Arizona Sunsets - Sam Hubbard

XII

"Hey" a little unsure and nervous Liz pulled Sam into a hug when they met outside beans&bites that evening. The size difference between them was so great that even with the light heels on her boots, Liz had to stand on tiptoe to avoid crashing head-on into Sam's chest.

Ever since he had called her a few hours ago to say he was coming along, she had been thinking about how to greet him. Were they officially friends now? Or was today a trial run to see if they got along outside the gym and coffee shop?

They had arranged to meet in front of the café at eight, since Sam could park here just fine before they would be picked up by James and Ava and they could all drive to the club together. It was a bit out of the center and could theoretically only be reached by car.

Liz had also given Sam some brief information about her group of friends, need to knows, so as not to overwhelm him with the dynamics that the group brought with it. Depending on how everyone was today, it could get pretty messy.

"I see you took my styling tips to heart" Liz grinned at him, eyeing Sam's outfit. A bit embarrassed, he had told her during the phone call that he didn't know exactly what to wear for such an occasion and Google couldn't really help him either.

Liz had thought that was totally sweet that he had put so much thought into all of this and had, of course, helped him. As she had recommended, he wore a regular pair of light colored jeans, a white shirt and just sneakers in case he didn't have cowboy boots. He had also noticed her explanation that most had caps with them, which they wore with the peak to the back. He looked really good, Liz had to admit.

She herself was wearing wide leg jeans, the ends of which she had rolled up to show her cowboy boots, and a light brown over size shirt that she had stolen from her father's closet at some point. It was already so washed out that the print that was once on it was barely noticeable.

She wore her hair loose and unstyled. She liked how her brown light waves, which lay irregularly and wildly over her shoulders, matched her rather simple rustic outfit.

Of course, there were girls who really went all out for an evening like this, dancing across the floor in the tightest hot pants, short dresses and biggest cleavage, plus sparkly white cowboy boots, but this just wasn't Liz.

She was just explaining a few more little things to Sam about the club they would be visiting today when James' black Jeep pulled up in front of them and Ava jumped out of the passenger door. She was the kind of person who went dancing in tight hot pants and a crop top, but she also looked smoking hot in them.

"The party shuttle is here" she grinned happily before winking at Sam and yanking open the back door. "My lady" she made a slight bow to Liz who got in the back grinning before Ava squeezed in with her and pulled the door shut.

Sam took a seat in the passenger seat and had just closed the door when James beamed and held out his hand. "It's an honor to meet you. Big fan of what your team has accomplished this year" he stated as he excitedly shook Sam's hand.

"Stop,fanboy" sighing Ava flicked her finger against James earlobe who immediately howled slightly. "Ava" Liz looked at her indignantly. "What, he said to let him know if he was acting weird and too pushy" she shrugged.

"I meant you should tell me, not hurt me" James pulled a pout while Liz just shook her head sighing. They weren't even in the car for a minute and already they were on their best behavior.

"Anyway..." she sighed again before looking at Sam, who just watched the whole thing with an amused grin. "You already know Ava from her funny action this morning" she introduced her best friend, who grinned and shook Sam's hand. "Very pleased to see you again" she smirked.

"And this is James, our sports addict. As you may have noticed" she nodded at the driver, who was beaming as if he still couldn't believe an NFL player was sitting in his passenger seat.

"Ah, your husband" Sam stated with a grin. Surprised, Ava and James looked at Liz. "You told him about this?" James asked. Liz shrugged her shoulders. "Well, you know our town. We couldn't even work out without getting some weird looks. So I more or less had to let him in on it" she sighed "Besides, I doubt tonight will be any different"

When James parked the jeep, everyone got out and stood behind the car. Ben and Mia didn't seem to be there yet, so they decided to wait for them before going inside.

"How about we go ahead and have a beer while we wait?" James suggested, pulling a few cans out of the trunk before handing one to each of them. "Shotgun?" Ava asked, grinning. "Of course shotgun" James clarified.

"Do you know what shotgun is?" Liz turned questioningly to Sam, who laughed. "I was in college once too. So yes, of course" he clarified. "Okay, let's open the cans then" Liz grinned, already pressing her thumb into the can with full force.

Unlike James, who pulled out his chain on which he had an extra pendant made to make the hole in the can, the other three's beers barely splashed. Sam also jabbed his thumbs into the can with an ease that was somehow not surprising given his strength.

"Okay, on three" James gave the command. "One...two....three" Immediately they all put their mouths to the opening and opened the can by its cap, drinking the entire contents with an ease and in a few seconds.

Grinning, they all gave James back the broken cans, which he threw into his trunk. "That was fun" James stated before grinning at Sam. "You got a good swig happening. What are the chances of you being on our team in the beer chugging competition today?" he asked with a grin.

Sam laughed. "I'll think about it" he replied before looking at Liz. "Are you in then too?" he asked her with a smile. Liz nodded. "Of course. Without me the team wouldn't stand a chance" she grinned. "I thought so" Sam winked at her.

"Uh hey, well I'm in too if anyone's interested" Ava pulled them both out of their grins and immediately they took their eyes off each other. Grinning, Ava and James exchanged glances.

Liz was just getting ready for a punch line from one of them when Mia and Ben joined the two. "so sorry, hope you didn't have to wait too long for us" Mia apologized and stroked her slightly disheveled hair, which everyone just dismissed with a grin.

After introducing themselves to Sam, thankfully quite decently and normally, the group made their way to the entrance. In front, Ava and James were already exchanging words again, in the middle, Ben and Mia were romancing each other like two newly in love teenagers, and at the end of the group, Liz was walking with Sam, who was eyeing the group once again.

"Somehow I think you guys are the perfect group. You have a little bit of everyone" he looked at Liz with a grin. "What do you mean?" she asked laughing. "Well, Ava is a bit of the mean one. James makes it seem like he's the goofy one. Then the couple with Mia, the responsible one, and Ben, the quiet one. Right?" Sam enumerated.

"You've interpreted our group pretty well and after such a short time" she laughed before looking at him with a grin. "What am I?" she asked. Sam thought for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "I would say the cute one" he smiled at her.

WHO DEY 🧡