3 Sentence Summary
Ali Hazelwood’s novella, “Stuck With You,” delivers a charming and quick read with its unique premise of an elevator encounter. The story explores the evolving dynamics between Sadie and Erik as they confront their misunderstandings. The novella captures her signature charm and offers a satisfying dose of romance.
Summary Read Time: Approx 5 minutes
Actual Book Length: 127
First Published in: 2022
Stuck With You is the 2nd novella in The STEMinist Novellas Series by Ali Hazelwood while Under The Roof is the first one.
Below is the detailed yet quick Stuck With You summary:
Part 1
The story begins with Sadie and Erik getting stuck in an elevator. They have a history together, with Erik being a partner at ProBld, a company that had a falling out with Sadie’s company, GreenFrame. Despite their past, they find themselves drawn to each other during their time in the elevator.
Sadie has a history of not dating, with her last significant relationship being with Oscar, her high school sweetheart. However, her relationship with Oscar ended when he fell for another woman at a data science corporate bonding retreat. After this, Sadie decided to focus on her career and hasn’t dated since.
Erik, on the other hand, has a cat named Cat, with whom he has a love-hate relationship. He’s been living with Cat for about one year and seven months, and despite their rocky start, they’re slowly starting to come to an agreement.
As the story progresses, Sadie and Erik’s relationship develops. They spend a night together, and Erik finds himself falling for Sadie.
Part 2
After their intimate night together, Sadie and Erik part ways in the morning. Erik is left with the impression that Sadie reciprocated his feelings, especially when she runs after him and squeezes his hand before he leaves for work. However, as the day turns into night and then days pass, Erik doesn’t hear from Sadie again. He is left confused and hurt, unsure of what went wrong.
Meanwhile, Sadie is dealing with her own confusion and hurt. She believes that Erik used their relationship to steal clients from her company, GreenFrame. This belief is fueled by a conversation with her friend Gianna, who reveals that ProBld, Erik’s company, tried to buy GreenFrame. Sadie is convinced that Erik went out with her planning to hurt the company.
When Sadie confronts Erik about this, he is genuinely confused. He denies any wrongdoing and insists that he had no idea about the situation with the clients. However, Sadie is not convinced and accuses Erik of being a liar. She is furious with him, feeling betrayed and used.
Erik, on the other hand, is under the impression that Sadie stopped picking up his calls because of their intimate night together. He believes that he asked for too much from her and that she didn’t enjoy their time together as much as he did. This misunderstanding further complicates their relationship, as both of them are operating under different assumptions about what went wrong.
Despite the confrontation and the misunderstandings, it’s clear that both Sadie and Erik still have strong feelings for each other. However, their past and the perceived betrayals stand in the way of them reconciling and moving forward.
Part 3
Towards the end of the story, Erik confesses to Sadie that he’s falling in love with her, a confession that takes Sadie by surprise. However, their moment is interrupted when the power comes back on in the elevator, and Sadie uses the opportunity to escape from the situation.
In the epilogue, set a month later, Sadie and Erik are seen together in Erik’s kitchen. Sadie has made a croissant from scratch, and Erik is about to taste it. Erik, looking relaxed and sleepy, tastes the croissant and chews thoughtfully. Sadie eagerly awaits his verdict, throwing out adjectives like “amazing”, “fantastic”, and “delicious” in anticipation. Erik continues to chew, leaving Sadie in suspense. Finally, he sets the croissant back on the table and swallows, but his verdict is left unsaid, leaving the reader in suspense.
The epilogue ends on a hopeful note, suggesting that Sadie and Erik have managed to overcome their misunderstandings and are working towards rebuilding their relationship. Despite the unresolved issues and the hurt from their past, they are seen enjoying each other’s company, hinting at a possible happy ending for the couple.
However, the exact nature of their relationship and whether they’ve fully reconciled is left ambiguous, allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions.
