“And for your information—you may or may not know this, Ms. Book Blogger—but the saying in publishing is ‘romance keeps the lights on.’ ” Jenna made the air quotes with her fingers. “It outsells all the other genres combined. If you ever decide to come down from your high horse and give a romance a try, let me know. I’m kind of an expert in the field and would be happy to suggest a few titles.” And with that, she picked her book back up—a romance, of course, judging by thecouple on the cover—stretched her feet out to the railing, crossed them at the ankle, and began to read and ignore Sawyer completely.
A second or two passed and Jenna turned a page, andthenSawyer was able to make herself move. With a clearing of her throat and a slight wave of shame that washed over her, she turned and went inside, closing the door behind her and leaning back against it.
Wow.
Jenna Murphy had handed her her ass.
That was so embarrassing.
So why was she standing there with a smile on her face?
Then she went inside and I sat there shaking for the next ten minutes.
Jenna was under the covers in her bed, Arnold curled up next to her hip, Wallace between her knees, and Gromit on the other pillow, as she texted in the group thread with Dakota and Veronica and told them about her run-in with Sawyer.
Guuuuuuurl!Dakota typed back.I am so freaking proud of you!
Ronni was next and sent a string of celebration emoji: champagne, fireworks, party horns.
Jenna’s fingers flew over the keyboard on her phone.I was just so mad, you guys. Like, how dare she? WTF?But even as she typed it, her brain reminded her of the flash of pain in Sawyer’s eyes. Not that she didn’t deserve the takedown—she absolutely did. But it wasn’t something Jenna did often: lambasting another person. While she was proud of herself for standing up, she didn’t necessarily feel good about it afterward. As she sat there, recalling the look in Sawyer’s eyes—her soul-searing, felt-like-they-saw-too-much, really pretty eyes—she remembered the other part of the discussion and typed outOMG! I forgot the craziest part!
Dakota’s message came through.It gets crazier?
It does…she’s gay!Jenna sent, followed by several rainbow emoji, just to emphasize the point.
Ronni sent another string of emoji, this time all the same: the wide-eyed one. It made Jenna laugh.Right?she texted.I managed not to show my surprise, but I was!
The gray dots bounced in two rows, telling her both of her friends were typing, and she sat there smiling, waiting for the messages. They came one after the other.
What are the odds of that?Dakota sent.
You should ask her out, came Ronni’s message.
Then Dakota added,You totally should!
Jenna snorted a laugh.Please. If she didn’t hate me before, she certainly does now. Also, I can’t date somebody who mocks my favorite thing in the world. That’s not a good person. You know?And after she sent that text, she sat in the quiet of her room and blew out a sad breath. She had initially thought Sawyer Hall was nice. Arnold liked her, and that was always a good sign. But people who crapped all over things that others loved were one of Jenna’s least favorite kinds of people. No, she’d never match with somebody like Sawyer Hall. She’d be civil, because she was a nice person, but that was it.
Sawyer’s face materialized in Jenna’s mind for about the fifteenth time that evening. The dark hair. The blue eyes behind the black-rimmed glasses. The full lips and straight teeth. “God,” Jenna whispered, “why does she have to be so pretty?”
Ah, well. She’d just have to settle for watching from afar, because Sawyer would certainly be keeping her distance now. She’d pretty much made sure of that.
Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything, she typed.
The responses were instant enough to make her laugh out loud in her bedroom.
Here we go, said Dakota.
And the second-guessing begins, right on time.That was Ronni.What happened to being proud of yourself for defending the thing you love?
Jenna frowned and typed,I know. You’re right. It’s just…we’re neighbors. It’s gonna be weird now.
Just avoid her.Dakota, being unrealistically pragmatic.
We live in the same house, duh.
Dakota’s response to that was a GIF of somebody peering out their window with binoculars.
She laughed some more.You guys are a huge help.
