I am working on a romance story and trying not to kill people. No, not REAL people. Imaginary people. I primarily write romantic suspense and this is a straight romance but that mystery element keeps poking its head into my story. Even in the first book of this series, there was a minor mystery element so hopefully I can get away with that minor mystery element again.
I started to think back to my (much) younger years and my early dating days, that first moment you see someone, that first touch, the first kiss. But I also started to remember those other moments, the moments that don’t normally get pegged as big romantic moments but hold a special place in the memory nonetheless. What makes you feel romantic when with that special someone? Not a tear-their-clothes-off kind of feeling. This is gentler, sweeter.
Here are a few of my memories that generated the heart-melting, breath-stealing moments.
Sitting next to one another in the car. Not just both in the front seat, but sharing the driver’s side, thighs touching, one hand entwined with the other person’s, leaning into one another on the turns. You’re sharing space and it surrounds you with intrigue and possibility.
Holding hands. Have you ever had someone hold your hand, and their thumb is making little circles on the inside of your palm or wrist? The warmth radiates outward from that single point of contact. There’s nothing sweeter in my opinion than holding hands with the one you love. Or even like a lot.
That smile when they see you unexpectedly. And you can tell from the way the smile reaches their eyes and fills their face they are truly happy to see you.
Comfortable silence. It takes a certain level of security with another person to sit in silence and not feel the urge to fill that with pointless conversation. Not to say that your voice is unwelcome. But it’s ok to not say anything.
Grocery shopping. OK. I know that’s weird but one of the best relationships I ever had was with a person with whom I enjoyed going to the grocery store. We would plan a meal, or even get a craving for something weird and go shop for the ingredients, come back to the house and cook. Easy conversation filled the time. Laughter when we’d mess up the recipe which happened quite often. Delight when we got it right.
So those are my memories of romance. What are yours? What gives you that ah-ha moment when you’re with someone new and you know they’ll be someone special?