The Pool Boy Quotes
"It's okay," I lied, and forced brightness into my voice. "I'll take an Uber and see you at home. Good luck with the system."
"Thanks." He leaned down and dropped a quick kiss on my forehead. "Happy birthday, Erika."
"It also helped that over the last year, I’d gotten in the best shape of my life."
"Warmth bloomed inside me. It was nice to hear, and he’d seemed genuine."
"He hadn’t missed the way a woman gazed at him tonight when we’d first come into the restaurant for dinner. She’d glanced up with a lifted eyebrow and parted lips, like he’d taken her breath."
"It wasn’t shock, or anger, or really even hurt . . . although those emotions came later. The first thing to leap into my mind when confronted with the image of these two men together, was that my husband’s dick swinging between his legs was hard. Harder than I’d ever seen it in my life."
"The air conditioning in my kitchen did little to cool me down as I dropped the mail on the counter with a thud, followed by my purse."
"The sun was hot, and I wondered what kind of tan lines this swimsuit was going to give me if I wasn’t careful."
"It made my heart stop. I pulled out one of my earbuds, lifted my head, and opened my eyes, only to find the pool boy looking at me with a shocked expression painted across his face."
"I believed in my artists with all my heart, and it was my job to get as many doors open for them as possible. Helping them walk through them and into their dreams was immensely satisfying."
"We couldn’t . . . could we? It’d make all of this too real, with real consequences."
"Escalate? His pointed look was stern and provocative. "Yeah, Ms. Graham." When he repeated the word, he drew it out, weighting each syllable. "Escalate."
"It’s Erika." It was too formal and impersonal for him to use my last name, given what we were doing.
"You’re saying you don’t want this too?" His tongue flicked in my mouth, and a traitorous moan seeped out of my chest. "Why can’t we help each other?"
"Fuck Tinder," he uttered. "You don’t need it. I’m right here."
"We can’t be my manager," he said. "You don’t know a thing about me."
"I’d rather have a chance with you than the audition."
"It’s funny how, in the final few years, Clark never wanted to talk to me, not until I asked for the divorce. Now he calls me all the freaking time."
"You think she’s going to be cool with that? Or us working together, once she finds out?"
"All I knew was that listening to you felt—I dunno—special. I wanted you to know."
"You’re asking me," I said, "to take a chance on this audition. I think it’s only fair you take a chance on me."
"I hadn’t dated anyone in forever—not that what we were doing was dating anyway—but I was horribly out of practice."
"If I sucked or didn’t impress Erika’s boss, she’d pump the brakes on the whole thing. I understood this was an audition I had to nail before I could get the real audition."
"Any hope of keeping it professional went out the window."
"I swallowed thickly and followed her up the steps."
"This room was a place of business, but it felt cozy and inviting."
"It’s okay if you want to say my dick is magic."
"You need some hustle if you’re going to make it in this business."
"Nothing could ruin this perfect day—although my mom sure tried."
"Don’t act like you’re doing me a huge favor by giving me that job."
"I can’t push it. It’s scheduled for Tuesday."
"Because you’re confident, sexy as hell, and know exactly what you want."
"You want to see how some of my toys worked."
"Because I was going to ask, if I said I was okay to go without condoms—"
"‘Because you’re a dirty boy who wants to eat his own creampie,’ I murmured."
"My hands moved easily, and I strummed with energy, letting the music keep me loose."
"Everything I felt, I channeled into the emotion of the song."
"Her expression as she watched me was intense. Captivated."
"Their applause broke me from my daze and unleashed a smile from my lips."
""I just finished school, so I’m taking as many gigs as I can get.""
""It’s an honor to stand on this stage, especially for an unknown like me, and to get this opportunity."
"I moved methodically as I put the guitar back in its case, wondering how I’d survive the waiting."
""Everyone from Warbler can vote for Lauren, but there’s no way Troy doesn’t win the popular vote.""
"It wasn’t just his body I desired or his music. I wanted all of him now."
""This was our dream all hinged on the next thing I said or did.""
""I hadn’t been hungry because I hadn’t believed it was even possible. Now that it was? I craved it with every inch of my soul.""
""Yes," she breathed. "Now I know who you are. Thank you, Troy.""
""We clicked when it came to sex and music, but the few times I’d brought up our relationship outside of that, Erika would shut down.""
""I’m not trying to be an asshole. I’m just surprised, is all.""
"Yes." I smiled. "If you want to sing it—I’d be honored."
"This is bullshit," I said, not caring if she heard.
"Per our rules, trash receptacles must not be placed at the curb before dark, however yours were witnessed this past Sunday at the end of your drive at 8:03 p.m. Twilight does not conclude until after 8:20."
"Who Greg dated was none of Judy Maligner’s business."
"Part of being an adult is compromise, not getting everything you want."
"If you could do whatever you wanted, would you be here working for your dad?"
"Except for Ardy, no one at Warbler knew Troy and I were dating."
"Nothing good for my clients had ever been posted on TMZ."
"It felt like I was back in that dark hallway, staring at Clark’s office door, knowing everything was about to come apart."
"I’d call him and there’d be a perfectly reasonable explanation."
"All I could think about was how young she was. Practically his age."
"You just lied, and now you’re asking me to believe you?"
"Life is short, Dr. Lowe had said. Do what makes you happy."