Nat and Clara both gasp, and Nat nearly drops the phone as she bounces in her seat. “Reese Camden, do you mean…? How? When? And you didn’t tell us?”
I sit back in my chair with a sigh. “Yeah, so that’s the other complicated bit.”
I relay the story of Benny’s food pun warfare and my rejection, as well as some of the ways he continues to express his interest—the ones Clara and Natalie haven’t seen onAmateur Hour,anyway.
“Excellent pun repertoire,” Clara says.
“Oh gosh, this is the cutest. I can’t, this is so cute. And please clarify, why didn’t you tear the ball cap off his head and stage an instant pantry make-out sesh?” Nat looks at me like she’s disgusted by my actions, or lack thereof.
“Good gravy, what is it with you and the ball cap?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “You know I’ve always had an athlete thing. Answer the question.”
It’s true. Nat dated at least one member of every boys’ sports team at our school at some point, never for very long and always dumping them for reasons like “too alpha,” “didn’t shower after practice,” or “Republican.”
“I don’t know,” I say. “I barely knew him at that point. They’d just decided we’d be competing for the fall internship on camera, and it didn’t seem worth the extra complication. But the more I’ve gotten to know him, the more I like him. And that scares me, because the more I like him, the harder it’ll be for me to want him to lose out on the job so I can win. And of course I’m afraid that I won’t get it in the end anyway. And no matter how much I like him, I might resent him if he gets it, and honestly, what’s the point in setting ourselves up for that?
“And the last thing I need, with people already scrutinizingeverything about me, is for anyone to find out that there’s anything more than a working relationship between us. Then I’m the lovesick girl, not a serious chef in training. I’m not going to chuck all my plans out the window for the first guy who comes around and treats me halfway decent.”
Natalie and Clara both makehmmsounds. I sort of regret telling them about Benny in the first place; they’re invested now, so they won’t let go easily.
“Not to bring everything back to a TKM post,” Nat begins. “But remember that TKM post Katherine wrote about romance novels?”
I blink, trying to jog my memory. “Vaguely?”
She clears her throat, and I feel like I’m in for a lecture. “Well, our girl Katherine is a proud romance reader and believes that it is, in fact, the most feminist genre in fiction. People think it’s all about finding love and that women can’t be happy without a romantic partner. But Katherine and I agree that most romance is actually, at its heart, about women asking for and getting what they want, whether it’s out of a partner, career, life in general. It’s all about claiming your own happiness and not judging what it is that makes you or anyone else happy, and what’s more empowering than that?”
I purse my lips, trying and failing at deciphering her implications. “I’m gonna need you to spell it out for me. The message you’re getting at.”
“What I think she means is,” Clara cuts in, “those books, inmost cases, tell women that they can have it all. Andyou can,Reese. I know you think a relationship ruined everything for you last time, but you were younger and dumber and more easily fooled by a guy who really wasn’t worth it. If you think Benny can make you happy, then give him the chance. Giveyourselfthe chance.”
“But the job…,” I groan, running a hand down my face.
“Honestly, I think competing with each other is kinda hot,” Natalie says. “All that trash talk, trying to one-up each other? It’s like some seriously drawn-out foreplay.”
I choke on my drink.
Clara’s voice is steady and patient as she continues through my coughing fit. “Take care of the things you can control, but don’t worry about hypothetical future conflicts or resentments when they don’t exist yet and maybe never will. Liking a guy doesn’t make you any less capable of doing your job. You can be a career-minded badass and have your own great love story—they’re not mutually exclusive.”
“Yeah, Clar!” Natalie pumps a fist, and I shudder again at the volume pumping straight into my eardrums. “And if you need any more convincing, might I remind you of all of our pro-Benny points?”
I’m about to tell her no, that isn’t really necessary, Clara’s speech got the message across, but Nat is already counting things off on her fingers.
“One, the face—I mean, the smile, the dimples, the eyes, allof it. Two, the emotional intelligence. We love a man who is in touch with his feelings and opens up to you.”
“Three, the height,” Clara adds, surprising Natalie as much as me, judging by the look Nat gives her. “What? I like that y’all are even, or Reese might even be a tiny bit taller, but he doesn’t seem threatened by it.”
“Hmm, good point,” Nat says. “Four, not to be mostly physical, but the body…”
I laugh as my friends continue to wax poetic about Benny, based on what they know about him from the videos and me. Admittedly, what they’re saying is getting to me. Should I give a date with Benny a chance? Could we balance a romantic relationship with this completely bonkers work situation we’re in? Would the risks be worth it to spend more time together, no matter what came of it in the end?
The conversation moves on naturally as I continue to mull things over, and Nat fills me in about the latest contact she’s had with her randomly assigned roommate, who seems to be a shy introvert, bless her heart. We talk about what’s on the schedule for Clara the next few days, which is a bunch of seminars and team-building activities, and all the podcasts Nat has downloaded for her solo drive back to Kentucky. When they have to pull off the interstate to refuel both car and stomachs, we start to say our goodbyes.
“Now, Reesey, I want you to give this nice young man a chance,” Nat slips in before I have a chance to hang up.
Clara, having safely parked the car, leans in to face the camera. “Yes, promise us you’ll think about what we said.”
“No, I don’t want you to think about it anymore.” Nat shakes her head. “I want you to agree to go out on a date with him. Do you need me to draft a text for you?”
