Page 20 of The Romance Rivalry

You’re the main character of your life, Irene, I remind myself. So I put on my romance-reviewer smile and ignore whatever confusion is happening in my head right now.

And with a view of a back I’m becoming way too familiar with, I walk in.

“So, if you trust me, I can order for us both. This is kind of my go-to spot,” Garrett suggests as the hostess takes us to our table and we sit down.

I could have guessed this was going to happen. Textbook. This is when I tell him my dietary restrictions and he completely ignores me and orders something that could possibly kill me anyways.

I guess it’s lucky for us both that I don’t have any allergies.

“I don’t particularly like spicy stuff,” I say.

“Noted. Anything else you’d prefer to stay away from?” he asks.

“No, I think that’s it.”

He calls the waitress over and orders us a tossed-tableside Caesar salad to share, the truffle gnocchi for me, and the four-cheese lasagna for himself. He also orders a glass of wine, and I stick to water.

All this is new to me. Not just the food choices, but someone taking charge. I thought he’d be overbearing, but honestly, he’s been super respectful of any boundaries I’ve mentioned. Too bad he will never know that I have about five hundred other boundaries going through my head right now that I’ll never let onto and will instead suffer in silence.

“In case you were wondering, dinner is on me.” He holds up a hand to silence me before my brain even tells me to protest. “I’m older and I asked you to dinner.” He smiles a self-satisfied smile, and I can’t help smile back.

“That’s very Korean of you,” I say.

He furrows his brow, but it will take too much energy to explain to him if he doesn’t know what I mean. Aiden would understand. He probably grew up watching his elders fight for the check all the time.

“Thank you for the offer, but we can split the check. I’m happy to pay for my part of the meal,” I add.

“No, no, I remember how tight it is freshman year. First time away from home, budgeting your own life and finances, it’s not easy.”

He acts like I still get an allowance.

“I make a decent amount of money from my online job,” I admit.

“You have an online job?”

“I told you about being a book reviewer. Because I have a large enough platform, I get sponsorships and also somefinancial benefits for engagement and followers.” I rarely tell anyone about this side of the business. I think people expect that only makeup and lifestyle content creators make what they think is the quick and easy cash of influencer life. But I’m not kidding when I say I do really well for myself financially.

“Not tonight, but maybe next time I can pick your brain a little bit about this. I’m thinking of starting a YouTube channel. I’m not sure about what yet. But I’ve been told I could probably get a pretty decent sized following quickly,” he tells me.

I look at him and know exactly what he means. He’s a guy. He’s incredibly handsome. And he’s charming. He could probably do live commentary on paint drying and build a following right away. I’ve seen it happen.

I do a quick scan of the restaurant and see Aiden and Maddie sitting at a small table in the corner. She tucks her hair behind her ear prettily. She jabs her fork at a single piece of lettuce and nibbles on it. She nods and bats her eyelashes as he talks. She opens her mouth and says one word.

He laughs like she’s Ali Wong or something.

She covers her mouth as she giggles in return.

I roll my eyes and stab an anchovy in my salad and go back to listening to Garrett tell me in detail his ideas about his YouTube channel, despite having just said we’d talk about it the next time.

I bury any questions, wondering if I even want a next time.

And taking a cue from Maddie, who seems to have this dating thing down pat, I cover my mouth and giggle at something Garrett says, wondering what my options are going to be for dessert.

When I get back to the dorm, Jeannette is head down studying at her desk. I try not to make any noise, despite the fact she has her headphones on, as I quietly change into my pajamas and grab my toiletry kit to get washed up.

“You’re back!”

I yelp as I turn around and find Jeannette towering over me. “You scared the shit out of me!”

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