Page 44 of Guys Can’t Write Romance
Silence fell over the room as the group poured over Chad’s latest chapters.
Daisy found herself completely immersed in Chad’s story of Brandon, a struggling horror writer who finds his muse for a romance novel in a quirky female ghost named Emma.
Emma later introduces Brandon to her sister, a hyper-organized waitress named Lilly.
In Chad’s latest pages, Emma made the introduction by knocking Brandon’s coffee cup off the table in the small diner where Lilly worked.
As Brandon helped Lilly clean up the mess, he noticed she had a lot of the quirkiness he found endearing in Emma.
It was nothing like Chad’s previous work. The humor was still there, but woven through it was a vulnerability and emotional depth that caught Daisy by surprise. When she finished reading, she looked up to find Mags watching Chad with a thoughtful expression.
“Well,” Mags said finally, “I think we can officially declare the slime monster dead and buried.”
“And good riddance,” Helen added with a smile.
“Chad,” Bernie leaned forward, his expression serious. “This is exceptionally good work. As Helen would say, color me surprised as well.”
“Uhm, thanks?” Chad said.
“I just love how mischievous Emma is,” Ruth said. “I assume it’s going to be quite touching when she has to depart.”
“It is,” Daisy said, glancing at Chad, but his focus was back on the pages in front of him.
Phil nodded. “And the technical aspects are solid. The pacing, the tension between the supernatural and romantic elements, it all works.”
Daisy watched Chad as he absorbed the praise, noting how he seemed almost uncomfortable with it, as if he didn’t quite believe he deserved it.
“What about the relationship dynamics?” Chad asked, his focus on Mags. “Does it feel authentic? Or too convenient?”
There was something in his question that struck Daisy as odd. It wasn’t his usual concern about whether something was exciting enough or had enough tension.
“It feels absolutely authentic,” Mags assured him. “Lilly’s hesitation about getting involved with someone who seems emotionally unavailable, and Brandon’s own fear that he’s using Lilly as a living substitute for Emma, these are real human complexities.”
“I agree,” Daisy added, unable to contain herself.
“It’s beautiful, Chad. The way Brandon gradually realizes that holding onto Emma is preventing him from truly connecting with Lilly.
” She paused, suddenly aware of an uncomfortable parallel.
“It’s like he’s afraid he’s not good enough without his ghost to guide him. ”
Chad’s eyes met hers briefly, a flash of something vulnerable there before he looked away. “Thanks,” he said quietly.
“Well,” Mags said, sensing the undercurrent, “I think we can safely say both of our competitors have produced work worthy of submission. You’ve both pushed yourselves beyond your comfort zones, and the results speak for themselves.”
The meeting continued with feedback for the other members, but Daisy found her attention repeatedly drawn to Chad. He joined in the discussions, offering insights and occasional jokes, but the usual sparkle in his interactions seemed dimmed, especially when it came to their usual banter.
As the meeting wound down, Mags reminded everyone of the approaching deadline. “Remember, everyone. Submissions must be in by next Friday at midnight, or forever hold your peace.” A few groans arose as the members shut down their laptops and packed their notebooks.
Daisy looked up to see Chad already packed and heading for the door. “Hey, Chad. Wait up.”
Chad stopped at the door and looked back at Daisy, who quickly packed her office supply store of markers, pens, and notebooks and joined him.
“What’s going on with you?” Daisy said as Chad held the door for her and they headed out.
“What do you mean?” he said, looking everywhere but at her eyes.
“You’ve been strangely quiet all night.”
He forced a grin that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “And that’s not a good thing?”
Daisy eyed him skeptically. “Not from you. Quiet Chad is weird. Loud, bulldozing, slightly annoying Chad is where you shine. Is he still in there somewhere?”
She playfully examined him, as if she could spot his alter ego hiding behind this facade of ‘weirdness.’
His grin faltered slightly. “I should add bulldozing to my resume.”
“Don’t dodge,” Daisy pressed gently, stepping slightly closer as her shoulders softened. “Seriously, what’s going on?”
Chad hesitated for the longest moment, rubbing the back of his neck like it might help loosen the knot building inside his chest.
“It’s nothing,” he finally said as they reached Daisy’s car. “My mind’s just in power saver mode for this final push before the contest.”
Daisy nodded as she unlocked her car door and climbed in. She looked up at him. “Do you think fully charged Chad might make an appearance soon?”
Chad took a breath. “I hope so.”
“Me too. Because I miss him.”
Chad arrived home to find Rhino sprawled on the couch, watching a basketball game with the volume turned up too loud.
“How was the writers’ group?” Rhino asked, muting the TV. “And more importantly, how was hot teacher?”
“She’s good,” Chad said, sinking into the armchair. “And I’m an idiot.”
Rhino shot him a grin. “That’s not news, bro.”
“More of an idiot than usual.”
Rhino sat up. “Tell me you didn’t already blow it with her.”
“Not yet. But I’m heading that way fast if I don’t get it together.”
“What happened?”
Chad took a breath. “Remember me telling you about Daisy’s friend Ava?”
“Oh, yeah. Lawyer Barbie, with a stick up her butt. What about her?”
“She stopped by school today to give me a pep talk about how I’m not good enough for Daisy, and how she’ll bail as soon as she comes to her senses.”
“Since when do you care what some stuck-up lawyer thinks?”
“Since she basically told me everything I was already thinking.”
“So, we’re going full circle back to Ashley.”
Chad groaned and rubbed his hands through his hair. “You might be right about her messing me up more than I thought.”
“And you think Daisy’s gonna be like that?”
“I don’t know. I mean, Ava knows her better than I do.”
“Really? Because I don’t think she knows the Daisy Fields you know. The one who snorts beer out of her nose and sports the hungover werewolf look like a champ. Who pranks as good as anyone I’ve met. And takes both of our crap and throws it back at us.”
Chad just stared at the TV for a moment while Rhino’s words sank in. “When did you become such an expert on my psychology?”
“I told you. Dr. Phil, busted leg, six weeks of daytime TV.” Rhino tossed him a beer from the cooler beside the couch. “Look, I don’t think Ava knows this side of Daisy at all. I don’t think even Daisy knew it until you brought it out of her. So, stop being an idiot, and be the guy she fell for.”
“You really think she fell for me?”
Rhino shook his head. “I’m not even gonna dignify that with a response.”
“So, your advice is to stop being an idiot?”
“It’s a starting point,” Rhino shrugged. “We can work up to the more advanced emotional stuff once you’ve mastered the basics.”
Across town, Daisy sat alone at her kitchen table, pushing pasta around her plate and wondering what had gone wrong.
Her phone lay silent beside her, with no messages from Chad.
Her thoughts kept returning to his story, to Brandon and his ghost, to the fear of not being enough without a phantom to guide him.
She thought about texting him again, but decided against it. Whatever was happening with Chad, it felt like something he needed to work through himself. She just hoped that when he did, he’d realize she was still there, waiting.
She picked up her manuscript, flipping through the pages of Rick and Jessica’s love story, and found herself thinking about her own.
The safety she’d sought with Ethan, the excitement and unpredictability of her feelings for Chad.
The way his story had touched something deep inside her, revealing vulnerabilities she hadn’t known he possessed.
Was it possible that Chad McKenzie, with all his jokes and pranks and apparent carelessness, was actually afraid? And if so, of what?