Page 85 of The Virgin Romance Novelist Chronicles
“It will happen for you, Rosie,” Derk said, interrupting my thoughts. “Just have faith. You’re going to end up with some stud, I know it.”
“Thanks, Derk.” I smiled from his words of choice. “I can’t believe you two are finally going to get married. I feel like you’ve been together forever.”
“We have, but I’m glad we started out as friends, because there is no relationship unless you’re friends first.”
“But weren’t you worried about losing that friendship, if things didn’t work out?” I asked, trying to sound casual about the question, but by the way Derk looked at me, he saw right through my motive for the question.
“I was more worried about not having Delaney in my life every second of the day. You know that feeling when something happens to you and there is only one person in the world who will understand you and who you absolutely have to tell?”
“Yes,” I responded. That was Henry. He was my go-to.
“That was Delaney. I realized at some point, I no longer only wanted her as a friend, I needed more from her, because I wanted her in my life at all times.”
“But crossing over that line, from friends to . . . more than friends, wasn’t it awkward?”
“No,” he said matter-of-factly. “It almost seemed like it was meant to be, like it was crazy we hadn’t been making out for years.”
“Hmm.” I twisted my hands in my lap as I thought about the other night, how my lips so easily glossed over Henry’s, how his hand roaming my body didn’t make me want to swat him away. No, I’d wanted to pull him even closer.
I’d read books where best friends got together and it always seemed so easy. Was this what it was like, to start to see your best friend differently? Did he see me differently? Or was I just being a girl?
“You should go for it. Henry is a great guy and adores you.”
“Excuse me?” I asked, feeling a little shocked that Derk had read my mind.
“Come on, the sexual chemistry between you two is so damn uncomfortable to be around. It would be great if you both did us all a favor and finally did the dirty deed.”
“I don’t want that though. To just have a night with him. That would ruin everything, Derk.”
“I don’t think he only wants one night with you, Rosie. You can see it in his eyes, the way he looks at you, the way he’s overprotective of you.”
“That’s him being a friend.”
“Is that right? Well, he doesn’t do the same thing for Delaney, does he?”
I opened my mouth to answer, to tell him he did, but when I thought about it, he really didn’t. Delaney and he were friends but not as close as Henry and I were.
“He doesn’t treat her the same because she has you. He doesn’t need to be so protective with her.”
“That’s crap and you know it.” Derk got up off the couch and walked toward Delaney’s room, where I assumed he’d wait for her. “Just admit it, Rosie. You like Henry and he likes you. The sooner you two figure that out, the sooner you’ll be able to find what Delaney and I have. Believe me, I wish everyone had the same relationship I have. It’s the best thing in my life.”
With a smile, he walked into her bedroom and shut the door.
I slouched on the couch and tried to figure out where my heart was. Instead of being able to calm the nerves floating in my stomach, they continued to twist in knots.
The image of my lead character in my book came into my head and I thought about what she would do in the situation, what would I want her to do. Given I’m a romantic at heart, I would be beating my Kindle against my pillow, telling the girl to get over her stupid reservations and just go for it. Wasn’t that how all romantics were?Give love a chance. That was the soul element in every romance novel ever written—give love a chance.
It seemed so easy, to just put yourself out there, to give in to the feelings you’d kept hidden for so long . . . to put the most important thing in your life on the line.
If I ever lost Henry, because I thought he might actually want to start a relationship with me, I would never forgive myself. He was too important to me.
Ugh, I wasthatgirl. That girl who couldn’t make up her damn mind. That girl in a novel I wanted to shake uncontrollably. Slap some sense into her. I could see the reviews now: God, Rosie was so annoying. Rosie was so wishy-washy. Rosie didn’t know a good thing when it hit her in the face.
Well, from an outsider’s perspective, love seemed easy, but when you’re the one in the hot seat, making the decisions, it’s not that easy putting your heart out there, gathering enough courage to fall into the unknown. Love wasn’t easy and love wasn’t kind. Love was something you sacrificed everything for in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, there was a person in this world who’d accept you for who you were.
Is that Henry for me? Was Derk right? Is that what Henry wanted for us?
The front door to the apartment opened, and I knew without even looking it was Henry by the way his shoes hit the wooden floors.
