The Best Bookish Meet Cutes

Hello lovelies! How are you? Like I mentioned in my romance-tropes post yesterday, I love meet-cutes. Of all the unrealistic expectations sold to me by rom-coms, the meet cute was the only one I actually bought. I’ve always loved hearing about how couples met and I wanted my own love story to have an epic beginning. I wanted a story to tell, an adventure, a whirlwind. In short: I wanted a meet-cute. So I started looking for one, turns out they’re not that easy to come buy. I’ve met lots of people on trains, but no one ever asked me to get off with them in Vienna. (Possibly because I’ve never been to Vienna.) A guy found my phone on top of a bin once, but he just scolded me for being so careless with my things. I’ve never gotten stuck in an elevator, reached for the same pair of gloves as someone, been pick-pocketed by a cute guy or even gotten snowed in (and I live in Norway). I did eventually get my meet cute though (and the whirlwind to go with it) and so did these six fictional couples:

1. Poppy & Sam – I’ve Got Your Number

There’s a lot going on in this adorable meet-cute. Poppy’s just lost her engagement ring and her phone’s been stolen. Sam’s PA’s just quit in the middle of a conference and thrown her phone in a bin. When Poppy finds the phone and answers Sam call he convinces her to prevent a Japanese business man from leaving before he gets there, so she pretends to be a singing telegram in the hotel lobby. When she demands to know when Sam will get there, he tells he’s watching. How could he not fall in love with her?

2. Esther & Jonah – A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares

In my professional opinion  A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares has the best first chapter ever and it involves a wonderful meet-cute. Esther and Jonah meets on a bus stop, she’s dressed like little red riding hood and he’s dresses like a Wes Anderson character. He swindles her out of 55 dollars and pickpockets her grandmother’s bracelet, her iPhone, a Fruit Roll-Up, her library card, her copy of The Godfather and her semi-definitive list of worst nightmares. That’s the story of how he robbed her, the story of how they fall in love is more complicated.

3. Evie & Sam and Theta & Memphis – The Diviners

The Diviners has two perfect meet-cutes. Evie and Sam meet at Penn Station when she’s fresh of the train from Ohio, they share some witty banter about nuns, he steals a kiss and 20 dollars from her , she kicks him in the balls – it’s the cat’s pajamas. (And I clearly have a thing for pickpockets???) Theta and Memphis’s first meeting is even wilder, it included a speakeasy, Walt Whitman’s poetry, a raid, running from the cops and a bullets flying. (No one gets hurt, except Memphis’s library book)

4. Dimple and Rishi – When Dimple met Rishi

Dimple and Rishi’s meet-cute is so iconic they literally put it on the cover. Dimple and Rishi’s parents have arranged for the two to meet, in hopes they’ll want to get married someday. Rishi knows about the match and is eager to meet Dimple. Dimple’s just excited to spend her summer at a program for web developers. So when Rishi shows up and greets her with “Hello future wife!” – she thinks he’s a lunatic and throws her iced coffee in his face. As you do.

5. Maddie & Logan – When a Scot Ties the Knot

Maddie doesn’t want to spend her time at balls looking for a husband, so she invents a suitor: Captain Logan MacKenzie. She pours her heart out in long, intimate letters to this imaginary Scottish soldier and pretends to be devastated when he’s “killed in battle”. So imagine her surprise when the real Captain Logan MacKenzie shows up on her doorstep, with her letters, insisting she keep all her promise and become his wife. That’ll teach you to be careful what you pretend. (Just kidding, that’s actually a dream scenario)

What’s your favorite fictional meet-cute? If you have a partner – how did you guys meet? I’d love to hear the start of your love stories!