Page 81 of Men or Paws

“Don’t you dare start singing ‘Rocket Man’,” Holly said. “And you know what I mean. That man has extraordinary genes.”

“Fine,” I said, giving up. “Maybe he’s kind of charming and slightly attractive.”

Holly laughed. “Slightly? The guy is smoking hot. I was almost about to ask you to hose me down because my pants caught on fire during the Zoom call.”

I laughed. “Now you’re being ridiculous. And just because Rocco has a few positive qualities doesn’t mean something’s going to happen between us or that we’re meant to be together. We’re complete opposites and we live on different planets.”

“Opposites attract,” Holly said. “Look at me and Josh.”

“Rocco is rarely home,” I said, deciding to quickly throw out another excuse to see if it stuck.

“Josh is rarely home.”

“Rocco is a star. I’m just a regular girl.”

“Just like me and Josh. He entertains people for a living. I spend my days in a lab studying how genes interact, evolve, and replicate in humans, animals and plants. Not even close to the same.”

I huffed. “Would you quit having an answer for everything? It’s quite annoying.”

Holly smiled. “Then you’re not going to like this. You told me Rocco is trying to find a sitcom to star in, to plant some roots and settle down. The he’s-rarely-home thing is temporary. Josh wants the exact same thing! If I can handle it, you can handle it, because you’re much stronger than me. You haven’t given me one legitimate reason why you and Rocco couldn’t have a chance at something special. I can totally picture you two together, you know. Plus, he asked you out on a real date!”

I shook my head. “No, you told him to take me out and he agreed. It’s not the same because it wasn’t his idea. And don’t forget that Rocco is a notorious heartbreaker. It would only be a matter of time before he broke mine. Don’t tell me Josh is the same, because I know my own brother. He has no commitment issues and would never break your heart.”

“True, but in this case, I was the heartbreaker,” Holly said. “I went through a lot of guys before I ended up with Josh. My point is, people can change. Especially when they meet the right person.”

Holly was starting to wear me down with her logic and I didn’t like it one bit.

“Okay, here’s one you won’t have an answer for,” I said. “What if Rocco and I ended up dating and then it didn’t work out? I would see him on TV, on billboards, in magazines, and in movies for the rest of my life. Can you imagine the torture?”

“Hello? Is anybody home?” Holly gave me a knowing smile. “As crazy as it sounds, you’re on the cusp of heading down the exact same path I’m on, but the difference is you’re too scared to press the accelerator.”

I smirked. “I’m not scared, I’m paranoid. There’s a huge difference.”

There were no guarantees going into any new relationship, I knew that, but the odds would be stacked against me with someone like Rocco who had a very well-known track record for abandoning ship after the cruise was just starting to get fun.

Holly wrapped her arms around me. “Sweetie, you know I love you.”

I rolled my eyes. “But?”

“But . . . sometimes you just really need a supersonic kick to the butt. Would you like me to buy you a big bubble to live in?”

“Would it be rent-free?” I laughed, even though I got her point.

I was playing it safe.

It wasn’t like I didn’t think it would be exciting and fun to go out with Rocco. The restaurant drama I’d had with him had left my daily stream of consciousness, so that wasn’t causing me to hesitate. The only thing I could attribute it to was the fear of what would happen if we started dating.

“Okay,” Holly said. “Let’s play pros and cons.”

I smirked. “Let’s not and say we did.”

She ignored me and started the game. “Rocco could be the one.”

A laugh burst out of me. “Yeah, thewrongone.”

“You could be happy.”

“I could also be devastated when he dumps my sorry butt after falling in love with his next costar, which, by the way, he has already done twice.”