wildforce71

How about PRS Lauren and PRJF Lily hanging out, much to the terror of PRS Jayden and PRJF Casey, who wonder what they could possibly be up to?

“Are you sure you don’t want to go home?”

“No, I don’t want to go home.”

“We have lots of food at home.”

“We’re going to find a restaurant.”

“We’ve been walking for a hundred years.”

“It’s a hard knock life,” Lauren replied without missing a beat. “We’re on an adventure.”

“Starving.”

“Adventure,” she said firmly. “Come on, this looks like a place here.”

Jayden heaved a sigh, following her, but it was mostly for show. He was enjoying the trip, the fourth of what they hoped would be plenty of days out where they explored nearby towns, since they hadn’t got to do it growing up. They’d been taking it in turns to decide where to go and what to do, and since he’d chosen the park they spent the last hour in Lauren got to choose the restaurant.

Well, maybe this - he squinted at the sign - Jungle Karma Pizza wouldn’t be too bad. He jogged in after Lauren.

“Welcome to Jungle Karma Pizza!” a blonde salesgirl was saying, steering Lauren to a booth. “My name’s Lily, I’ll be your server. You picked a good time to come in, it’s pretty quiet right now. Just one - two of you?” she corrected herself, catching sight of Jayden trailing behind them.

“Just us,” Lauren agreed. “And Jayden’s starving.”

“Well, you’ve come to the right place then,” she says with a grin, handing them both menus. “Can I get you a drink to start with?”

Something exploded in the kitchen; she sighed, looking over her shoulder. “Casey! Get the fire extinguisher!”

“On it!” another worker called, heading for the kitchen at a trot.

“Our cook,” Lily told them. “He gets a little over enthusiastic sometimes. Drink?”

The pizza was surprisingly good. Lily was attentive without being overbearing, suggesting the best sides for the pizza they wanted and keeping their drinks topped up. The unseen cook set off another fire. Casey dealt with that one, too. Lily didn’t seem concerned, and no alarms went off, so neither Lauren nor Jayden worried about it.

They lingered after the meal, talking quietly. There were still no other customers, so they didn’t feel any need to hurry out, and the place had a nice atmosphere.

Jayden excused himself to go to the bathroom after a while. When he came back, Lily was sitting in his seat, talking earnestly with Lauren. Jayden lingered awkwardly by the counter, not wanting to interrupt.

“That looks dangerous,” Casey remarked from where he was folding napkins.

“Pardon?” Jayden said politely, not sure he was being addressed. They hadn’t spoken yet, after all.

“When girls sit together like that, it’s never a good sign.”

“My - friends often sat together at home.”

“Girls?” He nodded sagely. “They were plotting something. Guarantee it. You probably just didn’t notice because it wasn’t against you, whatever it was.”

“I don’t think they were plotting. I think they just liked to talk to each other. Lauren doesn’t know many people, she’s probably just -”

The two girls erupted in giggles. Jayden looked over, surprised. He’d never heard Lauren make that noise before.

Casey winced. “That is a really bad sign. Trust me, Lily spent a year living with four guys, whenever she finds a girl she makes friends and it’s never good.”

“What’s so bad about it, though?” Jayden protested. “They’re just talking.”

In unison, the girls looked at him, looked at each other, and giggled again.

Jayden swallowed.

“Yeah,” Casey said from behind him. “They’re just talking. Nice knowing you, pal.”