Alex

The entire beach was packed.

And I mean packed.

There was a large crowd gathered around this ginormous tent which was pitched a couple hundred feet from the edge of the ocean. It looked like hundreds had gathered and were enjoying the live band that played on stage as the music carried across the beach. The crowd all looked to be dressed in the same colored clothes and hats, but we weren't close enough to see what the design was.

"Is this... is this the right place?" Christen whispered to me as we drew nearer.

That was when we could finally make out what everyone was wearing. They were in bright yellow t-shirts that had a large hotdog picture on the front with the words Annual Hotdog Eating Contest on them. Some even had a matching hotdog hat to go with it.

"I would say so, yeah." I whispered back.

All any of us could do was stare.

From the looks of things, I wasn't too sure we would even find a good spot to cheer Derek on.

"This is- wow." Joan commented when her and Brad caught up to us. "I did not expect this." We had gathered in as close as we could possibly get to the stage, but even through that, I had to stand on my tippy toes to catch a glimpse of the main event.

"I didn't think it was going to be this big of a deal." Brad added. "Should we find a place to get these shirts everyone's wearing?"

"I think that sounds like a cool idea." I nodded.

Joan and Christian stared over at Brad and I like we just agreed to go sacrifice a puppy.

"Do you know how long it took me to find the most perfect dress? This," she waved her hands vigorously around the gorgeous floral print, "will not be covered up by that." She jerked her thumb over at another tent nearby that was selling the printed shirts and hats.

"I'm with Joan on this one. I just rather die before being seen in something like that." Christian jumped in.
Brad and I gave them both a look, yet decided we would remain here in our commoner clothing for the sake of time. The line at the tent was growing longer and longer as more people arrived on the beach.

I wasn't sure why, but I was a little bummed about not getting a shirt. However ridiculous they looked, they would have made a nice souvenir for the trip.

There wasn't much time to dwell on that though, because seconds later, someone took to the stage.

"Welcome to the Ninth Annual Hotdog Eating Competition. I just want to thank everyone who's come out in support this year, and thank you to all the artists that have come up to perform. Without further ado, let's get this competition started!"

I had to bob my head a little to see better, but it looked like the contestants had started to line up in front of a table. All I could see were the tops of the piles of hotdogs that were stacked.

Derek was the second contestant from the left. When I caught a glimpse of him, I couldn't help but smile. He had styled his hair back for the event, and even wore his lucky shirt. It was the shirt that he wore when the vending machine gave him two zebra cakes instead of one. Every time he wore the shirt, it would happen. It got to the point where HR forced him to keep a once a week policy.

He was gleaming from ear to ear as the spokesperson informed the crowd on the rules. "You know the deal folks. These six contestants have 10 minutes to eat as many hotdogs as they possibly can. If they win, they will take home the title as Champion, with a lovely bonus of five thousand dollars. If any contestant throws up, they will automatically be disqualified. The contestants must retain the food in their stomach for an additional 5 minutes in order for us to count the score.

"But let me stop wasting your time here folks, and let's get ready to eat!" The spokesperson finished. A humongous digital timer was then switched on stage and there was another brief pause before an unexpected blow horn was blown.

The timer started.

Brad, Joan, Christian and I all watched on with an unexpected amount of excitement as Derek started to inhale those hotdogs.

And I mean inhale.

It felt like time was moving at the speed of light as we watched the piles of hotdogs quickly decrease in size.

"Derek is fucking killing it!" Christian exclaimed with excitement I never thought I'd see from him at a hotdog eating competition.

But he wasn't wrong.

As the last few minutes came up on the clock, two contestants ended up backing out. The first contestant ended at 23 hotdogs. The second contestant was only at 20.

Derek looked like he was doing nothing but picking up the pace. There was another contestant who looked to be moving at the same pace. This one was a woman. I'd reckon everyone took maybe two or three bites before the next hotdog was shoved into their mouth. Two more contestants backed out moments later, each with a total of 26 hotdogs and 30 hotdogs.

There was only one minute left on the clock, and we were down to Derek and the other woman contestant. I was surprised by how much her small frame could handle, and I noticed that she kept stealing glances at Derek and his count. Derek, however, was fully focused on the hotdogs in front of him. Our boy was in the zone.

Christian's hand grabbed hold of mine and gave it a hard squeeze as the last few seconds ticked away. The count was hand in hand, with both contestants at 42 hotdogs. When the horn was blown again, these last two were just shoving down their 43rd hotdog.

The spokesperson was quick to grab the mic. "This is unbelievable! We've got two contestants tied hotdog in hotdog, but you guys know it's not over yet! Set the timer for five minutes Kailani, let's see if they can hold it down."

The large timer went from zero to five minutes, then started to countdown.

This was when we really got to see everything unravel. Both Derek and the female contestant looked to be struggling. Derek was doing a few huffs and puffs, while the female contestant had tried a few stretches. Every now and then one of them would look like they were about to throw up, but they managed to withstand the urge.

I thought they were both going to hold out, as the timer dwindled to the last remaining seconds, but just before that horn was blown, the woman buckled over and threw up into one of the trash bins located at the end of the table.

Christian and I were quick to look away as the rest of the crowd exploded in cheers and groans.

"Is that our cue?" He whispered to me. I gave him a fierce nod as we started to wiggle out of the crowd. Joan and Brad decided to follow us out.

"Holy fuck that was way more fun than I thought it was going to be!" Joan said, as we all glanced back over to the tent.

"I swear I didn't think Derek was going to be that good but... wow!" Brad agreed.

From the corner of my eye, I could see someone waving us down.

"Is that John?" I asked the group, pointing to the man in an Hawaiian shirt and bucket hat.

"Yeah I think it is." Christian nodded. "Let's head over."

John was standing behind the large tent, with a cool drink in hand. As we got closer, another man joined him.

"Derek!"

"Joan!"

They both rushed each other for a hug. I couldn't help but join in.

"You were amazing!" She beamed. Derek's cheeks grew red.

"Oh stop it, you." He replied bashfully. "I just went out and did what anyone who was me would do."

We all laughed at that.

"Well I'm proud of you." I told him. "You're also five thousand dollars richer so this means you can pay off your back dated student loans."

Derek sighed. "You always have to go and ruin things." He still had that goofy I just won grin plastered on his face, and I couldn't help but smile. "John and I were actually going to go meet with the other contestants. I'll be leaving the island this evening so I wanted to see everyone before I left."

I glanced over at John who also had a goofy grin plastered on his face.

"Well that works out! Joan and I were going to take a little stroll through the markets, and see where we'd like to eat for dinner. Are we okay to leave you two alone?" Brad asked Christian and I.

"You four are literally the only reason Alex and I are not alone- so yes, I think we'll manage." Christian was quick to reply with. Brad just chuckled, giving Christian a solid pat on his shoulder before he and Joan were off. John and Derek also gave us a wave before they disappeared back behind the tent.

"This just leaves me and you." I smiled up at the Christian.

"The way it was supposed to be." He replied with a grin. "And this time I think I've managed to plan a Derek, Joan, John, and Brad Free Date."

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