Sarah was relaxing in her bedroom when her phone called her attention with a text notification. She looked at her phone screen to see who it was from. The text was from a friend she'd made at work, Stacy.
"Hey Sarah! How are you doing?" The text read.
"Just at home relaxing." Sarah replied, "What about you?"
"Just got done talking to Randy," Stacy replied, "He's planning on bringing a friend of his down for wings tonight with us. I was wondering if maybe you'd like to tag along so I won't have to be the only girl."
Sarah pondered the invitation for a moment before replying. "I'm not sure I feel like going to a bar tonight." She said.
"Can I ask why?" Stacy replied.
"I just don't feel like dealing with the bar scene tonight." Sarah explained, "Too much excitement and too many guys looking to get laid."
"I promise you that this place isn't like that." Stacy assured, "It's just a small 'hole in the wall' type of place."
"Ok, but I don't feel like getting dressed up either." Sarah responded.
"You don't need to. Just dress casually, no one will judge you for it." Stacy replied. "Please, I don't want to be the only girl in the group tonight." She added in a second message.
Sarah gave the idea some more thought. "I guess I don't have anything better to do tonight." She conceded. "When and where should I meet you guys?"
"You could meet me at my house in about an hour if that works for you." Stacy offered.
"Sure, I can do that." Sarah agreed.
"Yay! Thanks Sarah." Stacy responded.
Sarah laid her phone down on her bed wondering what exactly she should be expecting for later that night. She'd learned really quick after moving that living in a rural area was vastly different to what she was used too. The people seemed nicer, everywhere was a lot less crowded, and things in general seemed so much more relaxed than they were in the city. It wasn't without its drawbacks however, many of the conveniences she'd gotten used to having in the city were no longer an option. She had to drive herself everywhere, everything was much more spaced out, and there wasn't as much to do as she was used to. Overall though, she was willing to deal with the drawbacks to get away from the chaos of the city.
Before she knew it, she noticed that it was time for her to get ready to leave. Following Stacy's advice, she opted to simply wear a T-shirt and jeans. It was mid summer so she knew she wouldn't need a jacket. Making sure she had everything she would need, she put on a pair of tennis shoes, got into her car, and left for Stacy's house.
As she drove down the backroad she saw a flatbed pickup truck coming in the other lane. As the truck got closer she saw the person driving it. It was a young man, who she assumed was likely in his early twenties. He was wearing what she assumed was a Hi-Vis shirt judging by the yellow-green color and reflective strips, and a baseball cap. She didn't have time to get a decent look at his face but she did notice that he had a medium length beard, the dark brown color of which matched his hair.
After meeting up with Stacy, she found herself in the passenger's seat of Stacy's car as she drove them to their destination in town. As they were getting out of the car to go inside Stacy spoke up. "Hey Sarah," She began, "Would be okay with just splitting an order of wings with me?"
"How many wings is that?" Sarah asked.
"If we get a large it'll be 20. I figured that's 10 for each of us." Stacy explained.
"Works for me."
"Good. Randy texted me that he's already here and seated so we should be able to just find him and sit down." Stacy explained.
"Sounds good." Sarah said as she followed Stacy inside. As they entered, she took a moment to look around. The place was certainly smaller than she was used to, and way less crowded. The noise was essentially a constant murmur of different people talking to each other throughout the bar. "You weren't kidding about this place." She said.
"I told you it wouldn't be what you were used to." Stacy replied with chuckle. "Hey, there's Randy." She added as she pointed to a raised table across the room. Sarah followed her over to the table and picked out a seat for herself.
"So you must be Sarah..." Randy said as he held out his hand.
"Yes I am." Sarah replied shaking his hand.
"Good to meet you," He responded, "In case you didn't know already, my name's Randy and I'm her boyfriend." He added motioning to Stacy.
"Good to meet you too Randy." Sarah replied as she sat down.
"So where's your buddy from work at?" Stacy asked.
"He went to go look at a farm this evening. He said he should be here soon." Randy explained.
Within a few minutes, the waitress had come and taken everyone's orders, with Randy putting in his friend's order. Another few minutes passed before the waitress returned and handed out everyone's drinks.
Shortly after the waitress left, Randy piped up, "Hey, there he is!" He said as he waved across the room. Sarah turned and looked towards the door. The man Randy had been calling to was the same guy she had passed in the truck on her way to Stacy's, except now she could get a better look at the rest of him.
He was easily over 6' tall, with broad shoulders to go with it. As her eyes moved farther down his body she noticed the muscle mass on his arms, although his shirt sleeves concealed his upper arms. His hips were slightly narrower than his shoulders and his legs seemed to also have plenty of muscle to them as well.
Not wanting to get caught staring, Sarah looked to Stacy to see her reaction. Ironically enough, she continued to look at the approaching man for a second or so before turning to her.
"I should've got Randy to bring this guy around sooner..." Stacy whispered as she leaned closer.
Sarah giggled in response and turned back to the approaching man. As he got closer she was able to get a better look at him. She could see the muscle definition on his forearms, accompanied by some veins that ran down them and across the back of his hands. Her eyes returned to his face, his eyes were somewhere between blue and green. Below his eyes she noticed the contour of his cheekbones which was barely visible above his medium length beard. Continuing down, his beard was just long enough to highlight his jawline without hiding it. His neck, just like the rest of him, was clearly muscled and some of his chest hair stuck out above the neck of his shirt.
By the time she'd had her eyefull, he had already made it to the table and was about to take his seat.
