Page 37 of The Romance Rivalry

“I’m sorry, what?” I shake my head, uncertain I heard him correctly.

“Which trope would you reach for right now if you had a full bookshelf in front of you?”

I think it over. What trope would someone like my professor want to read? What would someone of his age and background enjoy? I don’t want to recommend a book he won’t like and have him hold it against me.

“Please don’t worry about if I would like it or not. I want to know whatyoulike.”

“Um...” Well, that makes it tough. Just any trope that I personally enjoy? “Well, forced proximity, I guess?” I say, my voice laced with uncertainty. What will he think about this?

“Oooh, I’m intrigued—tell me more. What about it do you enjoy?”

I can usually do this with my eyes closed. I do this every single night in front of my computer. But right here, with the pressure to produce an answer and impress an important person sitting right in front of me, I can’t come up with one reason. I’m paralyzed. My breath shortens and my eyes widen in panic. I can’t form words.

He gives me a sympathetic smile. “Think it over, Irene. If you would feel more comfortable, maybe you can record a short video for me of what you like about it. That seems to be the format in which you flourish. Can you have it in my inbox by Friday?”

I breathe out through my nose and nod. Maybe I can just look back through my old reviews and repurpose that content.

“Good, good. Well, thank you for coming by. I look forward to hearing more about the forced-proximity trope.Sounds like it’s prime for some juiciness.” He throws his head back and laughs at his own comment.

I give a perfunctory smile, grab my bag, and get the hell out of Dodge. Then, I rush to the elevator, turn the corner, and run right into the best-smelling wall of human ever.

“Oof. Sorry,” I say, forcing myself to raise my eyes to confirm what I already know.

“How’d it go?” Aiden asks. Did he wait for me? Was he eavesdropping? Could he hear anything through the closed door?

“Fine, it was... fine,” I say. I push the elevator down button five or six times, hoping this will miraculously speed up its arrival. It finally arrives, taking a painfully long time to click into place before the doors slowly slide open. I rush in and repeat the process, jamming the button for the first floor even though it’s already lit up.

Aiden makes his way into the small steel box and sucks out ninety percent of the air, leaving an unequal ten percent for me. That’s the only reason I can’t breathe, I’m sure of it.

The doors squeak their way closed and the elevator, just as it had on the way up, moves a few inches and stalls. I know the drill this time.

I feel Aiden shuffle next to me. I wonder if he’s the type who can’t handle small spaces. What if he has a panic attack? What if I’m the one to be relied on to keep my cool in this situation? That would be tragic.

The elevator is so small that I’m suddenly very aware of how close we’re standing to one another. Our arms are touching, and if I turn to look at him...

I steal a glance, which reveals he’s turned to look at me, mere inches away.

I swallow.

“What did Dr. Kingston say?” he asks, his voice soft and inviting, like he’s coaxing a scared cat out of the corner.

“In a nutshell, I think I’m gonna fail his class,” I admit. I tuck my lips between my teeth and try to hold back my abject fear of the thought of telling my parents this news. God, the disappointment on their faces—I can already see it.

“Naw, we’re not gonna let that happen,” he says. His voice is light, confident, and determined. He’s my partner, after all. He can’t let me fail if he wants to do well.

“What did he say to you?” I ask.

“Nothing earth-shattering. We just talked books. Writing. Shit like that.” His focus is on his feet, the nonchalance in his voice triggering my curiosity.

“That’s it? What about class? Did you talk about...”

“So, have you heard from Pre-med Taejin?” he asks, cutting me off in my attempt to get more solid details out of him. That was weird.

It takes me a second to even make sense of what he’s saying. My brain struggles to shift gears with the abrupt change of topic, and this past weekend is somewhat of a blur. “No,actually, I haven’t. In fact, I think you’re the one that made sure of it.”

“Dude was trying to score a date with a girl in the hospital. C’mon, that’s the stuff creeps are made of.” Aiden’s mouth is twisted, his eyes narrowed. Let’s hope those pre-med classes are on the other side of campus, for Taejin’s sake and safety.

“Well, I can decide for myself who I see and when. I didn’t and don’t need you speaking for my availability. You’re probably trying to sabotage my chance at marking off another trope from my list.” I pound on the button a few more times. Why won’t this elevator move? Is it actually broken? Oh my god, are we stuck?

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