‘I hear you, but is Jerry Maguire really a romance or a sports comedy drama movie with some romance?It’d be better to choose something that’s more of a traditional romcom.Like a Hugh Grant film.’
‘LikeLove Actually? OrNotting Hill?’
‘Yeah.’
‘See!Iknewyou liked romcoms!’ I stifled a smile as I repeated what he’d said before about me liking his music.Jake didn’t reply.‘Okay.What quotes should we use?Anything come to mind?’
Seeing as he’d suggested a Hugh Grant romcom, I wanted to see how much he really knew about them.
‘We could use the quote from the bookstore scene where Julia Roberts talked about being a woman standing in front of a man, wanting him to love her.’ He shrugged like it was no big deal.
My jaw dropped.
Most guys I’d dated wouldn’t even be able to name a single romcom, but Jake not only seemed familiar with them, he was able to quote from them too.And the line he’d picked was exactly the one that I would’ve chosen.
Yeah, he hadn’t got it word for word.I think it was agirlstanding in front of aboyand she wasasking himrather thanwanting himto love her, but it was close enough.
I was borderline impressed.
‘What?’ He pulled off his sunglasses and frowned.Then I realised that my jaw must still be on the floor.‘Didn’t expect me to quote from one of the most famous scenes in romantic cinematic history?’
‘Honestly?’ I said.‘No.But like you said, it is pretty iconic.Let’s run with it.’
I picked up a sheet of paper and wrote the quote down, then folded it up.I’d take it over to Sammie in a minute.
‘Cool.Now it’s time for the best part of this activity.’
‘What?Is it time for me to leave you already?’ I grinned, thinking that’d definitely be something to smile about.
‘Ouch.’ He clutched his stomach and I tried to ignore how the fabric of his T-shirt clung to his abs.‘Harsh.’
‘I was joking.’Sort of. Actually, I was deadly serious.Just because Jake knew about romcoms, it didn’t change anything.He still wasnotmy perfect match.
Far from it.
‘Wow.’ Jake gasped dramatically.‘Shejokes? I thought your personality permanently operated on one setting: glaring.’
‘Haha, very funny.’
‘It’s true!All you’ve done since dinner is glare at me.’
‘Whatever happened to calling me Smiley?’
‘Touché.But seriously though, why do you hate me so much?Did I refuse to give you an autograph after you camped out overnight to come to one of my shows?’
‘Not everything’s aboutyou!’ I rolled my eyes.
‘No?’ His jaw dropped with mock surprise.‘All these years everyone lied to me!’ He laughed.‘So what is it then?’
‘Doesn’t matter.’ I waved my hand dismissively.‘What’s your favourite part of the task?’
‘Sammie said we have to introduce each other to the group and tell them three things about each other.I’ve already got yours locked down: one, she hates me, two, she hates smiling and three, she’s from New York.Nailed it, right?’
‘The smiling part is incorrect.I smile a lot.But only when I’m around people that make me happy.’
‘Damn, girl.You’re firing so many shots at me I’m gonna need stitches to patch up all these holes!So what have you learnt about me?’
‘That’s easy: one, you love yourself, two, you’re a musician and three, you’re a closet romcom lover.’
