The Middle Seat

"Taxi!" Ricky shook his hand in the road. He in turn got sprayed by a splash of water from a passing car.

"Taxi!" Josh tried as well, "Shoot, there's no way we are getting one. I told you it was a bad idea to go to the bathroom right after the game, now all the taxi's are gone.

"We could call the taxi dispatch," Calum said.

"We could call the taxi dispatch," Ricky mimicked, "That will take for fucking ever."

"And it's not like they can send us a taxi if there isn't one." Josh said. Calum looked down. Josh and Ricky were always ganging up on him. He knew it was just because they were just upset he had needed to use the restroom and now they were stuck in the rain.

"Fuck, what are we..." Ricky said, when a stranger came up behind him.

"Sorry, I couldn't help but notice that you three were standing out here in the rain. Do you need a ride somewhere?" the man said. He was a tall lanky man, but he looked to be only a little older than the three of them.

"Yes, oh my god thank you." Josh said and the man nodded, turning around. He started walking toward a black Toyota.

"Are you sure this is the best idea?" Calum says, but Ricky and Josh were already following the man. Calum shrugged and followed them.

"I'm sorry, my front seat is just covered in junk, would you all mind squeezing into the back seat?" the stranger said.

"Not it," Ricky said putting a finger on his nose. Josh did the same as Calum walked up to the car.

"What are..." Calum says seeing Josh and Ricky looking at him, "Ugh, really? I'm the tallest."

"And the slowest," Ricky said.

"Sorry, them's the rules," Josh said, getting into the car. Calum grumbled as he squeezed into the middle.

"You know, I always think of the middle seat as the lucky spot." the man said, "Where am I taking y'all."

"Calum's place: 649 Flint Dr." Josh said

"Yeah, It's lucky," Ricky says, "Maybe you can store up some of that luck to finally get laid."

"Having trouble finding the right girl," the driver said, plugging the address into his gps. Calum tries to respond, but Josh answers for him.

"Nah, no pussy for Calum. He's our token gay friend." Josh says.

"Oh, I apologize for assuming," the driver said.

"It's alright," Calum says, "Thank you ag..."

"Yeah, thanks alot for driving us, it's really kind of you." Ricky says.

"No problem." the driver said and started driving. They pulled onto the highway and the three of them in the backseat were quite. Both Josh and Ricky were on their phones. Calum's had died at the concert, so he was just staring aimlessly at the dashboard. On it was a stack of papers with a bunch of books.

"You read alot?" Calum asked the driver.

"Certainly, I have to. It's my job." the driver says pulling off the highway.

"What's your job?" Calum asked, not really caring, but bored out of his mind.

"I'm a researcher, for the local university, but mostly that means I sit around reading and writing papers." the driver said.

"Doesn't it get boring?" Calum asked, "reading all day."

"Well, I read a great number of incredibly interesting topics, that I find I don't get bored." the driver said, "People are so interesting."

"So you research people?" Calum asked, "What type of people?"

"Well, recently I've been researching the ancient Greeks and their fertility symbology."

"Oh...that's cool," Calum said, faking his interest as best he could.

"Shoot," The man says in a frustrated tone.

"What?" Ricky says,

"Would you mind if I stopped at a gas station to get some gas." the driver asked. Calum looked out the window. He'd never gone home this way before, something felt off.

"Yeah, sure," Josh said.

"Thanks for being so understanding boys," he said looking at his phone, "Says there is one... right there?" No sooner had the driver mentioned it, then a gas station came into view. It looked old and like it hadn't seen a visitor in years. The driver got out of the car and closed the door behind him.

"So," Ricky said, "I heard you flirting with the driver."

"I wasn't flirting," Calum said.

"You were flirting," Josh said, "And I don't blame you. He is so out of your league."

"Stop it, not every guy I talk to I wanna fuck." Calum says.

"So you agree he's out of your league." Ricky says.

"He's not." Calum said.

"He's not out of your league or he's not in your league." Josh said, giving him a playful tap on his shoulder.