Research: Romance

the four pt.1

The Four, it turned out, is a series of exercises meant to "unlock" four physical elements of romantic intimacy: affection, desire, vulnerability, and sensuality. A list that had Robin and my eyes bugging out in horror with each word. Our first choice as a class was vulnerability, and while the situation was not ideal, it was the very thing I needed to broach the conversation with Robin about the scandal.

Noise erupts throughout the room, and we follow along as the couples around us move to face each other. I lay on my back, and push my hands up, weaving my fingers with Robin as he leans his hips into my feet.

"Are you sure you don't want me to be on the bottom?" He eyes me hesitantly, hands gripping mine tightly as I start push him up into an airplane position. 

His feet only leave the ground for a second before touching back down. I readjusted my grip on his hands and the position of my feet, then nodded for him to go again. This time when I lift him, it's steadier and I flex my thighs to push him entirely into the air. Then I laugh, both at the surprise on his face when I successfully lift him and at the opportunity to make an innuendo.

"Why? Is that where you're most comfortable, Robert?"

He flashes a disapproving look down at me and I grin cheekily in response. Robin rolls his eyes, but a faint smile pulls at his lips as he snorts, "Is that all you think about, Liza?"

"I don't know." Chuckling, I readjust my grip on his hands and try to steady him a bit more before cracking, "You could say my answer is up in the air." 

This time Robin groans, and his arms start shaking like hearing a pun goes against his body's strength. Superman has kryptonite, and Robin, it seemed, has bad puns. 

I snicker back at him shamelessly as he mutters something about me dropping him on his head to put him out of his misery. 

 Speaking of which, It's now or never. So, I lead into the conversation with the same light tone, "Alright, let me ask you a different question. A deep one. The kind you're so fond of asking me all the time."

"Alright," he says distractedly, too busy examining my arm when it starts to shake. I focus on locking the muscle and once it steadies, he looks relieved, gaze returning to me.

Okay, here we go... Just ask him, right out. Communication is key.

"Hypothetically," I start, trying to find my bearings, "If a generally untrustworthy person came to see you and revealed something personal, but factually incriminating, about somebody you worked with... How would you go about asking the person you worked with if it was accurate?"

Robin stares at me like I grew two more heads in the time it took to speak that sentence. The expression makes my fingers tense, and my toes dig into his hips. He glances down at them but doesn't ask me to relax. Instead, he focuses his attention on the question and observes me with a look I can't decipher.  

I force myself to relax a bit when he finally responds with, "Um... I don't know?"

He scrunches up his face in consideration, "It depends on what was said, I guess. If the source is known to be untrustworthy, I don't know if it would be justified to pry into your co-worker's personal life. But if it was something that affected your work or morals the situation could change. Give me an example. What kind of accusation?"

"Oh, you know, anything." I scrunched my face and rolled my eyes as if I wasn't investing my heart and entire career in the answer. 

My heart starts to race, and I know that my palms are sweating, but Robin doesn't baulk. He keeps calm, observing me as I watch the hazel in his eyes glimmer with interest. With each flick of his gaze, my stomach flips and I know he's trying to figure it out before I can tell him.