Start your story with one character setting up a romantic dinner, and end it with them looking at a framed wedding photo.

Posted in Romance on Jul 27, 2021

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✍️ 181 stories

“The fourth floor” by Siobhan Mulalley

Submitted to Contest #81

Will wiped down the fork for the fourth time, a mix of nerves and a desire for everything to be perfect, led to an almost OCD laying of the table. He stopped short of using a measuring tape to ensure everything was in exactly the correct position but had checked the table a total of 36 times already. It’s not like it was a first date, they had been out to dinner several times. He had been to hers for dinner and a movie, but this was the first time she would come to his. The first time he was cooking. The first time she would see his hom...

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“to love a memory” by Joohee Yoon

Submitted to Contest #81

A candle is lit. It flickers, the warm glow dancing over the walls and table. After a moment's hesitation, a hasty breath blows it out. And for a moment, there is darkness, interrupted only by the bright moon and pinprick stars that poke twinkling holes in the fabric of night. The candle is relit. This time, the flame is steady. A reluctant hand lights another candle. Another, another, another. The same hands pull an intricately decorated vase from its packaging. It's placed at the center of the table. Two perfect roses are slipped into the ...

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“A Breach of Health and Safety” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #81

Well, that wasn’t quite how they’d planned it to be. True, their plans hadn’t been exactly finalised. They had both agreed that they didn’t want it to be anywhere posh. Alexandra, whom everyone called Lexie (she had once shortened it to Alexa, but the jokes about recommending a playlist or a garage had worn rather thin) and Oliver were united in their dislike of hovering waiters and paying the price of a small car for a plate with two slivers of carrot and one sliver of chicken. But they didn’t want it just to be at McDonalds or the local fi...

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“Strawberry Rum” by Suhani Choudaha

Submitted to Contest #81

Freshman year of college, and the smell of roses was in the air- a rather painfully obvious indicator to the season of love- and the hushed glow of twine wrapped candles flooded the room. I remember thinking to myself, “All it would take is one wave of my hand to turn the mood lighting into a trail of scented smoke,” but I persisted, and took the time to straighten my bow. The oven timer cut through the silence, and I took the notification as a countdown. I fixed my hair, straightened my collar, and lightly doused my crisp suit in that colog...

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“Highschool Sweethearts” by Ace Roquero

Submitted to Contest #81

It was the last day of school, and it was also my 18th birthday. I'm not a fan of celebrating my birthday, but I decided to celebrate it just this once with him as it could be our last time together. A few months ago, I told him that my parents decided to move to a place near to the college I applied to, which was in another country. I told my parents that it wasn't that necessary and that I could stay at the school's dormitory and come home during the holidays, so we can still see each other despite the long distance. But due to my pare...

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“The Anniversary Gift” by PK Spice

Submitted to Contest #81

TW: suicide Fred snapped his wrists and watched as the tablecloth floated down to perfectly cover the round table. He carefully picked up the vase with a dozen freshly cut yellow roses and centered it on the starched white fabric. He added the pair of candlesticks he’d polished this morning and went to the hutch to get the fine china, the sterling silverware, the serving dishes, and several other things he needed. Why do we only use the good stuff once a year? As he finished setting the table, the kitchen timer began to beep. He quick...

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“Fiddler's Dinner” by Svara Narasiah

Submitted to Contest #81

Fiddler was making dinner. He first washed his tiny paws, then clipped back his whiskers so they wouldn't fall in the soup. After ushering the twins out of the kitchen, as they were more nuisance than help, he got out the ingredients and his mother's old cookbook. It was his father's wedding anniversary, and Fiddler had been presented with the task of preparing a romantic meal for him and his wives. You see, Fiddler's father, Tiddler, had five wives. From what he had told his son, he had gotten five proposals on Christmas Eve and acc...

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“Maybe If I Was Different” by ℤ ℍ☮️

Submitted to Contest #81

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“Temporal Dislocation” by Lynn Bigham

Submitted to Contest #81

Translucent hands trembled as he laid the cutlery out, his eyes blurring from unshed tears. He would get it right this time. He had to get it right. Cass folded the napkins into triangles, standing on the sparkling white dishes rimmed with gold. Two menus, one on either side of the wine bucket that held a red wine of some unseemly price range. He straightened the candles that were on the side of the table this time. (Cass remembered the time when the candles were in the middle and Geoffrey accidentally knocked them over with a wild gesticula...

