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“Damn, finally. I swear that tree was trying to assassinate me.” He playfully glared at the tree.
I laughed as I stared at it too. There was still plenty of room for the tree topper.
“Now, we can enjoy dinner. First, close your eyes.”
Doing as he said, I smiled when he took my hand and led me around. We stepped into the backyard from my guess and I shivered as a light cold breeze went by.
Then the breeze was cut off and there was a sound, like rustling. Something was crackling and warmth hit my skin.
“Give me a minute,” Seth mumbled, a little further away from me. I listened to him rustle around for a little bit. Something about the situation made me want to giggle as I tried my best to not peek at what he was doing. “Okay, open.”
I did and gasped.
We were definitely in his backyard, in the small open area just past his pool, but he had redecorated it. We were in a large, black party tent, with one side opened to a firepit. A table sat in the middle, already set up with candles, a cup, and silverware. Small, white fairy lights decorated the entire space, not just the tent, but the surrounding trees too, making me feel like I was stepping into a scene out of a fantasy book.
Seth grabbed a lighter and lit the two candles.
“Candlelit dinner?” I asked. “That’s super fancy.”
“You deserve super fancy,” he said with a grin. “Get comfortable. I’m going to go grab our dinners.”
I did as he said, letting the crackling fire distract me. Between the warmth from it, the soft sounds, and the light, I was put into a daze, my thoughts calm. This was probably one of the nicest things someone had ever done for me. Setting this up couldn’t have been easy. And I never noticed either. It explained why he insisted I get ready at my house. He did say he wanted to do everything, including driving to my house to pick me up. I just didn’t think it was also because he was trying to surprise me like this.
I hadn’t even known he had a fire pit. The huge pentagon-shaped steel contraption sat sturdily in the yard, the fire blazing bright.
“Here we are,” Seth said and placed a plate covered with a steel dome in front of me and put another in his spot. He sat down across from me.
I grabbed the lid of mine as he did the same with his.
“Bon appétit,” he said, lifting his. I did the same.
Thanksgiving dinner.
I laughed, staring at the turkey, ham, stuffing, scalloped potatoes, and green beans. There was even a small bowl of gravy just for me. And a buttery dinner roll.
“You could have just told me you wanted to celebrate Thanksgiving with me,” I said, feeling playful.
“Turning it into a date was even better,” Seth replied. He dumped his gravy over all his food. I kept my gravy to the turkey and stuffing.
“This is amazing,” I said softly.
“Just save room for dessert,” Seth said as he filled our glasses with ice water. He also added two smaller mugs to the table and uncapped a canister. He filled both our drinks with something else.
“Apple cider?”
“Mulled apple cider. Made by yours truly. I’ve been messing around with different flavorings, and this one was my favorite.” He attached a slice of orange to the rim of the mug. “Enjoy.”
I lifted the mug and took a tentative sip. It was hot, but not too hot, so I took a bigger drink, enjoying the spiced flavors as they danced on my tastebuds.
“This is delicious,” I said.
Seth’s grin was infectious, his dark eyes lit up with happiness. “Thank you.”
Everything Seth made was absolutely delicious. We kept the conversation light as we ate and it wasn’t long before I was too full to move.
“I told you not to get full.” Seth laughed. “We still have dessert.”
“It’s okay. My dessert stomach is ready.”
