Fantasy - A girl who can wield magical elemental (?) powers is paired with the best looking and most popular boy in her class, they must work together.

[Jen]

The book starts out with the two main characters at a school/academy/college, graduation ceremony where two magic wielders will find their magically compatible partner, and must work together for life. These (elemental?) magic wielders will protect cities/regions from natural disasters that keep happening (can't remember why).

I believe the main female character had red hair. She thinks the main male character is good looking but knows he will never have a romantic interest in her because he is very popular, basically a celebrity.

I remember a scene in the first book where she gets drawn into a dance based on Phillipino stick dancing, Tinikling, and discoveres she's really good at it.

The book is a series. Over the course of the books I read the pair process their romantic feelings toward one another. In the third (?) book they are stuck in a distant outpost, alone together, and get sick of each other. They play a lot of cards.

Thank you for any help you can offer. I know the author was female and the books were released at least 15 years ago, bought them back when Borders was a thing in the US.

[Kris]

Resenting the Hero (book 1) of the Hero series by Moira J. Moore?

Google Books preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=QJj...

Google search of Goodreads:
site:goodreads.com "young adult" "fantasy" protect cities "natural disasters"