Chapter Fourteen #2
“Why should that offend me? You’re right.”
His brows fly up. “You’d rather live in a fake world instead of the real world?”
“Uh, duh. Why would I want to live in the real world when the fake world is so much better?”
“Because…well, you can’t experience any of that from a book. You can only experience that in real life.”
I snort. “You obviously have not read a romance book. Because almost every romance reader will tell you that in most cases, books are far better than real life.”
He stares at me like I beamed down from another planet. “There’s no way a book is better than real life.”
“Heck it is, especially in romance.”
He continues to stare at me as though he’s trying to make sense of what I just said. “So you’d be totally fine with never experiencing romance in real life as long as you can experience it fictitiously through a book?”
“Yep. You got it.” My eyes return to my book. I don’t want to be rude, but I’d really like to read right now. Maybe he’ll get the message and leave?
But he remains in his spot for a while, his head still seeming to reel from what I told him.
He leans forward, placing his hand over the book.
“Hey!”
“Sophie, I really doubt you believe that a person can experience better romance in a book than real life. That makes no sense.”
“Of course it makes sense! If an author is talented, she can make her readers feel everything her characters feel.”
“But it’s not the same as actually experiencing it.”
“Come talk to me after you’ve actually read an amazing romance book.”
“I don’t need to read a book to know the real deal is better than the book.”
I lift a brow. “Talking from real-life experience?”
“Not necessarily. Everyone knows the real thing is better than a fake one. I mean, that’s pretty obvious.”
“Nope.”
I return to my reading, hoping he’ll once again take the hint that I want to be alone with my book.
“You’re just saying that because you don’t want to admit that I’m right,” he says.
Raising my eyes to his, I burst out laughing. “Admit that you’re right? Oh, Damian Harrington Lawrence. There’s a lot you need to learn.”
“Actually, I think it’s you who needs to learn. You’ve obviously never experienced a real relationship or else you wouldn’t feel that way.”
I roll my eyes. “I know the world I live in. I know that some people experience epic romances, but those are the lucky ones. Most people will just stumble through life wishing and hoping to meet the guy or girl of their dreams. But it’s a waste of time because the guy or girl of their dreams lives in a book. ”
He gapes at me like I’m talking crazy.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m guessing you’ve had girlfriends before. Have any of them knocked you off your feet? Did you experience this life-shattering romance with them?”
“Well, no, but—”
“I rest my case.” I push his hand off my book and continue to read.
“So how about a challenge?” he announces.
I once again lift my eyes to his. “A challenge?”
“Yeah. Prove to me I’m wrong by experiencing a romance in real life. If it’s not as good as the romance you read about in your books, I’ll admit that I’m wrong. But if it is better than the ones in your books, then you admit that I’m right.”
“I don’t need to prove anything to you.”
“Yes, you do. Because if I’m right and you’re wrong, you’ll spend your whole life with your nose buried in your books while everyone else around you experiences romance in real life. They’ll have the real deal while you’ll find yourself all alone surrounded by worn-out books.”
“Don’t insult my books,” I warn.
He holds up his hands. “Sorry. I’m just trying to get my point across.”
I lean back in my seat and cross my arms over my chest. “So you want to bet?”
“We don’t have to bet. It can just be a challenge to prove who’s right and who’s wrong.”
I twist my nose. I normally don’t like trying to prove anything to anyone because I don’t need to prove myself to anyone.
I am who I am and I like what I like and I don’t need to validate myself.
But Damian is bringing out my competitive side.
I want to prove him wrong. Not because it’ll magically turn him into a romance reader, but just to prove that he has no idea what he’s talking about.
“So what exactly would this challenge entail?” I ask.
He taps his fingers on the table as he thinks. “You need to find a guy to have a relationship with. Like I said, if your romance is better than the one in there.” He nods to my book. “I win. If not, you win.”
“What do either of us gain, though? Bragging rights?”
“Knowing that you’re right or knowing that I’m right.”
“That’s it?”
“Betting would make it less authentic because either of us might lie or bend the truth just to prove our own opinion. So I think it would be fair not to gain anything to make it as real as possible.”
Hmm, he does have a point. If I knew I would receive a prize for winning the challenge, I might pretend the romance in the book is better than one in real life.
“And you’ll gain so much more than a prize if I’m right,” he says. “You’ll gain a real-life boyfriend who will make your life much better than those books.”
I hug the book to my chest. “You didn’t hear that, right?” I focus my attention back on Damian. “And if I’m right, maybe you’ll actually read a romance book and see what you’re missing out on.”
“Maybe. But I doubt I’ll lose.”
“Geez, are you always so cocky?”
“When I know I’m right.”
“You’re not right, dude.”
“Then prove me wrong and accept the challenge.”
My eyes rove over his face as I contemplate what to do. Then I lift my shoulders. “You know something? What the heck. There’s really nothing to lose. Well, other than your pride.”
“But you need to make a real effort to try to have a relationship with someone or this is invalid. You can’t claim real-life romance isn’t as good as book romance if you haven’t actually had a real-life romance.”
“So…in order to prove you wrong, I’ll need to actually meet a guy, have that guy like me enough to go out with me, have him like me even more so he’ll agree to be my boyfriend, and then eventually we’ll break up because real-life romance sucks?”
He gives me a face. “Everything besides the last part.”
“The last part will prove that I’m right and you’re wrong.”’
“Geez you’re stubborn.”
“Takes one to know one.”
He lays his hands on the table. “So we have a deal? You’ll need to find a guy to try this with. But it has to be real. You can’t string a guy along just to prove a point. That’s not fair.”
“I would never do that!”
“Okay, good. So you’ll need to put yourself out there and make an effort to meet a guy.”
“But the guys here suck,” I complain.
“Are you sure there are no decent ones? You and your friends aren’t the only scholarship kids. I’m sure there are plenty for you to choose from.”
“Think again,” I mutter.
“Well, I’m confident that there are lots of guys who would jump at the idea of getting to know you better.”
I narrow my eyes. “Are you being sarcastic?”
“Why would I be sarcastic?”
My neck heats up. Is he implying that he thinks I’m good girlfriend material? I shake my head. It doesn’t matter. Real-life romance is not as good as book romance, and I’ll prove it to him.
He holds out his hand. “We have a deal?”
With a confident smile, I shake his hand. “Deal. Now get out of here so I can read my book,” I joke.
He chuckles softly as he gets up. “Soon you’ll read your books for entertainment only and not as a way to insert yourself into the story so you can experience all that fake romance. Mark my words.”
I roll my eyes. “We’ll see who has the last laugh.”
He shakes his head with a smile. “Good night, Sophie. And don’t type up the notes.”
“Good night, Damian, and expect the notes later tonight.”
He continues to smile as he walks out of the library, and my lips are lifted in a smile as I focus back on my book.