Page 65 of I Don't Need Your Romance

He nods and leaves the library. I should get my butt moving because I don’t want to be late to my date, but I need a second to mentally prepare myself. If this is the perfect guy for me, I don’t want my nerves to mess it up. I need to take a deep breath and relax. Axel seems like a great guy. There’s nothing to be nervous about, right?

Ugh, I wish.

My friends already wished me luck and texted me before my lesson with Damian to have a great time. Why do I feel so pressured for this to go well? It’s just a date. And if Axel turnsout not to be the guy I envisioned, I’ll either continue looking or give up. William King will always be there for me.

But now that I’ve tasted what it’s like to have a potential guy, maybe William King isn’t enough. The possibility of feeling in real life what I feel when I read makes my head spin. I want it. A lot. I always told myself I’ll never go through what the female MCs go through, but maybe I’m wrong. My parents are in love, even though they’ve experienced so much loss. Carly’s parents are crazy about each other. Even though the odds are small, itcouldhappen to me.

I just have to give myself and Axel a chance.

So after nodding to myself and inhaling and exhaling a few deep breaths, I make a quick stop at my dorm room to put my school things away, then head for the student parking lot. Axel and I are meeting at Lottie’s, the best pizzeria in town.

The drive feels like it’s taking forever, even though it’s a little more than twenty minutes. I find a parking spot, kill the engine, take another few deep breaths, give myself some pep talks, then get out of the car. The place is packed with people, which is normal for Lottie’s. I hope Axel is here and managed to snag us a table. It wouldn’t be romantic to eat our pizza standing. They have tables and chairs outdoors as well, but it’s too cold to sit outside.

Scanning the tables, I don’t see Axel. But a hand in the distance waves, and I smile. He’s in a booth in the back, kind of in a secluded area that’s away from the other diners. Good. I want to be alone so we can talk. I’m already sensing romantic vibes. This guy knows exactly how to make a girl feel good.

I’m at his side in seconds and wave. “Hi!”

He grins in that cute and warm way. He takes in my dress. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks. You look handsome.” He’s wearing a white T-shirt and jeans and his hair is brushed back neatly.

“Thanks. Please, sit.”

I lower myself across from him.

“I would have ordered, but I don’t know what you like,” he says.

“A regular slice is fine and an orange soda.”

Nodding, he goes to order our pizza. Then he returns with a wide smile on his face. “How was your day?”

“Good. Yours?”

“Had a test that I aced, but other than that, school was pretty boring. I bet you’ve got loads of interesting classes at HBA.”

“Yeah, but let’s not talk about school. Let’s talk books.”

“Okay, sure.”

“Tell me your favorites.”

He lists a few and I’m glad I read most of them. We go into an in-depth discussion of what we loved and didn’t love about them as we eat our pizza. I can talk to this guy for hours and never get bored. It’s like he shares my brain because we both think pretty much the same thoughts.

“What did you think about the romance?” I ask regarding one of the books.

He shrugs. “Wasn’t the best.”

“Right? You’d think the guy saving the girl would be the most epic and swoon-worthy thing in the world. But the author just glossed over it.”

He nods. “A romantasy without romance is just a fantasy.”

I giggle, maybe a bit too loudly.

He smiles. “Are you excited for the movie adaptation?”

I groan. “Yeah, but it’ll come out in two years.Twoyears.” I shrug. “Either way, the movie will never be better than the book.”

He shakes his head. “Never.”