Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 87856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Julie: Everyone will remember Taylor Swift and we both know you secretly love her.
Imogen: I enjoy some of her work.
Julie: OMG, you're so full of it. I remember you rocking out to all sorts of Swiftie jams, but okay, sure. Why are you embarrassed you like something popular anyway? Wasn't Fiona Apple popular in her day?
Imogen: Are you calling me basic?
Julie: OMG, GRANDMA. No one says basic anymore. But what's wrong with liking things other people like?
Imogen: How can something everyone likes be good?
Julie: Because it's easy to like.
Imogen: Exactly. I want something hard to like. I want something with sharp edges.
Julie: Well, you do sound like Imogen. The girl Zack described? Honestly, I was wondering if he was two-timing you and he'd accidentally written to the wrong ex-girlfriend's sister. I talked to him for such a long time, trying to get to the bottom of it. How could he have such a wrong impression? Was he not paying attention? Or was I wrong somehow?
Imogen: I didn't share myself with him.
Julie: I figured. I mean, when he said you watched four movies about violent dudes on four nights in a row… no way. You hate violent movies.
Imogen: I do.
Julie: And he thought you liked them! And that you liked his conversations about film because you didn't interrupt. I wanted to tell him, OMG, you have Immy so wrong! If she's quiet, she's thinking hard. Maybe about something important, something she really wants to tell you. Or maybe that you're an idiot, and she has no idea how to break it to you.
Imogen: I'm not that mean.
Julie: Not usually.
Imogen: His lectures were the worst.
Julie: Men are like that a lot.
Imogen: What men?
Julie: OMG DON'T EVEN!
Imogen: I mean… what do you mean?
Julie: Isn't that how he was? He'd talk to you, but really, he was talking to himself. He never made sure you were listening. He took silence as consent. And I don't mean sexually, so don't go there. I haven't gone that far with any guys.
Imogen: I wasn't going to go there.
Julie: I'll take Bullshit for 1000, Alex.
Imogen: Really.
Julie: They do it sexually too. That's what I hear from friends. Even now. They still act like nothing is yes, or I agree, or of course, you're brilliant. They don't even get that "hmm" or "I guess" or "maybe" is no. They don't understand the world women live in.
Imogen: That's smart.
Julie: I'm not just a jock.
Imogen: Your boyfriend is sweet to you?
Julie: Well…
Imogen: Do I need to kill someone?
Julie: You have to go first, okay? Tell me what happened with Patrick. Is he like Zack?
Imogen: No. He listens. He thinks I'm smart. Fuck, am I like Zack?
Julie: Do you ramble for ages without a response?
Imogen: Sometimes. Not usually.
Julie: You're probably good.
Imogen: Probably?
Julie: You're pretty. Maybe that's the interest.
Imogen: Was that a compliment or an insult?
Julie: An honest assessment of the twenty-something male mind.
Imogen: I'm the one studying psychology.
Julie: You rubbed off on me.
Imogen: You listen? Really?
Julie: See! You noticed I tune you out. You're not like Zack the Blowhard.
Imogen: He didn't really bring up Joker?
Julie: Of course he did.
Imogen: So glad we broke up.
Julie: Was that all it was? He was a tool, and you needed an excuse to end it?
Imogen: More or less.
Julie: Why did you stay with him so long?
Imogen: It seemed right, on paper. He was handsome; he was cultural, and he was decent in bed.
Julie: Decent, wow? So worth the annoyance.
Imogen: It wasn't just him.
Back then, I was on my first round of meds. I didn't know better there, either. They killed my O, and I didn't want to do the work of finding it or switching meds. It was easier to tell myself it didn't matter, to do whatever he suggested.
I barely questioned it.
So many of the girls I knew were the same. They were sexually curious, sure, but they were also willing to follow a guy's lead.
It seemed… normal.
Imogen: It wasn't just him. I wasn't open that way back then. And I figured that was sex. It was fun, in some ways, but more for connection than satisfaction.
Only I didn't feel connected with him either. But really, that wasn't on him. At least, not just him. I wasn't really there.
Julie: But not with Patrick?
Imogen: It feels different. But I don't know if I'm capable.
Julie: You're such a drama queen.
Imogen: It's possible. Maybe it's not for me.
Julie: You like him. I can tell. And you're obviously enjoying the sex.
Imogen: There's more to relationships than sex.
Julie: It's a start though. It's more than you had with Zack.
Imogen: I liked Zack.
Julie: After two weeks?
Imogen: At first, I thought he was smart and cool and opinionated. It took a while for the luster to wear off.
Julie: Why didn't you end things then?
Imogen: I wanted to see if it got better, to see if I would like it more.