotions. I thought it would be funny if you had a mood ring to help you with that.”
She tried on the ring. The only finger it fit was her ring finger, so she left it there. “I like it,” she said. “It’s not very funny, though. It’s actually kind of…” She was at a loss for words. It had been happening a lot lately. Coming up with words to describe feelings was much harder than being crass or sarcastic.
“Romantic,” Drew said.
“Yeah. I guess you’re right. It’s romantic.” She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Plus, now I know your ring size,” he said.
They both looked down at her hand.
She looked away.
“For the future,” he said. “Relax. I don’t mean right now.”
She looked at the ring again. It was changing colors.
“It’s working,” she said.
“It’s a heat-sensitive compound,” he said. “It doesn’t really tell you someone’s mood, just how warm their fingers are.”
“But finger temperature means a lot,” she said. “I’ve been reading about the nervous system, and how everything works together in all these different feedback loops. When someone’s stressed, their hands get cold. Or when their hands get cold for some other reason, they might feel stressed and make up a story about why they feel that way. People make up a lot of stories to explain how they feel because it’s so confusing to not know, and sometimes we’d rather think it’s because of something bad than not know at all.”
He looked down at the ring, which was still changing colors. “I had no idea.”
“I’ll have to come into your clinic and give you some tips for putting your patients more at ease.”
“You can’t do that,” he said. “It would really cut down on the screaming, which I have grown to love.” He gave her his mad scientist cackle.
“You are so weird.” She kissed him again.
”
”
Angie Pepper (Romancing the Complicated Girl (Baker Street Romance #2))
“
Learning from Incorrect Information
The messages that society sends you are not always accurate. Females often hear that they should be kind, gentle, and sweet, whereas boys learn that they should be tough, strong, and unemotional. These messages can create much self-doubt and low self-esteem when someone doesn’t measure up to the ideal. Often, as a result, he or she develops social anxiety.
Joella has two older brothers. When she was younger, she loved to ride her bike, climb trees, and play baseball with them. Because there were no other kids in the neighborhood, they usually let her tag along. When she entered fifth grade, however, her best friend told her that none of the boys would ever like her because she acted like a tomboy. She showed Joella a magazine article that stated that a girl should let boys feel smarter and make them feel more powerful by acting helpless.
Even though it didn’t feel right to her, Joella started trying to be “girly.” But she couldn’t help hitting the ball farther and running faster than most boys; and she wanted to do well in the science fair even though she remembered the article advised girls not to.
As a result of this conflict, Joella felt very unlikable. When she acted flirty and silly with the other girls, she felt false; but when she played baseball with the boys, she felt like she would never be feminine. She never knew how she should act. Soon, she became anxious in social situations and stopped playing baseball and going out with her female friends.
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Heather Moehn (Social Anxiety (Coping With Series))
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He was in full hunting mode, and I was merely tagging along behind like an unwanted little brother.
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Jeff Lindsay (Darkly Dreaming Dexter (Dexter, #1))