Page 49 of Guys Can’t Write Romance

Chapter thirty-six

Boy Meets Girl

Six Months Later...

The line of fans and readers stretched to the bookstore entrance, an impressive turnout for a debut author team at their first Los Angeles book signing.

Chad and Daisy sat at a table in the rear of the store, with copies of his book, ‘A Ghost of a Chance,’ stacked in front of them.

Having been published just three weeks ago, it had steadily climbed the bestseller charts since then.

A viral video of Daisy’s impromptu kiss at the awards ceremony had helped spread the word.

The six months since the Heartstrings Publishing awards ceremony had been a whirlwind.

While Chad had only been a runner-up in the contest and didn’t get the publishing deal with Heartstrings, he and Daisy caught the attention of a literary agent who approached them at the after-party.

Within a month, they had representation and a book deal; not with Heartstrings, but with a larger publisher who picked up not only Chad’s book, but the romantic comedy he and Daisy had been working on.

They’d spent the following months writing, revising, and navigating the unfamiliar waters of the publishing industry together. While neither of them could quit their day jobs yet, they devoted every spare moment to their blossoming writing careers. And to each other.

Throughout the day, Daisy took mental snapshots of the moment. There was the bookstore’s warm lighting, the adoring readers, the stack of books with their names on it, and Chad beside her as an ever-comforting presence, always happy to share the spotlight with her.

If someone had told her a year ago that she would be sitting there right now, as co-author of a successful romance novel with a boy who once suggested she have her male lead get eaten by a dinosaur, she would have died laughing.

And yet here they were, and there was nobody she would rather share this journey with.

As the event finally came to an end, Daisy quickly excused herself, telling Chad that she had to take care of something. But she would stop by his apartment later.

The sunset had colored the sky in crimson streaks as Chad headed up the path to his apartment. After a long day of signing books and posing for photos with adoring readers, he was ready to collapse on the couch and watch TV. As he reached the door, he came to a stop.

A bright yellow Post-It was stuck to the door, with Daisy’s handwriting scrawled across it.

‘Follow the Post-Its,’ it said.

Chad looked curiously at it for a moment. Whatever his crazy girlfriend slash writing partner had done, it was sure to be entertaining.

As he stepped inside, he came to another abrupt stop.

The entire apartment was bathed in candlelight, with candles placed on the kitchen counter, the boys’ makeshift coffee table, Chad’s card-table ‘desk’, and the bookshelves.

He reached for the light switch, when his hand brushed against yet another Post-It. This one read:

‘Don’t turn on the lights.’

And just below it, another Post-It that read.

‘Look at the wall.’

Chad did, and an amused grin spread across his face. All along the wall, at precise intervals, was a line of Post-Its. He walked over to the first one and read it:

‘Step 1: The Meet-Cute. Boy meets girl.’

Chad chuckled as he moved to the next one.

‘Step 2: Conflict. Boy opens mouth and messes everything up.’

He shook his head. “Yeah, that tracks.”

He followed the trail further, each note pulling him deeper into the story arc of a romantic comedy. The story of them.

‘Step 4: Boy realizes he’s an idiot.’

‘Step 5: Girl gives boy a second chance; and maybe a third because she’s feeling generous.’

Chad chuckled as he continued reading them, pausing again to re-read the eighth one.

‘Step 8: Boy and girl sing wildly off-key karaoke. Extra romance points for butchering Sweat Caroline. Girl sings much better than boy.’

Chad actually laughed out loud at that one. There was definitely a method to Daisy’s nuttiness. The notes weren’t just playful, they were them. The messy, beautiful story their lives had been writing all along.

Finally, he reached the last one. It read:

‘Step 9: This is where the boy kisses the girl.’

Chad stood there for a moment, staring at the handwritten words. “Uhm, okay…”

At that moment, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He startled, turning to find Daisy standing there, her eyes sparkling with mischief. Apparently, he hadn’t heard up sneak up on him from his bedroom.

“So…,” she said, “what do you think?”

“I think you’re a nut. And I think we should make it our next book.”

“Me too,” she smiled. “But first, you need to follow the instructions.”

He looked quickly at the last note, the one about the boy kissing the girl, and turned back to her.

“Happy to,” he said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into him. His lips found hers, and for the next few moments, everything around them faded.

When their lips parted, Chad was smiling so wide it stretched clear to his ears. And Daisy was pretty sure her knees were about to give out.

“I’m liking this story,” he said. “So, what comes next?”

“This one,” she said, fingering one final Post-It she had in her hand. She held it up for him to read, then playfully stuck it to his chest.

It took Chad only a moment to read and process it; and before Daisy had time to enjoy the sudden smile that filled his eyes, he had pulled her into him again, cradling the back of her neck as they blended into a kiss.

The Post-It, which had come loose as Daisy brushed against Chad’s chest, fluttered to the floor.

‘Step 10: Boy and Girl Live Happily Ever After.’