Research: Romance

the study

Once ready, I went to the kitchen and brewed a pot of coffee. The steam from my shower had ruined the muffin and latte that Robin had brought, but I didn't feel too bad about that after our conversation in the hallway. Nonetheless, I poured two mugs from the pot and went into the study.

"Need a warm up?" I asked, handing the mug to Robin who was looking at the books on my shelves beside the desk.

He turned his head to look at what I was handing him. Then, shifting his gaze to linger over my face, he took the mug from my hand and into his. "Thank you."

My own eyes lingered over him for a moment.  While getting ready, I briefly worried if there was a flirtatious and untrustworthy side to him, like the one that the tabloids had captured. Maybe I was simply discovering it now that we were locked into a contract for the next few months. 

It was clear that I needed him, that I wouldn't give up, so maybe this was him testing exactly how much he could mess with me. Suspicious and looking to prove it, I examined him carefully. But his eyes weren't tormenting or wicked and he no longer looked self-satisfied or playful. He looked...honest. I hoped that was the true Robin, but I couldn't fully trust him either.

Sipping my coffee, I walked over to the desk and sat down in the chair. Robin took this as a signal to get down to business and sat in the seat across from me. He remained quiet while I booted up my laptop and organized the paperwork, I prepared last night. It was a little awkward, but that's what the coffee was for.

"Okay," I said, after the computer was ready. I turned it around for him to see, "This is what I'm thinking..."

The screen revealed the following schedule: Every Tuesday we would spend the day together and work on character dynamic and accomplishing cliches. Every Friday we would meet to go over big projects and I would consult him for notes on the love interest. Afterall, if he was going to play this character on the big screen, he should feel confident in knowing him inside and out. Then, on the last Saturday of the month, we would meet with Desi and Henry to go over chapters as they were written and update them on the project. Days in between would be spent writing for me and left open to Robin for other projects.

The project had an estimated end date of January 1st, giving us 3 months to do what we needed to do before intense edits and publication necessities needed to start happening. Time was of the essence. Since I spent three out of the four years given to me to produce this novel completely blocked, I needed to have this book written, and on its way to fame within the year if I wanted to make the deadline set by Writers Weekly for the movie deal.

Having explained all of this to Robin, I moved over to the whiteboard where there was a list of possible cliches written out. I took another drink then gestured to the board, "I've been reading romance novels non-stop, and although there are some cliches that would no doubt turn a better profit, I don't think they would be appropriate for research."

"Such as?" Robin furrows his eyebrows.

I shrug, seizing my moment for revenge, "Well, there's enemies to lovers, which is a big hit right now. That would be difficult for us to achieve given that we aren't enemies with a long history of burning hatred and profoundly pent-up sexual desire for one another."

Saying this right as he was taking a drink was intentional. So, Robin lightly choking on his coffee, and the near glare that it earned me was totally worth it. I broke into a victorious smile but smothered it to continue, "Then there are tropes like soulmates, or just mates if you're into fantasy elements, as well as friends to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers, lovers to enemies to friends to lovers again, etc."