Author's Note: This short story was first written for the 2010 Gay Authors Summer Anthology, first published in July 2010.
The trees blurred by as Adrian Jackson sped down the mountain highway on his way home from visiting his sister and her family. A weekend away from Randall was just too long. Randy had planned on joining him, but his own family's unexpected arrival had derailed their plans. Adrian's thoughts drifted to the man who'd been his partner for the last five years. Randy's blonde hair and bright blue eyes contrasted with his own mousy brown hair and chocolate eyes. Even Adrian had to admit that they were stunning together. Randy was only slightly taller than Adrian's own five foot ten frame but they both had the same toned physique, and worked at staying slim by running every morning. Adrian's thoughts were so focused on Randy that he failed to see the deer grazing along the side of the road until a young fawn stepped directly in the path of his car.
Adrian swore as he jerked the wheel and slammed the brake pedal to the floor with his foot. He heard the distinct screech of his tires as the car skidded before dropping over the edge of an embankment. Adrian felt as though he was suspended in mid air before his car slammed into the trunk of a large pine. Sounds seemed to be muted, but he vaguely heard the snapping of branches as his car plummeted to the ground. His vision began to blur and his last thought was of Randy before his world became black.
***
Adrian took in the scene in front of him. The last thing he remembered was swerving to miss the fawn, and he couldn't figure out how he came to be at a lake surrounded by mountains. A slight breeze tousled his hair and created ripples across the surface of the water. Climbing to his feet, Adrian picked up a smooth rock and with a fling of his arm, set the pebble skipping across the surface of the water.
"It's beautiful here, isn't it," said a familiar voice from behind him. Adrian whirled around and found himself face to face with Randy.
"How did I get here?" Adrian asked quietly, bothered by the fact that he couldn't remember anything after the accident.
"How you got here really isn't important," Randy answered as he reached out to clasp Adrian's hand before sitting down and pulling Adrian down next to him. "What's important is how you're going to get back," Randy said mysteriously.
"Get back where?" Adrian asked. His mind was full of confusion as he tried to figure out exactly what was going on.
"Get back home, to me, where you belong," Randy answered as he stroked the back of Adrian's hand with his thumb and looked out over the water.
"I'm with you now," Adrian argued. "What do you mean get back home to you?"
"Do you remember when we first met?" Randy asked, changing the subject as a slight smile curved his lips.
Before Adrian could answer, a movie seemed to materialize in front of him. He instantly recognized the restaurant where he had first met Randy. They had actually been set up by a mutual friend on a blind date. Adrian had been apprehensive about being set up with someone he had never met, but their friend had finally convinced him to meet Randy at the restaurant.
"I almost didn't show up," Adrian remembered. "I was never a big fan of blind dates." Adrian risked a glance at Randy only to find his attention completely focused on the scene playing out in front of them.
Adrian turned his attention back to their first meeting and just watched as he was shown to the table where Randy sat. As he watched, he remembered how Randy had quickly stood up before holding out his hand. He smiled slightly as he watched himself take Randy's hand and could still remember the warmth that had spread over his palm upon contact with Randy's skin.
The sat in silence as they watched themselves go through the process of getting to know each other. They had both asked a lot of questions that night and had found out that they had a lot in common. They enjoyed the same type of music and movies. They were both into working out, and how both of their families had been supportive when they had come out to them. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene playing out in front of him. Their dinner was done and they just sat and talked before finally getting up and leaving the restaurant. Randy had walked him to his car and despite having been a first date and never having known each other before, Randy had taken the initiative and had leaned over and pressed his lips lightly against Adrian's. Adrian could remember being afraid at first of someone coming upon them and saying something, but Randy's lips had quickly chased the thoughts from his head.
