That's What HE Said Thursday #28

Image courtesy of Kei at The Lovely Pages Review

That's What HE Said is a weekly meme hosted by the wonderful ladies at Chapter Break. It's a chance for us to spotlight and gush over a quote from our current book crush to the object of his desire. We like to pretend it's us ;)

What better way to celebrate our book boyfriends?

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Nat brings you this week's quote from Just One Day by Gayle Forman. According to her it's not a sexy or romantic one.  But she loves this scene because it sets up Willem's inevitable surprise when that "stain" doesn't washoff. After finding this, Nat's tempted to re-read the book again :)

"Being in love is a birthmark?" I joke as I retract my arm.  But my voice has a tremble in it, and the place where his wet thumbprint is drying against my skin burns somehow.

"It's something that never comes off, no matter how much you might want it to."

"You're comparing love to...stain?"

He leans so far back in his seat that the fron t legs of his chair scrape off the floor.  He looks very satisfied, the crepe or with himself, I'm not sure. "Exactly."

I think of the coffee stain on his jeans.  I think of Lady Macbeth and her "Out, damned spot," stain, another speech I had to memorize for English.  "Stain seems like an ugly word to describe love," I tell him.

Willem just shrugs.  "Maybe just in English. In Dutch, it's vlek. In French, it's tache." He shakes his head, laughs. "No, still ugly."

"How many languages have you been stained in?"

He licks his thumb again and reaches across the table for my wrist, where he missed the tiniest smudge of Nutella.  This time he wipes it - me - clean. "None.  It always comes off."

~  Willem & Allyson

Just One Day 

by Gayle Forman