“They’re the color of midnight, tempting you to plunge into the pits of darkness with them. The line-up on his taper fade is crisp. His beard is close cut but long enough at the chin for me to grab and hold on to. Nope. Cancel out those thoughts. It can’t happen.”

Janelle’s description here, especially of Rome’s eyes as a source of temptation, conveys the extent of his charisma and her attraction. She imagines gripping his beard, which betrays that she has some romantic fantasies involving him even as she tries to banish them. Her repeated insistence on the impossibility of a relationship reveals that Janelle resists her authentic desires—a challenge that will become central to her eventual romance with Rome.

“‘Well, why don’t we go over to the desk and see if they can upgrade your tickets? My treat.’ Amerie shrugs. 

Now, I’m just insulted. I can pay for my own first-class ticket, she should know that’s not the damn point. 

Stop what you’re doing and count to ten. It’s her wedding vacation, you can’t go off on her.”

Amerie’s nonchalance and pretense that she can fix her oversight with money highlight the extent of her self-centeredness. Just as significantly, Janelle refuses to tell her what the “damn point” of her reaction is, believing that the wedding entitles her sister to selfish behavior. This adds to the emerging theme of family dysfunction while further characterizing Janelle as more concerned with others’ wishes than her own.

“‘Do you make it a habit to sacrifice things that make you happy for others’ comfort?’ 

I bristle at that. His words slice through my defenses faster than I can build them back up, leaving me speechless. Trying to buy myself some time to come up with anything to say, I force out a cough.”

Rome’s question is both pointed and sincere, focused on Janelle’s emotional life and habits as he sees them but making no assumptions. Janelle is unused to this scrutiny and almost seems to resent that someone has noticed her tendency to shrink herself. Ultimately, Rome’s question suggests that Janelle is too self-effacing and that her needs matter; both his scrutiny and his implicit argument underline that he is interested in her authentic emotions, positive or negative.

“‘Well, sometimes you just have to make a grand entrance. You know a thing or two about that, I’m sure.’ 

Her smile deepens. ‘At least you know.’ 

‘You look beautiful.’ Maybe I should’ve kept that thought to myself, but all common sense goes out the window with her.”

Rome’s confidence and banter bring out ease and similar wit in Janelle as she thanks him for assuming that she is used to capturing a room. His direct compliment leaves no doubt about his intentions: His sense that restraint is gone when it comes to Janelle establishes that their attraction is more than mutual and that he is unlikely to hesitate in pursuing her.

“Janelle swallows deeply and I wonder what thoughts she just choked back. I wonder if anyone else notices the storm brewing in her eyes. I catch glimpses of resentment, rage, melancholy, and defeat all before she blinks them away into a state of neutrality. How often does she mask her true feelings for those around her?”

Rome is attuned to Janelle’s every movement and facial expression, dedicated to taking her emotional life seriously. He catalogues every emotion he can guess at, betraying that he is already focused on her happiness and anything that endangers it. He compares her behavior with others to a “mask” and is certain that there is more to her. Rome’s commitment to identifying Janelle’s emotional needs foreshadows that his love for her will be focused on his desire for her authentic self.

“‘I feel like I need you. I need my lips on yours and my hands on your body. I feel like I need to make you feel good right now or I just might explode.’ 

I can feel the moment she makes her decision. 

Her body relaxes against me and her arms drape over my neck. She searches for something in my eyes and the moment she finds it, she exhales deeply.”

Rome is direct and explicit about his desire for Janelle, in contrast to the passive aggressiveness and hidden tensions that mark her family relationships. He focuses on her pleasure, emphasizing that her needs are just as important to him as his own desires. Rome catalogues every sign that is Janelle is relaxing, which reveals both the depth of his longing and his constant dedication to her emotional state.

“We’ve already set the perfect rhythm with each other as if we’ve been doing this for years and not minutes. Or has it been hours? I have no idea. This kiss digs itself deep within my bones and plants its roots in my bloodstream. The taste of myself coating his tongue floating between us only adds more fuel to my fire. He’s right. This is pure sin and I love every second of it.”

Janelle’s inability to keep track of time confirms that being with Rome is an escape from her usual stress. The imagery she uses to describe the kiss emphasizes its power—it is a full-body experience—but also its transformative effect; the implicit comparison to a growing plant suggests new life, evoking the theme of Love as the Means of Personal Growth and Self-Discovery. This clashes with Janelle’s sense that the relationship is something to resist, but while she likens his kiss to “sin,” she makes no apologies for enjoying herself, affirming that Rome is already encouraging her to put herself first.

“‘Thank you for taking care of me last night. And this morning.’ 

One of his eyes pop open at my statement and I point to my bonnet and my phone on the charger. 

