1 Less Than Ideal Date

"Just where are we going again?" Dawn Hilbery asked watching the flat expanse stretch out before her window. She sat in the back of the car with Craig Mantel who was laughing at the moment at something that his friend Rick said. Rick was driving and Jackie was sitting next to him.

Dawn didn't remember their last names and she didn't know them all that well. Actually she didn't know Craig all that well, but he'd asked her out and she'd said yes. The first part of the evening was great, or she thought so. They seemed decent enough. Though she had a feeling that the two men were just feeling her out more than actually being themselves.

"To a fight, it's supposed to be good. I found out about it from my uncle." Rick said, Dawn wasn't sure she liked the idea of this. Halfway through dinner, both Craig and Rick had started talking about cage matches and street fighting. How they liked to place bets on it, and how it was hard to find any real ones to go to.

No shit, because they were illegal, and it seemed that Rick's uncle was in the know about this kind of thing. Whoever he was, she'd been roped into going along even though she'd tried to back out, politely. Now she wished she'd been more of a bitch about it. She just held on to her purse which was on her lap and looked back out the window. Jackie didn't seem to mind the idea of it at all. She was sort of talking about it right now as well.

"There's so many things that you can bet on, but mostly just the outcome. There's the odds of course, who will get the first hit. The first serious wound, any bones broken or how many." Yeah that sounded like just the thing she wanted to see or bet on. She didn't bet, it wasn't something she was into, she was happy saving her money. Rick was just going on and on about it.

"What about the ITB? Uncle hear any more on that?" Craig asked and Rick gave a heavy sigh. Dawn looked at him, what was ITB?

"My uncle still hasn't found out about that one. He just hears some of the high rollers talking about it. No one seems to know though, but it's definitely going on. Have to keep it that way I guess, not exactly legal. My uncle has been trying to find out how much to get in. No one talks though."

"Man I'd love to get in on some of that betting. I hear that there are multiple cells operating. You just have to find one and then your in." Craig sat sitting back. Dawn didn't think she liked this side of him. Craig was lean and her height of five nine, with tan skin and dark green eyes. He was a decent looking guy. She thought she was decent looking, maybe not the biggest catch nor the prettiest but she was alright.

She had copper brown hair with a slight curl to the ends of it, which was down at the moment. She wasn't tan like the other three. Always had a problem tanning, or getting her nails to stay a nice shape feeling they were flimsy. She was in shape, but not the athletic type. She just took care of herself and tried not to eat to much crap.

"What's ITB?" Jackie asked, and while she didn't mind Jackie, she had a high pitched valley girl talk. It was really annoying, but Rick didn't seem to mind, and Jackie was always smiling at him, or touching. The two seemed to have a rather good relationship.

"Independent Trust Betting, it's where people with a lot of money go and bet on high risk and dangerous situations." Rick informed her, and Dawn raised an eyebrow. "It's a rumor that goes around these types of fights. That someone heads it and it's people that go and do dangerous things and you bet on outcomes and what not of the situation."

"You know, that doesn't sound very legit." Dawn said.

"What does it matter? These people choose to do it, so it's not like you're betting on anything that's being forced upon someone. " She guessed that he had a point and she became quiet again thinking. She just looked at the back of Jackie's blonde head and then to Rick's red brown. Both of them had brown colored eyes.

"I guess." She said.

"That's the spirit." Rick commented and Jackie laughed leaning over and kissing Rick briefly. Craig turned and looked at her, his dark green eyes met her blue green ones.

"Don't worry we've been to plenty. It can be a bit rowdy but everyone's just here to have a good time." She gave him a smile that she tried to make real.

"Just never been to one, I guess I don't know what to expect." He put his arm across the back seat and tugged at a bit of her hair.

"I'll show you how to place a bet if you want, or just how everything works. It only really takes place once a month, you might find you like it." He told her and she gave a shrug.

"I'm coming along aren't I?" She responded and he smiled at her. A charming smile that made him look more handsome, but she felt a sigh inwardly. After this she wasn't sure she wanted to associate with him much anymore. She'd had fun earlier, but it was easy to see that they liked risky and did things whether they were legal or not. Plus if she was being honest, she didn't feel any real chemistry with Craig. Though he seemed to, and all throughout the night he seemed to like to touch her or be closer to her. Kind of made her feel crowded.

She saw a car turn left ahead of them on the road, it's tail lights were easy to see in the dark of the night until it cleared a hill and then disappeared. They slowed and turned down the same road, which was mostly a dirt path and Dawn mentally kicked herself for coming along with them. For all she knew they could be heading to some odd occult gathering.

Though what else was she going to really do on her Saturday night? She was raised by her grandmother because her real mother had never wanted her in the first place. She didn't even know her, seen her a few times over the years. But that relationship was nothing, couldn't even say she was a friend. She knew her name and that was all.

Her grandmother had been the one in her life to take care of her, and raise her. She was a great woman, and her grandfather had died when she was five so she didn't have a lot of memories of him. Though they were good people, and she didn't get how her mother had turned out the way that she had. She didn't know who her father was, and she was pretty sure that her mother didn't either. It was a moot point now, she was twenty four and if her mother didn't know then, she wasn't going to suddenly know now.

Dawn didn't want to be her mother, she saw the hurt that was on her grandmother's face when Carley's name was mentioned. The hope that she tried to hide when her estranged daughter would show up and need a favor. That perhaps this time it was going to be different and she was coming to simply say hello. She never did, and Dawn always saw the hurt when Carley left. Dawn never received a hug from her or a present, or acknowledgement on a birthday. Just a simple hi when she did show up.

Dawn's grandmother had died four years ago, cancer had taken her fast. It was unexpected, and far along when they caught it. To far along to do anything about it, it had been very hard, but now it was easier to remember her. To think of the good times. As for her mother, well she'd been at the funeral, which Dawn had to arrange, no help there.

She'd stayed long enough to hear the will, which Carley got nothing but a vehicle and Dawn had gotten the rest. Not a whole lot, as they were never rich, but enough to get her by. She'd sold the house that was left to her giving a good sized chunk to help pay for school and a place to live. Carley had packed up that car and she hadn't heard from her since.

"There's a good crowd here tonight." Rick said, bringing Dawn more back to the conversation that was going on around her. She looked at the cars that were parked haphazardly around and people were going into a building that looked perhaps like some old barn that had been forgotten about. Well this should be fun. Dawn just rolled her eyes when no one was looking.