It was a Saturday evening, and Joey was sat in the diner he and Lauren had frequented since she moved out to LA. From his seat in direct line of sight of the window, he saw her car pull in, and smiled to himself. They tried to see each other as often as they could, and having weekly dinner dates made sure that they got to spend time with each other even when both their schedules got hectic. Lauren was without a doubt his best friend in the world, and he loved hanging out with her, so he was always excited to get to see her.
He watched her check her makeup in the mirror, then get out of her car and walk across the parking lot. She heaved open the door, which was strung with Christmas lights, peering around inside and spotting Joey sitting at the booth. He raised his hand in a wave and she grinned, picking up her pace as she walked over and sat down opposite him.
"Hi," he said, grinning at her.
Lauren returned the smile, shrugging her cardigan off before grabbing a menu and opening it, but Joey took it off of her. She opened her mouth in indignation.
"Relax, I already ordered for you."
"You did?" she asked, softening.
"Yeah. Fries and a water."
She grabbed the menu back from him to hit him over the head with it. "You're such an asshole."
"You texted me and told me you wanted fries and a water!" he protested, a cheeky grin on his face.
Lauren folded her arms and refused to look at him. He nudged her knee with his under the table, trying to coax a smile out of her, but it didn't work. He leaned forwards towards her across the table but she still didn't meet his eyes.
"You really think I would do that to you?" he asked, his brown eyes wide and gentle as he looked at her. She finally met his gaze. "I got you a pizza. Pepperoni. Gluten free. Your favourite."
She offered a small, grateful smile, and Joey could tell she was already feeling ridiculous for having doubted him.
The food arrived within minutes, and Lauren was overflowing with thanks to Joey for ordering for her before she got there. Joey grinned as her face lit up when the plate was put in front of her. She immediately took a large bite out of the pizza, and he watched her face contort as it burned her mouth. He stifled a laugh, sliding her glass of water across the table to her, and she gulped it down. The second she put the glass back down on the table she took another huge bite, and Joey rolled his eyes at her.
"What?" she said through her mouthful. "I'm starving!"
Realising he wasn't going to get any conversation out of her just yet, Joey took a bite of his burger, glancing at Lauren every now and then and being unable to keep the smile off his face at her excitement over the food.
In no time at all Lauren had devoured the pizza, Joey finishing his meal not far behind. They talked as they looked over the dessert menu. Lauren was one of Joey's favourite people to talk to; they had so much in common, and hours could easily go by as they talked about anything and everything that came to mind.
"I know it's nearly Christmas, but do people know we live in LA?" Joey asked her, glancing over her shoulder to where a large group had just sat down all wearing Christmas sweaters.
Lauren laughed, and Joey's nose scrunched up.
"So have you got any plans for the holidays?" she asked him, leaning on the table.
"Not until Christmas weekend. That's when I'm visiting my parents."
Their waitress forced a pause in the conversation as she came to take their order, Lauren ordering a chocolate cake and Joey a fudge sundae.
