Take a Hike

Story Submitted by George:

Virginia and I were hiking through a park on our fourth date.  It was early on a Sunday, and so we seldom passed other hikers, doing the hiking thing.  We were having a nice time, and, to my knowledge, were enjoying each other's company.  After a while, I spotted another couple, a man and woman, coming around the bend.

I was preparing my friendly hiker's "Good morning" for them, when the man stopped short and stared at us, or more specifically, at Virginia.

"Ben?" Virginia asked.

He said, "Hey hey!" and they hugged each other.  Awww.  Old friends.  What a happy coincidence.  Ben introduced us to Sheri, his hike-mate.

Virginia asked, "Are you two dating?"

Ben nodded and said, "Yeah."

Virginia stammered, "Oh.  T-that's... great," as if great was the last thing that it was.

I introduced myself to Ben, and he asked the same thing of us: "Are you two together?"

I opened my mouth to say, "Yes indeed," but Virginia cut in with, "We're just friends.  You know?  See how things go."

This seemed at odds with some of Virginia's statements on prior dates, including "I really like you, George," "I can't believe you're single, George," and, "Are you dating anyone else, George?"  Hmmm.

Virginia and Ben caught up, and I spoke a bit to Sheri, who was a magazine writer and co-owner of a children's bookstore.  She was in the midst of telling me a story about a time when a customer went into her store, mistaking it for a bank, when Virginia asked the group, "Hey, I've got a crazy idea.  Let's switch partners for the rest of the hike and meet in the parking lot!"

Nobody liked that idea, but I silently applauded Virginia's efforts to be alone with a guy she obviously liked more than me.  I said, "We should probably get going, but it was very nice to meet the two of you."

We said our goodbyes and went on our separate ways, Virginia trudging a step or two behind me.  After they were out of earshot, I said, "They seemed nice.  You and Ben old friends?"

She muttered, "We used to date," and added, under her breath, "You ruined everything."

I pretended to not hear it, but she probably eventually realized that I did, as I never called her again after that experience.