Greetings

Samantha couldn't help but quickly break her look away and slip in the backseat, feeling the red on her cheeks. She looked at him and stole one more glance. He had to be about 6'1 and looked like he stepped out of a novel. His hair was somewhere between a dark blonde and brown, and the curls were everywhere. Suddenly, her mouth went dry, just wanting to catch one between her fingers. He wasn't bulky, but lean and built and carried himself with confidence. She wanted to see his eyes, but they were covered by an expensive-looking pair of sunglasses and remained his secret. He folded himself neatly in the car and, with a sudden intensity, looked at Samantha, slipping the glasses off. Samantha had gotten her to wish and saw the honey-colored eyes that just melted her. He softly spoke, "Hello, I am Nathan, and you?" Before she could even reply, Lindsey spoke up and explained what was going on. With a sudden shrug, he slipped back on the glasses and faced forward. Samantha just blinked; what had just happened? He had just given her the most intense staredown of her life and shrugged it off like it was nothing. Samantha looked to Lindsey, who just sighed and drove out to the fairgrounds.

While Samantha had been to many fairs, never one called the dirt festival had crossed her ears. Food vendors were everywhere, and people doing all sorts of crafts were all around. Lindsey dragged her to a booth where Samantha saw everything being fried. It blew her mind; who wants to eat deep-fried Twinkies. Nathan, having seen some friends, walked off, so having forgotten about him, Samantha jumped when a hand circled her right arm and pulled her back. He leaned down in whispered, and you can just say no, the look on your face says it all. She whirled around and looked at him. He busted out, laughing in the most amazing down home boy smile that made her smile back and shook her head.

Lindsey was going a mile a minute excited about her eats when she drug them over to sit on a grassy pavilion. At first, Nathan sat down to the left of Lindsey, but quickly got up and moved to Samantha's side and hummed to himself. The lights dimmed on stage before exploding, and before them, chubby checkers sang out his ballad about doing the twist. Before the group could even process what had occurred, people all around jumped up and were giving it their all. Samantha smiled, enjoying their energy. It had been a while since she enjoyed the ease of the day. Nathan suddenly looked at her and asked, "Why do you think women draw the eyebrows in so severe?" It caught Samantha off guard, and she followed his line of sight to a proud woman who always was looking excited. Samantha laughed and looked at Nathan. She replied, "I am not sure but tell me, what do you get when you cross a chicken and duck." It had always been Samantha's go-to question when she met someone new. She tended to like to keep people on their toes as well.

Nathan smiled and gently said, "that is one I will have to think about and get back to you." Lindsey, having finally finished, stated she was ready to leave. Samantha looked up and smiled. "Did you just come for the food," she replied. Lindsey laughed and quickly exclaimed, "of course!" Nathan walked ahead with Lindsay whispering something to her, so Samantha fell back a few steps. No need to pry in their relationship. Lindsey opened the car, and the trio slid in. Lindsey headed off toward Samantha's home first. Samantha had fun; it was nice to get out with people her own age and just be casual, she thought as Lindsey rambled on.

Before she knew it, she was back in the house. She thanked Lindsay with a smile and slipped out of the car, and hurried up the walk. Her moms were excitedly speaking with her the moment she walked in the door, asking if she had fun. She smiled and said, yes, I did. Her mom bust out in the biggest smiles she had seen since she arrived a couple of months ago. She also informed Samantha that Lindsay had called and invited her to Thursday night poker at her house with her boyfriend and their friends. Samantha smiled and walked away, feeling lighter than she had in weeks. "Maybe coming here wasn't so bad," she thought as she went upstairs to get ready for bed.