Page 10 of The Romance Rivalry

I definitely didn’t have tropes working against me on my bingo card.

I avoid the stares of the others around me. I grab my backpack and stand, throwing away my empty cup. I mourn the loss of this coffee shop as a regular place to patronize, as I clearly can never show my face here again.

And I walk out the door, the jingle of the bell above me ringing in my ears. I sigh as I head back to my dorm, trying to put the entire day behind me.

Because while I may have possibly saved one relationship, I, myself, am back to square one.

Luckily, the school year has just started, and I have a long list of tropes at the ready to move forward.

Epigraph

I’m gonna be honest... I wasn’t sure the author was going to be able to redeem Connor of his earlier aggressive feelings and hurtful actions towards Samantha. And this is often my struggle with enemies-to-lovers. Sometimes what made them dislike each other in the first place isn’t completely dealt with to my satisfaction by the time they fall in love. I’m often left wanting a lot more groveling. Though there was a lot to like about the book, in the end, this one just wasn’t for me.

—@irene.loves.love.books

Auto-buy author writing my favorite trope? Let’s do this! FUUUUUUCK the tension between Connor and Samantha... kill me now. That contradiction between being pitted against each other and yet having feelings that throw these roles on their heads is so satisfying to me. I thoroughly enjoyed Connor’s character arc, and his redemption of past hurts was rewarded with the HEA.

—@aidentheguyreadsromance

Two

enemies-to-lovers

I’ve changed my top three times. I think the jeans are the right choice. But do I go with a fitted wrap top or an off-the-shoulder sweater for my first day of classes? I never really cared how I dressed when I was in high school. But presenting myself as someone to be taken seriously, someone worthy to be the love interest, and someone destined to be successful in publishing all puts a lot of pressure on me.

I decide on a simple white button-down with cap sleeves and a black leather jacket. I have this look saved twice on my “Collegiate But Cool” and my “Simple Yet Sexy” Pinterest boards.

“Wow, you look great,” Jeannette says to me as she steps into our room in a robe with a towel wrapped around her head. I want to respond “so do you,” because she actually does look great, even in a robe. But I don’t want her to thinkI’m just saying it as an automatic response. So I just stand there like an idiot.

My classes start at eight on Mondays and hers not until ten. I’m going to miss having her as my confidante today, but maybe it’s a good thing. I need to do this socializing thing on my own sometimes, too.

“Thanks. I have Intro to Lit today and I want to make a good impression.”

She nods supportively.

“Wanna meet for lunch at eleven o’clock at the cafeteria?” she asks.

“Sounds good,” I say. It’s a small gesture, but warmth spreads through my chest. I appreciate Jeannette including me in her invitation. Jeannette exudes main character energy. But since my plan is for me to step into that role, I’m claiming her as the quirky best friend who drops words of wisdom whenever the MC needs to get back on track. “Okay, I’m off. Good luck with classes and see you at eleven,” I say as I head out toward the English building across campus.

When I step into the lecture room, it surprises me how much smaller it is than I expected. Small should be comforting. But instead, it feels like a stage, where the spotlight can so easily shine on any one of us. There can’t be more than fifty people in this class. It’s an intro course, so we must allbe first-years here, all in the same awkward position of being new. Or at least that’s what I’m hoping. Kindred spirits in our discomfort.

The seats have already started to fill up and I find a spot toward the middle, a couple chairs in from the aisle.

I don’t mean to be annoying, I swear. But a part of me wonders if there’s anyone in this class who follows me, who might recognize me. It happened more than a few times back in LA: at the grocery store, at The Ripped Bodice bookstore (obviously), even at one of Eugene’s golf tournaments. A mother of one of his fellow junior golfers excitedly wanted to talk about her favorite Black Dagger Brotherhood heroes. Leather-clad vampires is a topic I am always down to discuss, unless I’m surrounded by preteen golfers and their mostly non-romance-reader parents.

Anyways, I do a subtle scan of the room and don’t see anyone staring back at me. But my eye catches, once again, on the same broad shoulders and long neck I noticed the other day at orientation. He’s sitting in the front row, and at this point, I’m sure I know him from somewhere. Hefeelsfamiliar.

I catch a glimpse of his profile. Today he’s got on black-rimmed glasses, and I’m immediately on high alert. Glasses on a man are my weakness (along with gray sweatpants and a well-worn long-sleeved Henley shirt... the uniform of allmy favorite romance heroes). I need to just get a good look at his face. I make a note to pack my bags slowly when class is done in hopes of seeing him walking out.

“Welcome, everyone, to Introduction to Literature. I’m your professor, Dr. Alan Kingston, and since most of you are here in this class at Brighton as part of the Contemporary Literature program, I will instead be focusing on the classics.”

An audible groan comes from all over the room. The professor smiles as if he’s going to love torturing all of us with the curriculum.

I try to take notes as he goes over the syllabus of the course for the semester. He talks about things that are completely new to me. He mentions books and tomes that everyone else seems to recognize, but I’m clueless. I give up following along two-thirds of the way through. I can already tell I’m in over my head with this class and it’s only an intro.

But I’m among my people here, book people, and as long as that’s the case, I’m sure I’ll be okay. What could be so hard? The professor lectures, we read, we write a few things. Easy.

Except, I’m not a great writer. And though I am a most excellent reader, it’s really only if I’m interested in the book. But I’m here in college to expand my horizons, to stretch my wings, to push myself past my comfort zone.

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