Elevator Pitch

by Evelyn Leigh

I’ve tried giving real men a chance, but that’s it. I’m deleting my dating profile and going back to fictional men.

I’m a people pleaser in recovery. We prioritize everyone else’s happiness, even strangers who don’t mean anything to us. It’s just in our nature. Externally, I’m too fucking nice. Internally, I’m a badass like the women in my family. I struggle with displaying both sides in a way that is healthy for me.

Someone is out there waiting to love me. Someone will see all that I am and provide ample space for me to just be. Someone will contribute to the life I’ve created for myself without dimming my light.

“Listen, ma’am. I don’t have anywhere to be, but if you’re going to keep eye fucking me…I’d appreciate it if you’d ask me my name.”

You grabbed my attention and held onto it, all while you were focused on that novel. I wanted to earn your gaze.”

“My name is Greyson, but you can call me Grey if you’re nasty,” he adds with a disarming smile.

Reading romance is amazing, but eventually, you start to wonder if your main character moment will ever come along. I can’t be the only one who feels that way.

“You want to buy me smut books?” “Yes.” “Paperback or hardcover?” “Anything you fucking want.”

You know how we’re taught as little girls that when a boy is mean to you, he likes you? Well, that’s dangerous for many reasons because we aren’t teaching them to be kind, and us girls learn to accept whatever crumbs they give us. We’re easily impressed by the bare minimum, and them being mean isn’t a dealbreaker if you’re conditioned like many of us are. However, it leads us to find a man like I did.

I’ve read a few romances she’s recommended, and I think this is what they call a slow burn. I can wait. The fire will be rewarding.