Page 54 of I Love You, I Hate You

You know you’re bored when you consider baiting MRAs into a fight.

Nora @Noraephronwasagenius

I’m bored AND feeling like a fight.

Reiko @Keanuisadreamboat

Yeah yikes girl, are you sure that’s wise? :o

Maddy H @MadisonHughes95

I vote live-tweet a rom com, if only because that’s the least likely to get you death threats. Sidenote: men are garbage and I hate this planet

Nora @Noraephronwasagenius

What if I feel like making men feel like garbage? Maybe it’s worth the death threats.

Maddy H @MadisonHughes95

You are a braver woman than I

Victoria got up to pour herself a new glass of wine, and by the time she was back on her couch with her laptop, Kara had already slid into her DMs.

@Neverthelesskararesisted

Okay seriously, everything okay?

@Noraephronwasagenius

Pissed at Luke still.

@Neverthelesskararesisted

Did you want me to do some light stalking? Or is the blocking working for you?

She still hadn’t fully explained the whole mess to them, but they’d at least gotten the highlights. It was the most she could bring herself to do, with the irrational shame from being rejected still burning the back of her throat whenever she thought about it.

@Noraephronwasagenius

I dunno what’s worse. Knowing he’s moved on from me and doesn’t give a shit or that he’s just sitting over there, moping.

Moving on would sting, but if he’s moping that would be infuriating, because he had his fucking chance.

@Neverthelesskararesisted

I could also try and track him down and like, slash his tires or something.

Just saying, it’s an option.

Victoria sipped her wine and frowned. There was also the Owen complication to deal with. She was a little embarrassed by how she had reacted to his rejection—he was allowed to not want to hook up—and the more she thought about it, the more she realized her reaction in the courtroom had been at least partially ego-driven on her part.

Victoria never lost cases. She never got ruffled and she never got surprised, and the fact that Owen had pulled off all three in one go was more a reflection on her than on him. She had let her guard down around him, and that made her vulnerable, and she had forgotten that they were opponents. He clearly hadn’t, and that wasn’t a flaw—that was proof he was a good attorney willing to go the distance for his clients. She had been so relieved to see him that night Luke stood her up, despite everything. She realized she’d gone too far in judging him earlier, but the combination of rejection from Luke and rejection from him had sent her spiraling.

Before, she had been in the weird position of having feelings for two men, unsure of where to concentrate her affections. And now she was in the position of missing them both, furious at one and too ashamed of her behavior to apologize to the other.

@Noraephronwasagenius

Question: what if I have another guy problem to tackle too.