Prompt for a Romantic Story

Here’s my last prompt for a romantic story. Who are the man and woman in the photo? Where are they? Are they on a first date? Or their last? Here’s my inspiration:

The coffee was as delicious as Matt said. The pastries were too. Taking a sip from my mug, I watched Matt’s handsome face as he gazed out the window.

For someone who had insisted that we had to meet for coffee, Matt had been oddly inattentive. Or more like he had bursts of attention–complimenting me about my sweater, joking about the fruit preserve clinging to his chin–and then long sessions of staring out the window.

I reached for his hand. What was going on?

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What’s your inspiration from this prompt for a romantic story?

Romantic Story Prompt

Happy Valentine’s Day! Perfect day for a romantic story prompt. As a history major, this photo intrigued me. Old pictures can speak to hidden histories. Here’s my inspiration:

Blowing my bangs out of my eyes, I slumped back against Great-Grandma’s ancient couch. “Let’s split the boxes between us, get them out of the house, and then we can sort through them at a sane pace.”

My sister Em didn’t even glance at me as she pulled glassware from the old hutch. “It won’t take us that long. And an hour ago, you said we should just leave everything and let the new owner clean it out.”

“I just want to be done with cleaning out the house.” I rubbed my grubby hands on my jeans. “We’ve already taken what Grandma wanted us to have.”

Em tugged on a drawer of the hutch that seemed stuck. With a jerk, she freed it and something fell from the bottom of the drawer. “So that was what was jamming it.”

I crossed to the dining room, dodging boxes, and picked up a piece of folded paper. Three black-and-white photos slid out and drifted to the floor. I gathered them, cleared a spot on the dining room table, and laid them out. One was a picture of Grandma. At least, I though it was. She had only two photos of herself when she was a teenager. It might have been one of her sisters. The second was a portrait of a young man I didn’t recognize. The third showed the young woman and man walking together, clearly as a couple.

Em joined me as I opened the note. Foreign words taunted us.

“Is it Polish?” Em asked.

I shrugged. Grandma had taught us a few Polish words but I’d never read any. “One thing’s certain. If this girl is grandma, she had a boyfriend before Grandpa. And she never said a word about him.”

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What story does the photo inspire for you?

Valentine’s Day Prompt

So sorry this is late. I thought I’d scheduled it for yesterday morning, and it was still in draft.

I still wanted to do a Valentine’s Day prompt. The body language of the couple in this photo can inspire several different scenes. Do you think the couple is having a romantic moment? Or are they breaking up? Here’s mine:

I looked at the water. I had to look at something besides him. My breath seemed to scorch my throat.

“I had to tell.” His deep voice was almost a whisper. “Couldn’t keep hiding things from you.”

So he had to be honest now. How thoughtful. Hadn’t it occurred to him that being honest from the start would make life easier for both of us?

His fingers fumbled for my hand. I wanted to jerk it away but couldn’t summon the strength.

“Can you forgive me?”

Can she? Or maybe she can’t immediately and the story is about how she eventually does? Or the story can take a totally different direction. What do you think?

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