Paradise

Right on the edge of the perfect tan sands of Virginia Beach sits a private little white beach house perched neatly facing the rolling waves of the ocean. The size of the duplex makes it comfortable looking on the inside, and the well-done housework that has been applied on the outside of the house makes it look all the more inviting. Drake drives up to the house, parking in the parking lot of the little white duplex looking past the house at the ocean. He gets out of his black 2010 convertible Mustang with the top down and walks around the back of the house to the back door walking in.

Drake steps into the kitchen, kicks off his shoes near the door, pours a glass of orange juice, and walks upstairs to Brandon’s room. He stands in the doorway and watches Brandon peacefully sleep for a moment while sipping on his orange juice as his leans against the doorframe. Drake leaves the room’s doorway, trotting downstairs. He walks out the back door down, to the beach. Drake tip toes into the warm ocean water and stands in the water with it rising halfway up his legs as he looks out in the beautiful abyss of the ocean.

Drake stands in the ocean water thinking about his life with Brandon. The first time they met, their first date, the love they both share, and the new things to come for them after today. He thinks about the day he graduates from college with Brandon, and the new life they will start together. Brandon wraps his arms around Drake’s neck from behind, kissing the lower part of his neck. Drake smiles, still looking out at the ocean. He turns around facing Brandon with a wide smile. Brandon takes the nearly half empty glass of orange juice from Drake and drinks the rest of it.

Drake holds onto Brandon by his hips as the ripples of small waves come crashing down at their feet. Drake pecks Brandon once on the lips and walks away. Brandon follows Drake back to the house, their fingers intertwined loosely. Inside, Drake instructs Brandon to go get dressed so they can go. Brandon does as he is told with no objections dressing in dark tan khaki shorts, a dark red flannel button up shirt over a grey tank top with the four top buttons undone, a black and red plain snapback, with plain back Air Jordan’s.

Brandon descends down the stairs and looks at Drake ensemble; tan khaki shorts, a plain blue shirt with a jean jacket vest over it, the cut off sleeves rippled, a green and blue snapback with the New York symbol on the front and his green plaid slip on vans by the door. Drake slips back into his old pair of green plaid vans effortlessly. The two of them leave out, locking the door behind them.

In the car, the two ride in silence down the road with the exception of 2 Chains playing in the background. “Where are we going?” Brandon asks looking over at Drake, the wind blowing in his face from the top being down.

Drake smiles, looks over at Brandon and grabs his hand. “To Paradise,” Drake responds, holding onto Brandon’s hand over the middle of the armrest. Brandon thinks about what Drake could possibly mean by “Paradise”. He doesn’t know of any place by that name, and it can’t be anywhere local that people know about or else he would have heard of it.

Brandon rides patiently until they reach the boardwalk of Virginia Beach. They get out of the car and walk down to the boardwalk amongst the hundreds of people. They stop and view the King Neptune sculpture on the boardwalk where they first met. They take a picture together under the Neptune sculpture and continue down the boardwalk. Drake grabs hold of Brandon’s hand, leading him to Doc Taylor’s Restaurant. They are lead to a well-decorated table, and take a seat sitting across from each other by the window. They look out at the passing people on the boardwalk and the salty ocean.

Brandon wonders what the special occasion is for Drake to take him out for a day. This is the restaurant that Drake brought him to on their first date and the first month of every year they’ve been together so this must be something big for Drake to bring him here. Their four-year anniversary isn’t for another two months or so, and it’s not his birthday. Usually the two of them will just chill at the house all day when neither of them aren’t working or at school. They will sit on the beach together behind the house and watch the sun set over the ocean.