Two's Company, Three's a Crowd
Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 7:06 am
It was a hot summer day, just like any other. It had taken a little while to find a decent parking spot at the Del Mar fairgrounds, but finally, Michael had managed to find some suitable parking. Now, he sat on the tailgate of his truck, his legs dangling boredly off of the edge of the tailgate. He watched the lines of people steadily pouring into the fairgrounds through the large gates a short ways in the distance. He loved the fair. There was just something exciting about the entire atmosphere of it, there had been ever since he was young.
Really, he couldn't imagine why. The voices of shrieking ride-goers and dozens of people flooded through the air, and the mixed aroma of food, dumpster, and vomit all mixed together and intertwined in the air. It should've been nauseating, but really, it was just part of the whole "fair" atmosphere. He'd planned for it to be an interesting day. He, Lauren, his friend Bobby and their mutual friend Melissa had planned this day throughout the week, and more than anything, he was looking forward to hanging out with Lauren.
Speaking of, she had just currently removed herself from the interior of his red truck. She'd been on the phone with her grandparents, informing them of her plans for the evening. Michael gave her a toothy grin as she shut the door of his truck and hopped off the tailgate, shutting it in the process. Bobby and Melissa were supposed to meet them at the front gates, so he figured they'd better head that way. He walked up to Lauren, his hand latching onto hers as he walked passed, and headed up toward the entrance of the fairgrounds.
Lauren seemed a bit hesitant about the hand-holding thing at first. She'd never quite been comfortable with the whole public display of affection thing. It wasn't that she wasn't attracted to Michael. Quite the contrary, actually. They hadn't been together that long, but she'd been far from disappointed by him thus far. She opted against saying anything about it. It's not like it was attracting that much attention or anything, and it seemed better just to go with the flow. Besides, they were almost at the gates now.
It was then that Michael's phone rang.
"Hang on a sec," he instructed Lauren, reaching into the back of his pants pocket for his cell phone, "That's Bobby."
He flipped open the phone, but Lauren could only hear Michael's end of the phone conversation. The frown forming on his face was clearly visible, though, and informed Lauren immediately that something wasn't quite right. She couldn't make out exactly what it was from the series of "okays" and "no problems" that Michael kept uttering, but the look on his face told her something his words didn't have to. Eventually, he hang up the phone, shook his head slightly, and a smile returned to his features.
"What's wrong?" Lauren inquired curiously.
"Bad news," he responded, "... at least for Melissa. Bobby's not coming. Didn't give me many details, just said he couldn't make it. I dunno, it's probably just an excuse for flaking out, he's got a habit of doin' that."
Lauren frowned a bit. It didn't really matter to her whether Bobby came or not. It didn't affect her and Michael all that much. Still, Melissa would probably be a little disappointed. She hated to make her feel like a third wheel. Michael, though, didn't seem to care all that much. His arm draped loosely over her shoulder as he scanned the area for their other companion.
Really, he couldn't imagine why. The voices of shrieking ride-goers and dozens of people flooded through the air, and the mixed aroma of food, dumpster, and vomit all mixed together and intertwined in the air. It should've been nauseating, but really, it was just part of the whole "fair" atmosphere. He'd planned for it to be an interesting day. He, Lauren, his friend Bobby and their mutual friend Melissa had planned this day throughout the week, and more than anything, he was looking forward to hanging out with Lauren.
Speaking of, she had just currently removed herself from the interior of his red truck. She'd been on the phone with her grandparents, informing them of her plans for the evening. Michael gave her a toothy grin as she shut the door of his truck and hopped off the tailgate, shutting it in the process. Bobby and Melissa were supposed to meet them at the front gates, so he figured they'd better head that way. He walked up to Lauren, his hand latching onto hers as he walked passed, and headed up toward the entrance of the fairgrounds.
Lauren seemed a bit hesitant about the hand-holding thing at first. She'd never quite been comfortable with the whole public display of affection thing. It wasn't that she wasn't attracted to Michael. Quite the contrary, actually. They hadn't been together that long, but she'd been far from disappointed by him thus far. She opted against saying anything about it. It's not like it was attracting that much attention or anything, and it seemed better just to go with the flow. Besides, they were almost at the gates now.
It was then that Michael's phone rang.
"Hang on a sec," he instructed Lauren, reaching into the back of his pants pocket for his cell phone, "That's Bobby."
He flipped open the phone, but Lauren could only hear Michael's end of the phone conversation. The frown forming on his face was clearly visible, though, and informed Lauren immediately that something wasn't quite right. She couldn't make out exactly what it was from the series of "okays" and "no problems" that Michael kept uttering, but the look on his face told her something his words didn't have to. Eventually, he hang up the phone, shook his head slightly, and a smile returned to his features.
"What's wrong?" Lauren inquired curiously.
"Bad news," he responded, "... at least for Melissa. Bobby's not coming. Didn't give me many details, just said he couldn't make it. I dunno, it's probably just an excuse for flaking out, he's got a habit of doin' that."
Lauren frowned a bit. It didn't really matter to her whether Bobby came or not. It didn't affect her and Michael all that much. Still, Melissa would probably be a little disappointed. She hated to make her feel like a third wheel. Michael, though, didn't seem to care all that much. His arm draped loosely over her shoulder as he scanned the area for their other companion.