RomCom Cliché

Chapter Two

"Good morning!" Rebecca happily greeted her friend, rising from the table at their café to wrap her in a hug and lightly kiss her cheek. She was too excited to be annoyed that Nam was predictably late.

"You're in a suspiciously good mood," her friend warily eyed her, setting down her handbag and taking a seat, brushing dark hair off her shoulder.

Reclaiming her seat, Rebecca splayed her hands on the table and leaned forward, a bright look in her eyes as she grinned conspiratorially. "I've met someone--"

"No, no, no," Nam groaned, holding up a hand as she closed her eyes. "Don't say it. Don't fucking say it."

"This one's the one. I can tell."

Groaning even louder, Nam put her head in her hands. "Why do you always do this to yourself?"

"What?" Rebecca exclaimed, spreading her hands as she leaned back. "Am I not allowed to fall in love? Is it a crime?"

Snorting, Nam gave her a sceptical look, "babe, you're not in love . You don't even know them; you were quite literally dating someone else last week."

Waving a hand dismissively, Rebecca rolled her eyes and gave her a wry smile. "Love isn't a finite resource."

"Well, I damn well wish it was. "

A waiter came to take their orders and Rebecca ordered a mimosa and then gave her friend a pleading look. 

"Don't spoil my fun," she softly whined, an aching look in her eyes.

The truth was there was a deep vulnerability to Rebecca, masked by her confidence, her clothes, her money and her easy and dismissive way she seemed to fall in love and then get over the inevitable failure of that romance. 

For all her insistence that it was nothing more than fun for her, the truth was that Rebecca wanted to be in love. She wanted to be wanted, wanted to find that one person to shower with love, a defiant display of affection that went against everything she'd been raised to be.

Growing up in a too-big house with sparing love to be shared around, it had left her with a need to be desired, to fill that empty hole of her childhood, vying for her mother's love, which was so rarely given and fought so hard for. 

Perhaps it was pathetic in a way, how she tried so hard to find love, but she was adamant that she wouldn't give in until she found it, flaunting it to her mother, to her brother, overcoming everything they'd expected her to be.

Still, she had nothing to show for it yet, but Rebecca was stubborn. Perhaps the sting of rejection would have forced someone weaker to give up and wallow in the loneliness of not being wanted, but Rebecca had never failed at anything. It didn't matter how long it took - once she'd decided she wanted something, she would get it. 

Maybe it was growing up spoiled, with everything except love at her fingertips, but Rebecca had never been denied a thing before; she was a partner at her firm, had graduated top of her class at Harvard, had a house and friends that were hers, independent of her family. Her inheritance helped, of course, but money could only go so far where relationships were concerned.

"I'm not trying to spoil your fun, but I love you, okay? I don't want to see you heartbroken again."

"Funny, because the most heartbroken I've ever been was over you."

"Don't be a bitch," Nam sighed, rolling her eyes, "and that's a lie."

Rebecca's lips curled into a playful smile, a fond ache in her chest for her friend. It hadn't worked out between them for many reasons, but she was one of the people Rebecca genuinely loved, trusted more than anyone else, and it was a familiar sort of teasing that brought a flush of pleasure to Rebecca as Nam bristled defensively.