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| Maria smiled as she watched her friend pull his bright blue green Chevy Cavalier into her driveway. She pulled her dark brown hair back into a ponytail one more time before she smiled brightly at him and opened the door.
�Hey you! Long time no see!� she exclaimed when he walked through the door. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he squeezed her tightly. �Same to you babe,� he answered, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. �Damn girl, you�re looking good today,� he said, pretending to look at her with a look of shock and surprise. �Sometimes I don�t know what you see in that Matthew guy when you could have a fine piece of meat right here.� �Right!� Maria laughed at him, realizing how much she had missed his antics. He was a great guy, and she couldn�t wait for Regan to meet him. �So what time is the game? Four?� he inquired, pulling up the sleeve to his cream colored sweater and looking at his silver watch. �Yeah,� Maria called out from the kitchen. �Do you want anything to drink?� �Nah, I�m alright I�ll get something at the game. Are you sure we have to get there this early? It�s only three-thirty!� �Listen,� Maria said, walking out into the living room and looking him right in the eye. �I promised Regan I would be there before she got on the field and if I don�t keep my word, I�ll never hear the end of it.� �What makes this Regan girl so scary anyway?� he asked jokingly. �She�s not scary. She�s just depending on me to be there for her and I fully intend to do just that,� she answered, opening her pop. �Now are you ready to go or are we going to stand here and stare at each other all day?� �I wouldn�t mind that,� he joked, winking at her and turning toward the door. �You wish Rita,� she yelled, making a kicking gesture toward him. He laughed and walked outside toward Maria�s car. He got in the passenger side and buckled up, continuing to laugh. �What�s so funny?� Maria asked, starting the car. �Nothing. I�m just thinking of how funny all this is,� he answered. �All of what?� �Me, asking you to let me come to a game because I �want� to find someone. Who the hell am I going to find?� �Oh you�ll find someone,� she told him, laughing. �Is there some hidden meaning in that remark?� he asked, eyeing her suspiciously. �None at all. There�s a lot of interesting people at my school, and you�ll find that out real soon,� she said, looking at him and laughing out loud. �Oh Maria Upcott you really are something else.� �You might surprise yourself Mr. Blake Turner. You�ll never know what there is until you look. I don�t know how many times I�ve told Regan that,� she said, sighing. �Tell me about your friend Regan again, she sounds really interesting,� he begged. For some reason, he was intrigued with her tale about her best friend. She seemed so lost, and so empty, and he wanted to get to know and maybe even help this girl. �Oh?� Maria asked him with an obvious interest. �No, no, no. You know what I mean. Just tell me about her.� But even a dismissal of his obvious interest didn�t fool Maria any. She knew that the way Blake looked up at her with his deep, mysterious blue eyes, there was no denying he already was developing an affection for a girl he had never met. She told him about Regan. She told him all about her and Evan, about her and Chase, about prom, about Regan�s giving up on love, and how much she still really wanted it but wouldn�t admit it to anyone. This girl fascinated him. He didn�t know what to think of her, but he knew he had to find out more for himself. �And you�re going to introduce her to me?� Blake asked, trying now to hide his attraction to her. �Of course silly,� she said jokingly. �After her game of course, because beforehand she won�t be clearheaded enough to focus on much else but the game.� �Oh trust me, I know how that feels,� Blake said. �I know all too well what having a mindset before a game can do to ya. I loved having it during basketball, but it wore me out.� Maria smiled, and excitedly geared up toward the school. She couldn�t wait for Blake and Regan to meet. Blake was already so interested in hearing about Regan that she knew deep down, there was going to be something more special there within the next few weeks. Regan didn�t even know it, but Maria was dead sure love was about to find her once again. |