Two's Company, Three's a Crowd

The irritating grind of the rush hour traffic outside is finally drowned out by the constant rhythm of water droplets as they cascade down from the shining shower-head. Slowly I edge myself into the welcoming heat of the water, soaking up the soothing warmth and allowing the hot water to wash away the remnants of my past week. As I emerge myself into the massaging shower of droplets I close my eyes and sigh deeply, releasing the tension that'd been building over the past few days. The memories come flooding back to me now, sharp images, loud sounds, odd smells, new faces...

"Coby? Man, are you there?"

I blink, returning my focus to the voice on the other end of the phone. I'm not sure, but I could have sworn the woman across the road was staring at me strangely. I shook the thought from my mind and answered Nick.

"Yeah, sorry man, I'm here."

"Did you hear what I said before?"

"Yeah..." I said, I couldn't help but stare at the now unoccupied spot where the woman had stood not a moment before.

"So?"

"Right, yeah." I cough a little and clear my throat. "Yeah, I'll be there. What time do we leave."

"Around 7:00, or whenever you're ready. We don't wanna drive all through the night, man."

"Right."

"I'll see you there then?"

"Yeah." I respond without really paying attention to my best friend who is obviously growing tired of my lack of concentration. "See you there."

We each hang up.

My day was pretty much normal from there. Nothing special, nothing exciting. As soon as work was over I headed home through the thick rush-hour traffic and casually spilt my coffee all over my work pants.

"Shikes!" I hiss, frantically brushing the boiling liquid off my pants. "Bloody brilliant, Cobes, great job."

I rush inside as soon as I pull up at the driveway of my compact apartment and hurriedly change into something more comfortable and casual, then I pack my hiking back-pack and my travel suitcase and stuff them in the trunk of my car.

I whip out my phone and punch in Nick's number.

"Hey mate." I mutter as soon as I hear him pick up. "I'm on my way, okay?"

"About bloody time!" I hold the receiver away from my ear a little as Nick tends to be quite painfully loud at times.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I got held up in traffic, okay?"

"Whatever, just get your sorry arse over here ASAP, Phoebe and Haz are waiting."

"Right." I can't help but feel a little guilty for not leaving the office earlier. Hazel, my beautiful girlfriend, and her best friend Phoebe have been counting down the days until this trip for months, I hated keeping them waiting longer than usual. "be there in 5, okay?"

he hung up.

Hazel was opening my door before I could even turn the engine off as I pulled into Nick's driveway.

"Coby!" she squeals, leaping into my arms. I lift her gently off the ground and spin her around in a tight embrace.

"Hey, gorgeous." I whisper. she smiles, making her beautiful dimples widen, before giving me a quick kiss on the lips.

"What took you so long?" she asks when I finally put her down.

"Yeah!" pipes up Phoebe. "Where've you been?"

I pull a face at them both. "Well, unlike some people," I nod my head Nick's direction. "I have this incredible thing called a 'job' that I sadly have dedicated myself to and don't really want to lose." I raise an eyebrow. "Good enough excuse?"

they giggle, "yes!"

"Maybe." Nick swaggers up and slaps me on the back. "But to make up for it, you're driving first." he winks at me and I shrug.

"I enjoy driving."