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“He could see nothing but the reflection of the bubbles from the hose and the dark, lifeless eye of the Great White behind it.”

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“Trekking all the way to Manhattan just to wait in line for a cronut just isn’t as satisfying as taking a drive out to Montauk for the best branch of Ralph’s Italian Ices.”

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Avis says that her heart is still in the late ’60s: “That’s where Germany’s at now, compared to the States . . . It could also be a problem of mine.”

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Four stories accepted in two days is pretty good, I think. Today I’ve broken 80 acceptances, and I feel certain that I will hit 100 stories by the end of the year.

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Today, while waiting for the faculty elevator after lunch, the thought passed through my mind: “These are the good years.”

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Back in my room, we made love for hours. It was incredible: like they used to say in the Peter Paul Mounds Bar commercials, “indescribably delicious.”

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I know I was the aggressor, but she didn’t resist; we are both still very attracted to each other. The air was charged with heavy sexual tension.

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The massive arena hosted New York Islanders games, Monster Jam, the circus, and concerts. How can you compete with that?

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Until then, the Coliseum has a few playoff games to win.

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She’s never lied to me about orgasms, she said, although at times I almost drove her to do so. It occurred to me that maybe Simon sort of led his old girlfriend to fake her orgasms.