Page 12 of Better Than the Movies
I smacked his hand away from my head. “Yeah, because I believe in time travel.”
“Not that.” He gestured toward the TV. “Time travel is probably the most realistic part. I’m talking about rom-coms in general. Relationships never ever, ever work like that.”
“Yes, they do.”
His eyebrows went up. “Theydo? Correct me if I’m wrong, but it didn’t seem like it worked that way with Jeremiah Green or Tad Miranda.”
I was kind of taken aback by his awareness of my romantic history (or lack thereof), but I supposed it was inevitable when we were in the same grade at the same school.
“Well, theycan.” I pushed my still-damp hair out of my face and wasn’t surprised that Wes thought the way he did. I’d never heard of him being serious with any girl—ever—so it was probably safe to assume he was your classic player-type jock. “It’s out there, even if the jaded, cynical people like you are too, um…cynicalto believe.”
“You said ‘cynical’ twice.”
Sigh.
He smiled at my irritation. “So you think that two enemies—in the real world—can magically get over their differences and fall madly in love?”
“I do.”
“And you think that plotting and planning and trickery isno big deal if it’s done to spark some sort of true love?”
I chewed on my lip. Was that what I was doing? Trickery? The thought put a little twist in my stomach, but I ignored it. That wasn’t what was happening here. I said, “You’re making it sound ridiculous on purpose.”
“Oh, no—it’s just ridiculous.”
“You’re ridiculous.” I realized I was gritting my teeth, and I relaxed my jaw. Who cared what Wes thought about love, anyway?
He got a little smirk going and said, “Have you thought about the fact that if your little love notions are valid, then Michael is actuallynotthe guy for you?”
Nope; hewasthe guy for me. Had to be. Still, I asked, “What do you mean?”
“At this point, you and Michael aren’t mad at each other, so it’s doomed. Every rom-com has two people who can’t stand each other in the beginning but eventually bang it out.”
“Gross.”
“Seriously.You’ve Got Mail. The Ugly Truth. Um…When Harry Met Sally,10 Things I Hate About You,Sweet Home Alabam—”
“First of all,Sweet Home Alabamais a second-chance-at-love trope, asshat.”
“Ooh—my bad.”
“Second of all, you’re a little impressive with your rom-com knowledge, Bennett. Are you sure you aren’t a closet watcher?”
He gave me a look. “Positive.”
I reallywasa little impressed; I lovedThe Ugly Truth. “I won’t tell anyone if you secretly fangirl over romance flicks.”
“Shut it.” He chuckled and gave his head a slow shake. “So what trope works for you and Michael, then? The followed-him-around-like-a-puppy-but-now-he-sees-the-puppy-as-a-potential-girlfriend-even-though-he-already-has-a-potential-girlfriend trope?”
“You are an obnoxious lovehater.” It was all I could think of to throw back at him, because—all of a sudden—Wes had the uncanny ability to make me laugh. Like, even as he made fun of me, I had to force myself to not give in to another giggle.
But we had a deal, so we exchanged numbers so he could text me after he talked to Michael, and we decided that he was going to pick me up for the party at seven o’clock the following day.
As I walked back to my house in the rain, I couldn’t believe he’d agreed to it. I was a little unsure about going anywhere with Wes, but a girl did what she had to in the name of true love.
I wasn’t a fan of running in the rainorin the dark, so doing both at the same time was a major suckfest. Helena had made spaghetti by the time I’d gotten home from Wes’s, so I’d had to sit down for a full-scale family dinner—complete withHow was your dayconversation—before I could take off. My dad tried to convince me to hit the new treadmill he’d bought the day before, since it was pouring outside, but that was a non-option for me.
My daily run had nothing to do with exercise.