He seems to wrestle with his response before an easy smile settles on his face. ‘I got you, J.’”

This scene establishes that being with Rome subtly challenges Janelle’s role as the constant caretaker. Rome’s attention to detail, from her hair care to her phone battery, reveals that nothing about her is insignificant to him. His easy smile and assurance offer steadfast support, while his use of a new nickname indicates how quickly he has adapted to their new dynamic.

“I forgot all about that fucking ribbon. ‘That’s great, D. Thank you.’ 

‘Yeah, thanks, D. Maybe I should’ve made you my maid of honor.’ 

You could hear a pin drop after she let those disrespectful words fall from her lips.”

The expletive here telegraphs Janelle’s fraying patience, underscoring that the role of maid of honor is beginning to exhaust her. Amerie’s dig at Janelle reveals her fundamental selfishness, but while Janelle recognizes the slight as disrespect, she does not respond, though the silence of those around her implies solidarity. This reveals that she is not yet ready to speak up for herself or defend her worth.

“‘Being with you really is helping my stress levels. I just don’t want to put all my shit on your plate, so you have to tell me if you want to cut it early. I won’t be offended.’ 

But I would be. Hell, we’re already cutting it early by limiting ourselves to one week.”

Janelle’s forthrightness in this moment conveys both her comfort with Rome and her fundamental lack of confidence. She assumes that she is burdening him—that her problems are “shit” she is adding to his life and that he may want to escape from them. Rome’s unvoiced but emphatic rebuttal conveys the depth of his growing feelings.

“‘You…you rented an entire yacht…just so I could read by the water?’ 

He holds up the tote bag he packed for me and hands it over so I can see my Kindle and both paperbacks I packed resting comfortably inside. 

‘I did. You ready?’ 

Ready to go half on a baby with your fine ass? Shit, put me down as a possible.”

Janelle’s shock at Rome’s gesture reveals both her surprise and the fact that Rome forces her out of her comfort zone in favor of deeper, more meaningful comfort. Rome does not answer her question directly but reveals that he has brought all her reading materials without being asked, signaling his attentiveness to her interests and desires. He asks only if she is ready, taking it as a given that she will get the break that she deserves. Janelle’s inner monologue betrays that despite her hesitation, she is already thinking about a future with Rome, realizing that his attentiveness is a real asset in a partner.

“She’s still holding on to the foolish notion that what we’re doing will come to an end after the week is up tomorrow, but in the meantime, she’s finally allowing herself to be with me completely, in and out of the bedroom. Every free moment she has is spent with me.”

Inwardly, Rome sees Janelle’s ultimatum as “foolish,” betraying that he sees being with her as the only possible choice. He takes clear delight in her growing comfort with him, drinking in her ease. Rome is clearly committed to Janelle and waiting for her to choose him in turn.

“‘So lose her.’ 

Her neck snaps back and she glares at me. ‘What?’ 

‘Sometimes the people who are supposed to love you the most are the ones who hurt you the worst. They don’t get a pass just because they’re family. Choose yourself.’”

Rome’s bluntness reveals his dedication to putting Janelle first. For him, no relationship is worth sacrificing her happiness. He urges her to “choose [her]self,” pushing her to disregard the obligations that prevent her from being truly happy and thus gesturing to the theme of Balancing Societal Expectations and Self-Worth. For Rome, loving Janelle means pushing her to be truly free even if it goes against her conditioning and the cultural norms around family.

“‘You are deserving of a love that embellishes your brilliance.’ Deep in my gut I have a feeling that Amerie is intimidated by Janelle and everything she brings to the table, so she’d rather diminish it than nurture its growth. I don’t want to diminish her. I want to stand back and watch her shine.”

Rome’s words here are worshipful, treating Janelle like a jewel that deserves to be noticed rather than hidden away. He contrasts himself with Amerie, who puts her insecurities ahead of family loyalty or love and demands to be the center of attention, whereas Rome casts himself in a supportive role, with Janelle’s light being the real story.

“‘You don’t have to leave,’ I say, panic seizing my bones. 

‘Yeah, I do. We’re back to being friends, right? I wouldn’t be in your room at three in the morning as just your friend so it’s best I go. I’ll see you tomorrow.’ He gives me one final forehead kiss and stops in the doorway on his way out. ‘Thank you for the turtles.’”

Janelle’s unease in this moment conveys that she is not truly ready to end things with Rome, despite her insistence otherwise. His tender gesture and gratitude for the turtles establish that his feelings are unchanged. However, Rome does not push Janelle to take risks she is not ready for; his willingness to help her grow is rooted in consent, not demands.

