But he couldn’t walk away from the opportunity. He didn’t have it in him. He was going to ask Hollyn to do this.
And then he was never going to touch her again. Because she deserved so much better.
That sent a hard pang of reality through him. Hell. She deserved Cal. A guy who would sacrifice his dream to be with her.
Jasper wouldn’t—couldn’t—sacrifice his dream for anyone. It was all he’d ever really had to hold on to. Without it, he didn’t know who he was.
He was going to have to let her go.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Why Love Triangle Stories Are Secretly Tragedies
By Miz Poppy
We’ve been talking a lot about rom-coms lately and romantic tropes, in general. So, I would be remiss if I left out the love-triangle trope. This is a favorite of the rom-com genre and the teen TV series. But as I’ve gone through my favorite love-triangle stories, I’ve realized something. Love-triangle stories are only romances for two. When you switch point of view to the person who doesn’t win the love, you’re telling a tragedy. What if Pretty in Pink was told from Duckie’s POV? That would be a sad-ass movie.
The reason why we see these as happy romances is because we, as viewers, are guided to identify with the two who end up together. But how many of us in our real lives have been the unchosen one? I’d like to see the movie of the person who doesn’t get picked. Show me their happy ending. Show me why the best thing that ever happened to them was to not get chosen by that person they wanted. I want to see all happy endings, dammit! :)
In the meantime, here are some of my favorite love-triangle movies and TV shows to fill up your watchlist:
1. Love Actually
2. Bridget Jones’s Diary
3. My Best Friend’s Wedding
4. Sleepless in Seattle
5. Dawson’s Creek
6. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
7. How I Met Your Mother
8. Lost
9. Vampire Diaries
10. True Blood (so many vampire love triangles on the list!)
Those are some of mine. What’s your favorite? Which unchosen love-triangle character would you love to see get their own movie or show?
Hollyn had been hiding. And lying. And basically being a big ol’ coward. She hated that she’d lied to Jasper, telling him that Cal was still in town. She hated that she hadn’t picked up the phone to talk to him, but she wasn’t in a state of mind to explain what had happened or to jump right back in bed with Jasper and pretend like nothing had changed. Cal’s revelation had thrown her like a wrestler tossing her out of the ring of her life. Her head was still spinning.
She’d spent the last two days mostly in her pajamas, watching movies in an endless queue and eating too much junk food. That was what the movies told you to do when you’d suffered a major relationship shake-up. But none of it had helped. Her brain was still as scattered as when Cal had walked out, and her heart had taken a vow of silence on what she was feeling about the two men in her life. Anytime she tried to peek into that particular closet of her psyche, the threat of a panic attack rushed up like a tsunami and she slammed the door shut. This was a maze she wasn’t going to be able to navigate solo.
By the second night, she gave up on trying to white-knuckle her way through things alone and pulled out her phone. She opened the familiar app and hit the button, requesting an emergency chat with her therapist. Mary Leigh indicated that she was available to chat in ten minutes. Hollyn watched until the indicator on her app for Mary Leigh changed from unavailable to available and took a deep, bracing breath.
Mary Leigh: Hi Hollyn, what’s going on?
Just seeing the words made Hollyn feel a little better. She used to feel ashamed that she even needed therapy, but having a neutral party to discuss things with, one who had her best interests as their job, was the ultimate life hack. She refused to feel bad about doing something that helped her be a better version of herself.
Hollyn: My best friend just revealed he’s in love with me, is moving here, and wants to have a relationship. HELP
Mary Leigh: Wow. That’s a big revelation. How do you feel about what he said?
Hollyn: If I knew that, would I be emergency texting you?
Mary Leigh didn’t respond for a beat.
Hollyn: Sorry. I’m freaking out a little. I didn’t mean that to sound as bitchy as it did.
Mary Leigh: Feeling freaked out is a valid reaction. A love declaration is a big deal, especially from someone you consider a friend. You’ve always talked fondly of Cal. Outside of this new information that he’s revealed, how do you feel about him?
Hollyn pulled a throw pillow into her lap and picked at the piping. How did she feel about Cal?
Hollyn: He’s the best person I know. In a completely not hyperbolic sense.
Mary Leigh: So you like him as person and a friend for sure. Are you attracted to him?
Hollyn pictured Cal in her mind, trying to be objective, trying to tease apart facts from feelings.
Hollyn: We used to date. A long time ago. We had good chemistry back then. And he’s attractive. And plays guitar. I’m not NOT attracted to him. I just haven’t thought about him in that way for a long time. I had to shut that part off when we broke up or we could’ve never been friends.
Mary Leigh: Right. That’s understandable. So is that a switch you want to turn back on? Can it be turned back on?
Could she let herself be attracted to Cal again? Could she imagine kissing him? Putting her hands on him? Having his hands on her? She answered with honesty.
Hollyn: The switch isn’t broken.
Mary Leigh: Okay, so it can be turned back on. But do you want to do that?
Hollyn groaned and pressed her face into the pillow before answering.
Hollyn: I don’t know! It all feels so complicated.
Mary Leigh: It’s all right not to know. Remember to breathe.
Hollyn frowned. How did this woman in her phone always know when she was holding her breath? She inhaled a deep, lung-filling breath.
Mary Leigh: How about this? What could you gain in your life by flipping that switch and giving things a chance with Cal?
Hollyn sighed and lay back on her couch. Maybe if she assumed the proper therapy position, something would become clear. She stared at her screen and then typed.
Hollyn: A lot. A guy I already love who cares about me and who has always looked out for me would be my boyfriend, maybe eventually more. I wouldn’t be alone anymore. I’m already comfortable with Cal, and he has Tourette’s too, so there’s zero awkwardness about my disorder. I feel completely accepted.