Author's note: this novella is available as an exclusive free download on Katia Rose's website. Sometimes love is in the last place you look. Iz Sanchez has looked for love just about everywhere. Granted, life as a non-binary jock at a small coastal university does not exactly present a wealth of opportunity, but that hasn’t stopped Iz from seizing the day. So far their quest to find Miss Right has only resulted in heartbreak and way too many awkward run-ins with exes at the campus sports bar, but at the end of the day, Iz can always count on their friends, their glorious collection of designer sneakers, and their steadfast belief that love is out there somewhere to get them back in the game. What they didn’t expect was to have their world turned upside down by a champagne-fueled New Year’s kiss with the girl who’s been their best friend since toddlerhood. Marina Townsend has always known she and her best friend Iz were made to be more than friends. She’s spent years waiting for the right moment to come along and make Iz see it too. That moment shows up at the stroke of midnight, but instead of pulling them together, the kiss only seems to push them apart. Now that a lifelong friendship is on the line, Iz can’t stop thinking about the times love has left them burned. They’ll need to figure their heart out—and soon—because Marina is done waiting for Iz to realize what she’s known all along: Sometimes love comes looking for you. Stop and Stare is a sapphic NBLW romance novella from Katia Rose that features two best friends stumbling their way into love as they figure out adulthood along the way.