Prompt 110-Memorable Date

Write about an interesting date you have been on, good or bad.

Blazing sun. Blue skies. Warm sand. Salty breeze. A cute boy. It was Lance’s idea of a perfect date. Unfortunately, there were two problems with this dreamlike picture.

One, it was not a date. Their boat was dead in the water. They had run out of fuel on their way to meet friends at another marina and drifted to the little island off the coast.

“It’s no good, Lance.” Keith sighed and tucked his phone back into his pocket. “I can’t get a signal out here.” He placed his hands on his hips and scowled at the useless motorboat. Lance quickly looked away from those hips.

Keith was problem numero dos. He didn’t know Lance was bi. And given that he teased Lance every chance he got, Lance had no desire to give him any more ammunition. Of all the people in all the worlds to be shipwrecked with, why did it have to be Keith?

Lance groaned. His mother had warned him the fuel tank wasn’t working right. He thought she meant it just needed a new gauge, not “will leak and die on you halfway up the island.” He could already see the taunts forming in Keith’s mind.

“We’re not that far out, right?” he asked, shielding his eyes as he squinted towards the main island, trying to make out the coastline. His dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail but some rebellious shorter strands at his face danced in the breeze. “Could we swim it?”

Lance couldn’t help it. He doubled over in laughter as Keith scowled at him. “Dude, even if you were an Olympic swimmer – which you’re not – we’re about five miles out, with nothing but open water between us and the shore.” Keith turned his scowl on the sea, challenging it to stop him. Lance moved to his side and put a restraining hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Katie and the others will know something is up when we don’t show. Or answer our phones.”

He gave the firm shoulder a gentle squeeze and walked over to the beached boat. “Might as well make the best of it though,” he said, retrieving the cooler of sodas and snacks they had been transporting to the party. He tossed a can of Dr. Pepper to his maroon-mate. Keith caught it deftly and popped the tab. Lance dug out an orange Fanta for himself and cracked it open with a giggle.

“What’s so funny?” Keith asked, a smug grin on his face.

“Oh just that we’re a couple of boys cracking cold ones.” He winked and saluted Keith with his signature finger guns.

Keith snorted and covered his face with his free hand, making Lance’s heart skip a beat. “Oh my god, Lance, you are such a dork.”

Dios ayúdame, Lance thought. Keith rarely laughed at his jokes. He poked fun at Lance’s expense all the time, but this was not that. Being stranded with Keith might be the death of him.

Then again, maybe it was the perfect opportunity to get to know him better. As they worked to gather wood for a signal fire, he found Keith’s presence increasingly reassuring. Amiable, even. As the sun began to set, he thought that maybe being stranded with Keith wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

Notes: Is this low-key a Voltron fanfic? Maybe. I am not sorry at all. The prompt put it in my brain so my fingers put it on the page. I thought about changing their names to make it less obvious but then decided to embrace my nerdiness instead.

I will, however, apologize for any inaccuracies regarding boats and sailing and the geography of the sea. I did 0 research on these things. Part of the nature of these dailies is that I just write until I have enough words to post. After I pour myself a drink, sit my butt in my chair, and put on some tunes, of course. If I get bogged down in technicalities I’ll never get my mini story out. So before you “actually…” me, just keep in mind I know I am making this all up as I go.

I had a bit more in mind for this one substance-wise, but I got tired halfway through. I apologize for that too. At least I have something to come back to when I want to spend a day revising old pieces.

For a personal anecdote of an interesting date I had: I went to an open mic night at my college to support a friend while he did a standup comedy bit for the first time ever. We ended up taking a long moon-lit walk on the cross-country trails afterwards. It was “interesting” in much the same way this little tale was interesting for being a date that was not a date between two people who refuse to acknowledge their feelings for each other.

You know the drill. Now it’s your turn. Answer the prompt! Take a stroll down memory lane and note down a memorable date you had! Throw your characters into awkward situations like the one above! Have fun, I’ll see you tomorrow!