“We could attempt some semblance of dating after this, and it could all fall apart. But even if that happens, is that a reason to not enjoy each other while we can? We get each other and we make each other feel good. I’m over here going through phantom orgasms and for what?”

As Janelle thinks through her future, she faces the possibility that her relationship with Rome might not last. This is something she has considered before, but she now approaches it from a place of self-regard rather than fear. Janelle decides that the pleasure she feels with Rome has value, implicitly accepting that her own needs are worth pursuing. She begins to see self-denial as meaningless, proving just how much the vacation has already changed her priorities.

“I have to get out of here before the weight of my mom’s betrayal fully hits me. For years, I wondered why my mom thought less of me. Why I could never do anything right in her eyes, but in actuality she was just willing to rip my confidence to shreds to make herself feel better about not being there for me the way she should’ve when I was a kid.”

Janelle’s mood borders on panic as she focuses entirely on escape. She acknowledges that her mother has contributed significantly to her insecurities, describing her confidence as in “shreds.” However, she now realizes that her mother was being fundamentally selfish and accepts that she herself deserves better. Though Rome is not present, his consistent focus on her dignity and value has made Janelle more willing to set boundaries and reject dysfunction.

“‘You can’t say fuck the wedding. You’re the Maid of Honor.’ 

I huff out a humorless laugh. That’s what she took from everything I said? The optics of losing a member of her bridal party? She’s delusional.”

Amerie’s words reveal that she still sees her sister as someone to order around, not a person she has manipulated or wronged. In contrast to her prior behavior, however, Janelle is open about her exasperation. Her inner monologue has changed as well: She openly characterizes her sister as selfish and focused only on appearances, while she herself is focused on the dysfunction in front of them.

“‘You’re thinking those are two different guys.’ 

She applies a pressure that makes me putty in her hands. I groan with every knot that comes loose under her touch. ‘They’re not?’ 

‘Nah. They’re clearly the same guy. They have the same motivation and everything.’ 

‘And what’s that?’ 

‘You.’”

Janelle takes on a caretaker role in this moment, underscoring that she and Rome are becoming real partners who confide in each other. The genre commentary here, where Janelle imagines Rome as a hero in different romance subgenres, allows him to confess his feelings. There is no split between his anger and his tenderness: She brings out all of them. Much as Rome allows Janelle to discover her worth, Rome tells her that she has brought out new sides of his personality.

“I hated myself for falling for the one guy I shouldn’t have, and I just kept expecting you to hate me for it too, so I wanted to hate you first. I wasted so much time and I’m sorry.’ 

I’m not sure what she expects from me after this declaration. I can’t tell her it’s okay because it’s not. I can’t tell her I forgive her because I don’t, at least not yet.”

Amerie’s admission reveals her inability to face and acknowledge her own negative emotions; she punishes Janelle rather than face her own sense of guilt. Janelle is unmoved, knowing that her sister is counting on their old dynamic of Janelle giving in. Her repetition of “I can’t” and refusal to quickly forgive affirm that she has become a person who refuses to compromise her dignity for anyone’s comfort.

“I don’t really give a fuck what you two have going on. Janelle is a human being. That’s a fact that you, Amerie, and their damn mother seem to keep forgetting, and if I have to remove you all from her life myself to give her some semblance of peace, I will.”

Rome’s bluntness and unflinching anger affirm that Janelle has become his first loyalty, no matter how much he cares for Arnold. Just as Janelle does with Amerie, Rome chooses relationships that nourish him over social expectations that require ignoring unsafe dynamics. This telegraphs that Rome and Janelle’s time together has brought both of them to a shared commitment to each other’s well-being and a healthy future.

“‘May your “for better or worse” be far better than worse.’ 

Everyone joins her in cheers. Amerie, her cheeks stained with tears, blows Janelle a kiss and Arnold sends her a nod of respect. 

She offers them both a sincere smile and then finds her way back to me, kissing me in front of everyone.”

Janelle’s toast establishes her fundamental generosity of spirit: While she does not want her sister in her life in the same way she previously was, she still wishes her well. Janelle performs what is expected of her without compromising her values, as she smiles at the bride and groom but does not pursue reconciliation. Instead, she kisses Rome, claiming him as her partner and affirming her commitment to a life of joy.

“‘I was thinking that when we get home you’d let me take you on a real date.’ Her teeth sink into her bottom lip. ‘Is that right? Remind me again, am I still supposed to be giving you all my yes’s?’ 

I grip her hips tighter and pull her in closer. ‘You’re supposed to be giving me whatever answer feels right to you.’”

The easy banter conveys how far Janelle and Rome have come as a couple, as she openly teases him about his intentions. He affirms his commitment to her agency even as he holds on to her tightly. Whatever his own preferences might be, Rome insists that he expects Janelle to trust herself.