“I want to take all our best moments, put them in a jar, and take them out like cookies and savor each one of them forever.”

“She was aware that in love even the most passionate idealism will not rid the body’s surface of its terrible, basic importance.”

“When a clandestine couple kisses, it is much more likely that sex will immediately follow. This is because there is much more risk. Once you have kissed secretly, it is very difficult not to have sex. It would be impolite not to have sex. You have to show that you are serious about each other.”

“We might have coupledIn the bed-ridden monopoly of a momentOr broken flesh with one anotherAt the profane communion tableWhere wine is spill’d on promiscuous lipsWe might have given birth to a butterflyWith the daily-newsPrinted in blood on its wings”

“We returned to the hotel and had intercourse. I like that word intercourse. It poses only a limited range of possibilities.”

“All human males were as fascinated with cars as they were with breasts.”

“To save face, it’s better not to ask sex from the ex, but to give everything the axe.”

“Lovers do things together! They rent videos, they ride Ferris wheels, they go out for pizza, they play Scrabble. They . . . they talk!”Talk?’ He lifted his head and frowned, his eyes puzzled. ‘We talk all the time, Raine. I’ve never had such talkative sex.”That’s just it!’ She wiggled, flailed, but couldn’t budge him. ‘Two minutes alone with you, and I’m flat on my back. Every single time!’A slow, knowing grin spread over his face. ‘Is this your way of telling me you want to be on top?”

“He looked at her and tried to discover behind her lascivious expression the familiar features that he loved tenderly. It was as if he were looking at two images through the same lens, at two images superimposed one on the other with one showing through the other. These two images showing through each other were telling him that everything was in the girl, that her soul was terrifyingly amorphous, that it held faithfulness and unfaithfulness, treachery and innocence, flirtatiousness and chastity. This disorderly jumble seemed disgusting to him, like the variety to be found in a pile of garbage. Both images continued to show through each other, and the young man understood that the girl differed only on the surface from other women, but deep down was the same as they: full of all possible thoughts, feelings, and vices, which justified all his secret misgivings and fits of jealousy. The impression that certain outlines delineated her as an individual was only a delusion to which the other person, the one who was looking, was subject–namely himself. It seemed to him that the girl he loved was a creation of his desire, his thoughts, and his faith and that the real girl now standing in front of him was hopelessly other, hopelessly alien, hopelessly ambiguous. He hated her.”

“When certain parts of our bodies are touched, certain enzymes and chemicals that trigger sexual desire are released into our system. The more our bodies are stimulated, the more chemicals are released and the greater our sexual desire grows until it becomes a virtually unstoppable flood.”

“Ain’t No Drama Like Bedroom Drama”

“In the realm of love and sex, it’s girls who are in the position of working hard to adapt themselves to the needs and fantasies of the mercurial males whose approval and attention they seek.”

“For the first time in his life he understood why the Bible called sex “knowing”. Everything was different. Now he knew Dante. He’d known Dante. And wonder of wonders, Dante had known him right back.”

“When you’ve been around as long as me, Lucy, you’ll know that there are three types of sex… One – brand-new, kitchen-table sex. Two – bedroom sex. Then number three – hallway sex, when you pass each other in the hallway and say ‘Fuck you.'” – Lockie”

“To the degree you experience God’s love towards you – seeing you as beautiful and radiant – to that degree sex won’t ruin your life.”