Chapter 17
Lauren had always been incapable of keeping secrets and making surprises happen.
Their social media bio declared them a “chronic over-sharer” for good reason.
Subtlety had never been their strong suit, but their three-month anniversary demanded something different.
Something that would catch Sierra off guard in the most beautiful way possible.
They opened their phone and fired off a message to the Inner Circle group chat, careful to exclude Sierra from the thread.
Lauren: Emergency group chat moment. I want to surprise Sierra for our three-month anniversary, and I desperately need your collective genius.
Calliope: Omg yessss FINALLY. Spill every detail immediately.
Jett: Please tell me this involves glitter. Or fairy lights. Preferably both.
Raven: I’m already packing pillows. Just point me in the right direction.
Lauren couldn’t help grinning at their screen. These people were ridiculous and perfect and exactly what they needed.
They laid out their vision: a surprise anniversary picnic beneath the same sprawling oak where they’d first collided into each other’s lives.
They’d lure Sierra there under the pretense of needing help with promotional shots for their makeup business, something about that soft amber light photographers love, framed as content creation, that would sound perfectly plausible.
Sierra would arrive expecting work but find something infinitely more meaningful waiting instead.
They descended on the park like a well-orchestrated mission just as the afternoon light began its slow slide toward magic hour.
Jett spread out a soft blanket in purple and pink beneath their tree, right where everything had started.
Raven fussed with the pillows, fluffing and rearranging until the little patch of grass looked like someone’s cozy living room.
Calliope arrived with a bucket of ice, a bottle of champagne, and a box of tiny cupcakes that looked way too fancy for a picnic.
Calliope helped put it all on display. “Everything’s better with frosting. That’s not opinion. That’s science.”
Lauren focused on looping the fairy lights through the oak’s lower branches, trying not to notice the faint shake in their hands. The playlist they’d obsessed over for three days, titled This Feels Like Us, drifted from a small speaker, each song chosen like it mattered.
The flush on their cheeks came from both the setting sun and the knot of anticipation they couldn’t quite hide.
The crew left with wishes of good luck. Once it all looked perfect, they pulled out their phone, thumbs moving slower than they expected.
Lauren: Hey babe, can you meet me at the park near the coffee truck? I need help shooting some promo content. bring your camera? ?? magic hour waits for no one.
Sierra’s response was immediate.
Sierra: On my way
Lauren’s heart was doing backflips in their chest. When Sierra appeared at the edge of the clearing, camera bag over her shoulder, she looked completely confused.
She looked from the cupcakes to the wine to the fairy lights starting to glow in the dim light, then at Lauren standing under their tree with a smile that felt too big for their face.
“This doesn’t look like any work shoot I’ve ever seen.” Her voice was soft and curious.
Lauren extended their hand, fingers slightly trembling. “That’s because it’s not work. It’s for us.”
Sierra’s eyes went wide and glassy as she took in the full scene: the blanket spread like an invitation, the lights casting everything in warm amber, the bottle of champagne catching the last rays of sunlight.
She let Lauren pull her down onto the pillows, settling close enough that their knees touched.
“Three months ago, you found me right here.” Lauren began, their voice thick with emotion. “You saw me when I was lost and became my compass. You’re the safest place I’ve ever known, Sierra. My home.”
They pressed a small cream envelope into Sierra’s hands, watching as she opened it with careful fingers. The handwritten note inside contained the same words, but seeing Sierra read them, watching her lips move silently as she absorbed each line, made them feel newly minted, precious.
Sierra clutched the paper to her chest, tears threatening to spill. “Lauren...”
But Lauren did not stop. They produced a small photo album, its cover decorated with pressed flowers they’d collected on various adventures.
Inside, their three months together played out page by page: Sierra laughing so hard during movie night she could barely breathe, holding Salem like he was the most precious thing in the world, waving her hands around while she explained camera settings, a selfie of them both pressed cheek to cheek, laughing so hard the picture came out blurry.
The last page had a photo from just last week, the two of them curled up together on Sierra’s couch, completely content. Lauren had written underneath: “real-life magic.”
“There’s one more thing.” Lauren pulled out a small velvet box with shaking hands.
Inside was a simple silver keychain shaped like half a heart.
Sierra looked up with questioning eyes as Lauren revealed its match, the two pieces fitting together perfectly when held side by side.
“Now we match, and you have half of my heart.” Lauren’s voice was now barely above a whisper.
Sierra broke. No holding it back this time. Tears, laughter, everything all at once as she threw herself at Lauren. They went down together, landing in the pile of pillows with a graceless thud and a tangle of limbs.
“This is too much.” Sierra swiped at her face and failed. “You surprised me. You can’t stand keeping secrets.”
Lauren’s hands found her cheeks, thumbs brushing away the wetness. Their eyes were shining. “Guess you’re worth the effort.”
Sierra let out a half-sob, half-laugh. “I love you so much.”
Lauren felt it hit them, warm and heavy, like the air before a storm. “I love you, too. Enough to pull this whole thing off instead of blurting it the second I felt it.”
They laughed again, holding on to each other while the light shifted from gold, then pink, then the deep violet of early night. The fairy lights softened everything, as if the edges had been blurred.
Later, when they started gathering up the pillows and packing away the album, Sierra caught Lauren’s wrist. “Come home with me?”
Lauren leaned in and kissed her, tasting the frosting on her lips. “Always.”
They left the park together, hands linked, fairy lights behind them winking as if they knew. Lauren felt lighter than air, drunk on love and the success of their first genuine surprise.
“Hey, you’ve got frosting on your nose.”
Sierra gasped in mock outrage and swatted at them. “That’s incredibly rude to point out after such a romantic evening.”
But she was laughing as she said it, and Lauren thought they could listen to that sound for the rest of their lives.