Backyard Surprise

Third-person

Quarantine has been a hard time for everyone. Not seeing your loved ones during times of hardship is unthinkable to do, but Jade and Bryan did it. The two hadn’t seen each other since the start of lockdown. Jade and Bryan had separated them because, in March, Jade had gone to visit their parents, and they couldn’t get back to Bryan afterward.

After almost a year apart, Bryan bought Jade a ticket to fly back to their shared apartment. Bryan was elated to see Jade and Jade the same. Bryan looked around the apartment. He was looking for a blanket, some flowers, candles, a bottle of Merlot, glasses to put the Merlot in, and of course, some spaghetti.

He wanted their first date to be very special. They had been friends for over seven years, and it wasn’t a secret that they had crushes on one another. So this was Bryan’s time to shine and confess to Jade.

Bryan had already set up fairy lights in the backyard, where the date was going to be, so Bryan already took care of the date’s lighting. Bryan opened up a storage closet and took a large blanket out. He took the blanket in his arms and shut the closet door. Beep-Beep. Bryan pulled his phone out of his back pocket since it had gone off.

“Hi Sweetie, what can I do for you on this fine evening?” Bryan said as he put his phone near his ear and used his shoulder to keep it up. The sweetie part was a joke because Jade and Bryan were excellent friends. Bryan walked out the back door and began to lay the blanket out. Jade laughed with a smile on his face.

“I was just calling to tell you that my flight just landed, and I’m looking for my bag right now,” Jade said as he looked around. It was almost five in the afternoon, so daylight was slowly slipping away from them.

“Oh, okay!” Bryan said, acting like he was surprised. He had planned this all out perfectly. Jade would get off their flight at around four pm, then he wouldn’t find his bag at the baggage claim, and it would be around an hour or so until Jade would arrive home, and then he could surprise them with their first-ever date.

“I have secured my bag,” Jade whispered, and he walked around to see if there were any vending machines.

“That’s good to hear,” Bryan said as he picked up the pace in putting the blanket down. He fixed the blanket, so everything was nice and neat.

“Yeah… What are you doing right now?” Jade asked Bryan. Jade put two dollars in the vending machine, and they clicked 5A, which was some crackers.

“Uh, something,” Bryan said as he walked inside, and he grabbed a lighter and some candles off the dining room table.

“And what is that something?” Jade said with a smile. Jade opened the pack of crackers, and he began to wheel his luggage outside at the same time. Bryan started to light the three candles, thinking about a good lie to tell Jade because he wanted the date to be a surprise.

“You will have to find out when you get here,” Bryan said with a laugh, and it was apparent he was smiling while saying that. Jade sighed in annoyance.

“Please just tell me, it will be two hours until I get home,” Jade whined as he looked for his Uber driver. Bryan just shook his head and laughed.

“I can’t Jade, you have to wait until you get home,” Bryan said as he put things around the candles. Just in case they fell and accidentally lit something on fire. He would not take that chance, especially since he hadn’t seen his partner in over a year.

“Okay then, be like that,” Jade said as he looked at the license plate on the back of the car that was said to be his Uber driver. It matched the one that was on the app, so Jade got in the car. Jade pulled their mask up.

“Are you ready?” The Uber driver asked, and Jade nodded as they put on their seat belt and locked the door.

“Yep!” Jade said, and Bryan just silently did his own thing on the other side of the line. He had spaghetti last night, so he was using leftovers for their date. He put the pot of spaghetti on the stove, and he turned the burner on the lowest setting.

“Well, call me when you get here or text me,” Bryan said with a smile, and Jade gave a noise of acknowledgment.

“Okay. Love you, best friend!” Jade said, and he ended the phone call. Bryan put his phone on the kitchen counter. He still needed to get ready for the date. Bryan turned off the stove and walked up the stairs. Bryan put on a button-up flower shirt. Bryan also put white jeans on.

And just a squirt of cologne. Just like that, he was ready for the date. Bryan walked down the stairs kind of nervously. This was the first date with Jade and the first date Bryan has ever had, so why wouldn’t he be nervous. Bryan set up the rest of the date. He poured the spaghetti into two separate bowls.

Bryan poured the Merlot into two separate glasses. He used a tray, and he put the bowls and the glasses on there. Knock Knock. Knocking on the door was heard, but Bryan couldn’t listen to it because he had walked outside and was finishing setting up the date. It was going to be perfect!

“Why isn’t he answering?” Jade said. He had gotten home early, and he’d assume Bryan wasn’t doing anything important at the moment.

“Knock-knock,” Jade said, and he knocked once more. Knock-knock. Bryan finished setting the date up, and he quickly ran back inside. Knock-knock. Bryan grabbed some flowers off the counter, and he ran to the front door. He opened it with a smile. And he shoved the roses into Jade’s face.

“Hahaha, what are these?” Jade said with a smile as he walked into their shared apartment, and he put his bags down.

“And you are dressed nicely; what’s the occasion?” Jade asked, and Bryan smiled, and he leads him to the backyard. Bryan closed their eyes, so the element of surprise would be the critical factor in this.

“Why are my eyes covered? I feel like I am a bit underdressed,” Jade said with a laugh. It was true; he was wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt.

“Look,” Bryan said, and he took his hands away from Jade’s eyes. Jade looked around with wide eyes. There were bright fairy lights everyone, and the whole experience just felt so surreal. Jade laid out his favorite food and favorite type of wine on a blanket on the green grass, and the sun was setting in the background.

“Wow, this is beautiful,” Jade said with a smile, and he continued to look around. Bryan cracked a small smile. He was glad that Jade thought it was excellent.

“Thank you. I made it all for you,” Bryan said as he itched the back of his neck. Jade smiled, and he hugged the taller man. Bryan rubbed his back.

“Awe, that’s so nice! But it’s not my birthday or anything like that, so why did you set this all up?” Jade asked, confusion present in his voice. Bryan laughed nervously.

“I set this all up because I was wondering if you wanted to go out on a date with me. I’ve had a crush on you for a while now, and I thought I’d act on that now,” Bryan said with a nervous smile, and Jade’s face lit up. They instantly went to hug Bryan, and they quickly kissed his cheek and sat down at the date.

The two of them enjoyed each other’s presence, and the two of them start drinking Merlot and eating spaghetti. They laughed at each other’s jokes even if they weren’t funny. The sun went down, and the two watched the stars up in the sky.

“The stars look so pretty tonight,” Jade said as Bryan laid his head on Jade’s shoulder, and they were lying together in the warm air.

“Just like you,” Bryan said, and Jade sighed and rubbed his temples. That statement was charming and cliche, but Jade loved it. Jade rolled over on top of Bryan.

“Shut up, idiot, and let’s just sleep,” Jade said with a smile, and just like that, the two of them sleep together under the stars.

The End