a thousand lives and then some

Coco Mellors, Cleopatra & Frankenstein

Patroclus, he says, Patroclus, Patroclus. Over and over until it is sound only. Somewhere Odysseus is kneeling, urging food and drink. A fierce red rage comes, and he almost kills him there. But he would have to let go of me. He cannot. He holds me so tightly I can feel the faint beat of his chest, like the wings of a moth. An echo, the last bit of spirit still tethered to my body. A torment.

Theo and Kit have been a lot of things: childhood best friends, crushes, lovers, and now estranged exes. After a brutal breakup on a flight to their dream European food and wine tour, they exited each other's lives... All that remains is the unused voucher for the European tour that never happened. Four years later, it seems like a great idea to finally take the trip. Solo. Separately. It's not until Theo and Kit board the tour bus that they discover they've both accidentally had the exact same idea, and now they're trapped with each other for three weeks. It's fine. There's nothing left between them. So, when Theo suggests a friendly wager to see who can sleep with their hot Italian tour guide first, Kit is game. And why stop there? Why not a full-on European hookup competition? But sometimes a taste of everything only makes you crave what you can't have. ☆☆

Chelsea G. Summers, A Certain Hunger

Coco Mellors, from “Cleopatra and Frankenstein”

Red, White & Royal Blue | Casey McQuiston “Because you’re it, okay? I’m never gonna love anybody in the world like I love you.”