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.