The Backup Boyfriend

Episode 10: Beneath the Old Oak Tree

The next afternoon, Adrian was sitting in the back of his car, staring at his phone.

He had been looking at the same conversation for nearly five minutes.

Adrian: Are you free today?

Ethan had replied almost immediately.

Ethan: For you? I can make time.

Adrian smiled at that.

Then he'd typed:

Adrian: Your turn to choose where we go.

Ethan's response had taken slightly longer.

Ethan: Are you sure?

Adrian: Yes.

Ethan: Then don't complain.

Adrian laughed.

Adrian: Now I'm worried.

Ethan had sent only one address.

Adrian recognized it immediately.

He stared at the screen.

Then his smile slowly disappeared.

Westbridge University.

Their old university.

The place where everything had started.

An hour later, Adrian's car rolled through the familiar gates.

He lowered the window.

The campus looked different.

And yet...

It didn't.

The buildings had been renovated. Some of the old walkways had been repaved, and there were new banners hanging from the lamp posts.

But the atmosphere remained the same.

Students walked across the courtyard with backpacks slung over their shoulders.

Groups of friends sat beneath trees.

Someone was rushing toward a lecture hall with a stack of books.

Adrian smiled.

He remembered doing exactly that.

Well...

Not the book part.

Ethan had always been the one carrying the books.

Adrian parked and stepped out.

He wore a simple black shirt, jeans, sunglasses, and a baseball cap.

He had learned long ago that going anywhere without some attempt at disguising himself was asking for trouble.

He looked around.

Then he saw Ethan.

Ethan was standing near the old courtyard fountain.

He wore a light blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up, dark trousers, and white sneakers.

He looked relaxed.

Adrian walked toward him.

Ethan noticed him.

A smile appeared immediately.

"You came."

Adrian stopped in front of him.

"You keep saying that."

"Because I still can't believe you actually do."

Adrian laughed.

"You invited me."

"I know."

"Then stop acting surprised."

Ethan smiled.

"Okay."

Adrian looked around.

"So..."

He gestured toward the campus.

"This is where you wanted to bring me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Ethan shrugged.

"You said I could choose."

"I thought you'd choose a restaurant."

"I thought about it."

"And?"

"I changed my mind."

Adrian looked at him suspiciously.

"Should I be worried?"

"Probably."

Adrian laughed.

"You're enjoying this."

"A little."

They began walking.

The first place Ethan took him was the library.

Adrian stopped at the entrance.

"Oh my God."

Ethan smiled.

"What?"

"I haven't been here in years."

"Neither have I."

They walked inside.

The smell of old books immediately brought memories rushing back.

Adrian looked around.

"I hated this place."

Ethan laughed.

"You hated studying."

"I didn't hate studying."

"You once fell asleep on a textbook."

"I was resting my eyes."

"For two hours."

"I was tired."

"You had an exam the next morning."

"And I passed."

"Because I woke you up and made you study."

Adrian smiled.

"You were always so annoying."

"And yet you kept following me."

"Because you had notes."

Ethan laughed.

They walked farther inside.

The librarian glanced up at them.

Adrian lowered his voice.

"Do you think she remembers us?"

Ethan looked toward the librarian.

"Probably not."

"We practically lived here."

"You practically slept here."

Adrian laughed.

"I told you. Resting my eyes."

Ethan shook his head.

They continued walking until they reached a particular table near the window.

Ethan stopped.

Adrian looked at him.

"What?"

"This was our table."

Adrian stared at it.

Memory came rushing back.

Two nineteen-year-old boys sitting across from each other.

Books everywhere.

Ethan studying.

Adrian pretending to study.

Adrian stealing Ethan's snacks.

Ethan complaining.

Adrian laughing.

Adrian smiled.

"I remember."

"You used to sit there."

Ethan pointed to the chair.

"And I sat here."

Adrian looked at him.

"You always knew where I was supposed to sit?"

"Of course."

"Why?"

Ethan shrugged.

"Because you always took the same seat."

Adrian smiled.

"You're remembering a lot."

"So are you."

Their eyes met.

Neither spoke.

Then Adrian broke the silence.

"Come on."

"Where?"

"Show me the cafeteria."

Ethan laughed.

"Still hungry?"

"I've always been hungry."

The cafeteria had changed considerably.

The old tables had been replaced.

The walls had been repainted.

There were new food stalls.

But Adrian immediately pointed toward the corner.

"That was where we sat."

Ethan looked.

"Yes."

"You used to buy those terrible noodles."

"They weren't terrible."

"They were."

"You ate them."

"Because I was hungry."

"You always had an excuse."

Adrian grinned.

"And you always fed me."

Ethan looked at him.

"Maybe because you never brought money."

Adrian laughed.

"That's not true."

"You borrowed money from me at least three times a week."

"I always paid you back."

"When?"

Adrian paused.

"...Eventually."

Ethan laughed.

They bought drinks and sat outside.

For a while, they simply watched students pass by.

Adrian felt something strange in his chest.

It was peaceful.

He hadn't realized how much he'd missed this.

Not the university.

Not the buildings.

Not even the memories.

He had missed Ethan.

And sitting beside him again made the years between them feel strangely insignificant.

After leaving the cafeteria, Ethan led Adrian across the courtyard.

Adrian noticed where they were heading.

He stopped walking.

"The tree."

Ethan turned.

"Yes."

Adrian looked ahead.

The old oak tree was still there.

Massive.

Its branches had grown wider, casting an enormous shadow over the grass.

Adrian stared at it.

"This thing is still alive."

Ethan laughed.

"Of course it is."

"It looks exactly the same."

"No."

Ethan looked at the tree.

"It's bigger."

Adrian smiled.

"Everything is bigger now."

They walked toward it.