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“Framed Forever” by CHIONCHA RK

Submitted to Contest #81

Manish had been doing summer jobs and saving up for this , he wanted to make it special for her, as she had made his life special .A rush in his veins , nervousness which he hid with immense confidence and a knot in his stomach, as he bought this gift for his young love, a set of gold earrings. He wanted to give his first love, Ayesha, a little surprise on her birthday.He spent hours finding the perfect spot for the candlelit dinner where he will present her his token of love and finally decided to set it up on his terrace. He decided he wil...

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“Young Cow Love” by Charlie Murphy

Submitted to Contest #81

I placed the turkey on the table then grabbed two plates. I set them side by side when the doorbell rang. ”Damn!” I muttered. Good enough. I sighed then called out, “COMING!” I raced to the door and opened it.“Hey, happy Valentine’s Day!” Maya gave me a huge teddy bear.“Woah! I haven't been that good of a boyfriend, have I?” I said and kissed her.”No, but it's good enough." She kissed me back. I grabbed her hand and led her into the dining room. She gasped. “You did this?"“Yep, I slaved hours in the kitchen just for you."“But, you ...

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“Before Dinner Gets Warm” by Chris D

Submitted to Contest #81

Why is it that whenever you're trying to rush, because you spent too much time giving yourself a pep talk in the mirror, that's when the thing you need most goes missing? He knows there is a box of matches somewhere in this apartment. He has used them for every birthday cake for the last ten years. It isn't that often he lights things on fire. They should be right in this drawer. His roommate's lighter is sitting on the table. It refuses to spark. There has to be something, because he has to light these candles. It's not a fancy Valentine's ...

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“REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST” by Sivaram Govindaraj

Submitted to Contest #81

I am Paul Harvey, a retired Brigadier of the Indian Army. I am becoming 75 and the date coincides with my 50th wedding anniversary. How do I look? I am very tall, fair, bald and with a big moustache which has also greyed. Besides I’ve become a bit paunchy. I had told my wife Nancy that our 50th wedding- cum-75th birthday should be observed very quietly at home. Nancy was also one who disliked publicity and she agreed. She had decided the menu with me and the dinner for two was delivered at my place. The cake had been delivered earlier. I had...

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“Coffee Date” by BT Black

Submitted to Contest #81

It was 7:05 pm when I added the finishing touches, straightening the two white cloth placemats on the tiny café table and standing back to evaluate my work. The two weathered wooden chairs were pushed in neatly facing each other, and the table was adorned with a small electric candle that I had ordered online, and a mason jar with a single pink rose that I had plucked from my neighbor’s front garden on my way to work. The coffee shop sat on the corner of Main street and Broadway...

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“One Day Spat” by Bonnie Clarkson

Submitted to Contest #81

Katrina wore an emerald green dress and her signature four inch high heels. Her shoulder length wavy, strawberry-blonde dyed hair had just a touch of gray. Looking at her no one would believe she was a seventy-year-old grandmother. Her husband, Russell Driscoll, had salt and pepper hair. His rugged build and moustache reminded her of Tom Selleck. Russell and Katrina sat together while listening to the preacher. He explained the concepts of forgiveness, Jesus’ peace that passes ...

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Start your story with one character setting up a romantic dinner, and end it with them looking at a framed wedding photo.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 181 stories

“The fourth floor” by Siobhan Mulalley

“to love a memory” by Joohee Yoon

“A Breach of Health and Safety” by Deborah Mercer

“Strawberry Rum” by Suhani Choudaha

“Highschool Sweethearts” by Ace Roquero

“The Anniversary Gift” by PK Spice

“Fiddler's Dinner” by Svara Narasiah

“Maybe If I Was Different” by ℤ ℍ☮️

“Temporal Dislocation” by Lynn Bigham

“Framed Forever” by CHIONCHA RK

“Young Cow Love” by Charlie Murphy

“Before Dinner Gets Warm” by Chris D

“REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST” by Sivaram Govindaraj

“Coffee Date” by BT Black

“One Day Spat” by Bonnie Clarkson

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about two people reconnecting after a rough patch in their relationship.

Write a love story about an older couple who’ve been together since they were teenagers.

Write about a first date that surprises both people, but in different ways.

Write about someone asking out an old crush, only to realize their crush doesn’t remember they’ve ever met before.

Contest #81

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

916

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: