Page 54 of The Romance Rivalry

“Wow, you really just let yourself go to the ends of the spectrum of despair, don’t you? What other panicked thoughts are going through that head of yours?” Jeannette throws her pillow in my direction, but I dodge it easily, then pick it up and hug it to my chest.

“I don’t have experience with these kinds of things,” I admit, as if that weren’t obvious. “And I don’t trust it, for some reason.”

“Why don’t you trust it? Do you not trust Aiden? Or do you not trust yourself??”

Why does she always ask the questions I don’t have answers for?

“You’re worthy to be loved, you know. You don’t have to impress anyone or worry that Aiden is gonna see the real you and not want you anymore. He seems to like you for exactly who you are. He’s seen you with the biggest zit on your nose, doesn’t that count for something?”

I try to laugh at that reminder of the most embarrassing moment of my life to date. But my head is still swirling with so many thoughts and doubts.

“When you think about it, it’s weird, right? Aiden and I?” I ask.

“You want to know what I think?” Jeannette asks. “I thinkit couldn’t be any less weird, to be honest. It’s kind of a romance novel come to life. And isn’t that exactly what you wanted for yourself??”

“I don’t know. Now that I’m faced with the possibility and I actually have feelings involved, I’m not sure what I’m doing. And what trope are we, even? I should figure that out so I can really make a plan on how to move forward. Are we enemies-to-lovers? You know how much I hate that trope.”

I’ve always believed that anything I needed to know about life, I could find in a romance novel. And now, when the one thing I really want to know about is a real romance itself, I can’t seem to find the answers at all.

Jeannette walks over to her desk, opens the top drawer, and pulls out one of her notebooks. She flips a couple pages and brings it over to show me. She takes a seat next to me and wraps her arm around my shoulder.

Written in her perfect handwriting is a list. Of tropes. But not the tropes I chose for my challenge with Aiden.

Rivals-to-lovers.

Mutual pining.

Fated mates.

Friends-to-lovers.

The list has at least twenty different tropes.

“What is this list?” I ask her.

Her smile is wide, her entire body buzzing with an energy I don’t understand. I’m missing something.

“I’ve been keeping a list of tropes that you and Aidendofall under. It keeps getting longer and longer, just so you know. I guess when you start experiencing real love, the entire thing opens up to lots of possibilities. But you know what I was thinking, Irene? Even if you two didn’t fit any tropes, you fit each other. And that’s what’s most important. Don’t overthink it. Forget the plan. Forget the romance rule book. Just... go for it.”

I think about Aiden and how he makes me laugh, makes me see things and think about them differently, makes me feel things I’ve never felt for anyone before. I’m someone in his eyes. I’ve got main-character energy when I’m around him.

I pat my adorable fae queen roommate on the top of her glorious red hair.

“You know what, bestie? You’re right. I might not have seen this coming, but I’m not gonna let it pass me by,” I say. “I’m allowing myself to see where this leads with Aiden.”

I let out an errant squeal, unable to hold in my excitement laced with confusing emotions and a tiny sprinkle of abject horror.

Jeannette wraps her arms around me and squeezes tight. “It’s really happening. It’s what you’ve always wanted. You’re falling in love,” she says.

It’s really happening, I tell myself. It’s what I’ve always wanted. I guess I’m finally falling in love.

And everything about it scares me shitless.

My phone buzzes on my desk and I run to pick it up. On the screen, half of two faces pop up, my mom’s on the left side and my dad’s on the right side.

“Irene, can you see us? Irene?”

“Yes, I’m here. Hi, I can see you. Can you see me? Can you hear me?”

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