The same patch of grass.

The same stone bench nearby.

The same tree beneath which two nineteen-year-old boys had once made a ridiculous promise about their future.

They sat beneath it.

For several seconds, neither spoke.

Adrian leaned back against the trunk.

"Do you remember that day?"

Ethan smiled.

"I remember."

"What were we doing?"

"Complaining about being single."

Adrian laughed.

"That's right."

"We had just watched another one of our friends get engaged."

"And you said everyone was getting married."

"You said we'd probably be the last two."

Adrian looked at him.

"Then I came up with the idea."

Ethan nodded.

"You did."

Adrian smiled.

"If we're both still single at thirty..."

He paused.

"...we marry each other."

Ethan laughed softly.

"Yes."

"I can't believe we actually wrote it down."

"You insisted."

"I wanted evidence."

"You said we'd forget."

"We almost did."

Ethan looked at him.

"I didn't."

Adrian's smile slowly disappeared.

"What?"

"I didn't forget."

Ethan looked down at his hands.

"I remember it every year."

Adrian stared at him.

"Every year?"

"Not always in the same way."

"What does that mean?"

Ethan smiled faintly.

"When I was twenty-one, I thought it was funny."

"Twenty-three?"

"I thought we'd definitely break it."

"Twenty-five?"

"I stopped thinking about it as a joke."

Adrian's heart began beating faster.

"And thirty?"

Ethan looked directly at him.

"Thirty came."

Adrian swallowed.

"And you sent the package."

"Yes."

"Why?"

Ethan looked toward the tree.

"Because I realized I'd spent years waiting for something without admitting what I was waiting for."

Adrian was silent.

Ethan continued.

"I had relationships."

Adrian looked at him.

"Relationships?"

"Nothing serious."

"How many?"

Ethan smiled.

"Are you jealous?"

Adrian immediately looked away.

"No."

"You're asking very quickly."

"I'm curious."

"Sure."

Adrian frowned.

"Answer the question."

Ethan laughed.

"A few."

"Did you love any of them?"

Ethan's smile disappeared.

He thought for a moment.

"No."

Adrian looked at him.

"Why?"

"I don't know."

Ethan's fingers moved absently over his knee.

"Maybe because I kept comparing them to something I couldn't explain."

Adrian's heart skipped.

"To what?"

Ethan looked at him.

"You."

Adrian went completely still.

The wind moved through the branches above them.

Leaves rustled softly.

Students laughed somewhere in the distance.

But Adrian heard none of it.

"You compared them to me?"

Ethan smiled faintly.

"I didn't mean to."

"How?"

"I don't know."

He looked away.

"Someone would make me laugh, and I'd think, Adrian would've made that joke better."

Adrian smiled despite himself.

"Obviously."

Ethan laughed.

"Someone would remember something small about me, and I'd think, Adrian already knew that."

His smile faded.

"And sometimes I'd be with someone and realize..."

He paused.

"...I was comfortable with them, but not the way I was comfortable with you."

Adrian stared at him.

"Ethan..."

"I tried."

Ethan looked down.

"I really did."

"Did it work?"

Ethan shook his head.

"No."

The answer was so simple.

So honest.

Adrian didn't know what to do with it.

He looked at the ground.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Ethan laughed softly.

"Tell you what?"

"That you felt this way."

"You disappeared."

"So did you."

"I know."

Adrian's voice softened.

"But I would've listened."

Ethan looked at him.

"Would you?"

Adrian hesitated.

"I don't know."

Ethan smiled.

"Exactly."

Adrian looked away.

He hated that Ethan was right.

At nineteen, he hadn't understood himself.

Maybe he hadn't wanted to.

Maybe it had been easier to call Ethan his best friend than to question why Ethan was the first person he wanted to see every morning.

Why did he hate when Ethan dated.

Why did he always want Ethan beside him.

Why the idea of marrying him had come so naturally.

Adrian looked at the old oak tree.

"I think I might have been stupid."

Ethan laughed.

"You were definitely stupid."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

Adrian smiled.

Then his expression became thoughtful.

"I think I knew."

Ethan looked at him.

"Knew what?"

"That you were different."

"Different how?"

Adrian looked at him.

"I don't know yet."

Ethan smiled.

"Then maybe you should figure it out."

Adrian laughed softly.

"Maybe I should."

They sat quietly beneath the tree.

Their shoulders almost touched.

Neither moved away.

After a while, Ethan looked at Adrian's hand.

The silver ring was still there.

"You kept wearing it."

Adrian looked down.

"Yeah."

"You could've taken it off."

"I know."

"But you didn't."

Adrian smiled.

"No."

"Why?"

Adrian thought about it.

Then looked at Ethan.

"Because I like it."

Ethan smiled.

"That's all?"

Adrian's eyes held his.

"For now."

Ethan laughed quietly.

"Fair enough."

The sun began to lower over the campus.

The light filtered through the oak tree's branches, casting soft shadows across them.

Adrian looked at Ethan.

For the first time, he wondered what would have happened if they hadn't lost ten years.

Would they have figured this out sooner?

Would they have stayed together?

Would the promise have become reality long before thirty?

He didn't know.

But there was one thing he knew now.

He didn't want to lose another ten years.

Adrian stood.

Ethan looked up.

"We should go."

"Yeah."

Ethan stood too.

They began walking back toward the parking lot.

After a few steps, Adrian stopped.

"Ethan."

Ethan turned.

"Yes?"

Adrian smiled.

"Next time, I'll choose where we go."

Ethan smiled back.

"Okay."

"And no hospital."

"Deal."

"And no university."

"Deal."

Adrian thought for a moment.

"Somewhere normal."

Ethan laughed.

"Sure."

Adrian started walking again.

Ethan followed.