Joey's alarm blared at 6 on Sunday morning and he groaned, rolling over to turn it off quickly. He was waking up even earlier than he anticipated to pick Lauren up on his way, but already a smile was forming on his face - she was definitely worth it. He jumped in the shower, just cold enough to wake him up, and then pulled on his clothes. He'd already loaded his stuff into the car the night before, so after a last check around his apartment to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, he set out for a coffee shop to buy drinks and breakfast for him and Lauren.
He arrived at her place just before 7, and sent her a text to let her know he was there, sure that Ellie wouldn't be awake this early so not wanting to ring the doorbell and wake her up. Lauren shot a text straight back saying she'd be right out, and true to her word she appeared in the doorway a minute later, lugging her bags. Joey jumped out to help her.
"Good morning," he greeted her.
"Thanks," she said as he took her bags from her and put them in the trunk, then opened her door for her.
"Was everything okay with Ellie?" he asked when he got in the car himself.
Lauren groaned. "She grilled me for the rest of the day about us."
"Really?" he said, restraining a laugh.
"And she wouldn't stop talking about how nice you are."
Now he did laugh. "You don't think I'm nice?"
"Of course I think you're nice," she said. "You made sure I was safe last night. But it's obvious she's just trying to get me to date you."
Joey wasn't sure what to say to that, and Lauren seemed like she was stopping herself from saying more. He cleared his throat, remembering the breakfast bag and passing it over to dissipate the tension.
"I wasn't sure if you'd have had breakfast, so I brought coffee and bagels."
Her eyes lit up appreciatively. "You're the best, JoJo."
"I know," he joked. "I'm so nice."
"The nicest," she grinned, and tore into her bagel.
He didn't want to waste any more time so he set off immediately. Taking sips off his coffee at red lights didn't prove too difficult, but eating his bagel without making a mess was proving more of a challenge, and Lauren was giggling.
"Would it be easier if I fed it to you?" she asked.
"Probably," he laughed, not taking it as an actual offer. But then she picked up the bagel from his lap and pressed it to his lips. He took a bite, trying not to choke on it in surprise.
"Much better," Lauren said, still laughing.
"What would I do without a friend like you?" he asked.
"I don't know, but this trip would be a lot less fun.
That couldn't be more true. Although he would certainly experience a lot less butterflies.
With Lauren to talk to, laugh with, and scream along to the radio with, the drive passed in the blink of an eye. Joey pulled into the parking lot, seeing some of the counselors already congregated at the main building, and they wandered over to receive instructions. But when he got there, Victoria was talking to one of the staff in a frustrated voice.
"What's going on?" Joey asked in hushed tones of Jackson, who was one of the people already there.
"Site was overbooked. We were told we'd have one cabin for every counselor, right? But they're two short."
"There are enough for the kids, right?" Lauren asked.
"Yeah, yeah. But they can't free up more cabins for another four weeks, and we can't be two counselors down."
