| The game was over, and Central Wayne won seven to four. Regan and Chloe walked off the field, beaming from ear to ear. They slapped hands on the way out and couldn�t believe how well they played.
�Now you have to go meet that cute guy who�s obsessed with you,� Chloe winked at her playfully. Regan blushed furiously. �Shut up! He�s not obsessed with me. He just wants to talk!� �Whatever,� Chloe emphasized, rolling her eyes. Maria and Blake stood up from their seats on the cool bleachers and walked down behind the girls� soccer team. �We�ll meet with Regan up here,� she informed him. He nodded, wondering where the girl he needed to meet was. They hadn�t picked out any particular place to meet after the game, but he figured that if he were chasing the team down to the locker room to meet someone else, he�d eventually find her there. Maria walked into the school and she and Blake stood outside the gym for almost ten minutes before someone they both recognized emerged. �Chloe!� Maria exclaimed, giving her a pat on the shoulder. �You did awesome! I had so much fun watching you play.� �Thanks,� she said, looking up at Blake. She smiled at him instantly, recognizing him automatically. He was looking at her intently, as if trying to figure out where he had seen her before. But there was no doubt in his mind that she was. It was that beautiful girl�s friend, apparently named Chloe. It was obvious that she and Maria were close, and as his suspicions sunk in, Maria asked the exact question to answer his thoughts. �Is Regan coming out soon?� It had been her. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind now. As if on cue, she walked out of the locker room and stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted him. She stared at him, almost bewildered. Maria didn�t miss the look that passed between them. �Reggie! You played awesome babe!� she said, trying to break the mood. �Yeah� yeah, thanks,� Regan stumbled, not taking her eyes off of Blake. They continued to stare at each other while Maria and Chloe stole an amused glance at each other aside from them. �Regan Stanbury,� Regan said, finally breaking the silence and extending her hand. He looked down at her hand and felt a tingle run up his spine. What he really would have loved to do (and in a perfect world he could have) was take her hand, pull her toward him, and hold her forever. �Blake Turner,� he finally pulled himself back to the present and managed to take her hand in his. There was no denying how many sparks there were between them. However, one of them refused to acknowledge it. She suddenly remembered the promise she made to herself and pulled her hand back gently. His face fell, and it finally hit him who she really was. Maria had told Blake about her friend Regan. The friend that had been heartbroken so much that she was finally going to give up on loving anyone else. Little did he or Maria know, Regan was seriously considering dismissing the vow she made to herself. It had plagued her ever since she looked into his eyes. Something inside told her that he was everything she had ever dreamed of and that he would never hurt her like Chase or Evan had. Yet, another part of her didn�t want to take the risk yet. She noticed the forlorn look on his face and instantly felt guilty, but tried to ignore it. �So how�d you like the game?� Regan asked Maria, finally tearing her eyes away from Blake. Maria smiled broadly and shook her head. �It was amazing! You were awesome!� �Thanks,� she said sheepishly. �So what are we doing now?� she inquired, stealing a quick glance at Blake. �Anything you want.� �Can we go out for a bite to eat?� she suggested, continuing to glance at Blake. �Sure,� she said, immediately turning to Blake. �Would you like to join us?� �Of course,� he said, not taking his eyes off of Regan. �Chloe?� Maria asked, turning to her. �Sorry, I can�t. Quince and I are hooking up tonight so I have to go get ready. But I�ll talk to you guys tomorrow,� she said, dashing out of the school. �See ya!� Regan called after her. �Okay, let�s get going,� Maria announced, and slowly, Regan and Blake turned to head outside. They continued to stare at each other as they walked to Maria�s car. Blake started up an idle conversation, and it continued well until they got into the car. They chatted about everything until they got to the restaurant, and the conversation did not end there. Finally after they had eaten and talked about almost everything imaginable, the three got into the car and talked all the way back to the high school. Maria began to feel like she was only a chauffeur to the two. They were happily conversing, not even realizing that anyone else in the world existed. Maria smiled at the thought. After so much complaining, Blake had finally found someone he could really connect with. Even though Regan had claimed she had given up love, there was going to be one man in her life that was going to change her mind. Maria was almost certain that with the way she and Blake were talking and the glances they shared every so often, he was definitely going to be the one for Regan. They pulled up to the school about five minutes later and Regan stepped out. Blake watched her leave sadly. Suddenly, he came up with an idea. He told Maria to wait a second and hopped out of the car. �Regan!� he yelled, running over to her. She whipped her head around and smiled widely at him. �Blake? Did you leave something behind?� she joked. He smiled broadly as well, and stopped in front of her. �Can I spend the rest of the day with you?� She looked at him, startled. �Well, Blake, I don�t know if you�d want to�� �Why not?� She thought about it for a second. The vow she had made to herself floated into her mind and then quickly out again. �Forget it. Let�s go!� �Okay, hold on a second,� he smiled, running back over to Maria. She looked at him all too knowingly and rolled down the window. �I�m going to go spend some time with Regan. She�ll bring me back over to get my car later.� �That�s fine. But I knew this was going to happen,� Maria said, rolling her eyes. She handed him his sketchbook, waved goodbye, and drove away. He walked back over to Regan in a dazed cloud of happiness. She watched him delightedly as he took his seat next to her, threw his sketchbook into the backseat, and smiled at her dreamily. �I�m ready.� �Great,� she whispered, backing out and leaving. �So where did you want to go?� she asked, not entirely sure of what he was planning to do. �Somewhere peaceful, so I can get to know you better,� he said, beaming at her. �What makes me so special?� she asked, expecting him to laugh. Instead, he stared at her for what seemed like hours and hours on end. Not hearing an answer, she turned to look at him, and was amazed at the peaceful look on his face. Finally, he answered, �That�s the part I�m desperately trying to figure out.� The next ten or fifteen minutes of the ride were silent, but the point of what he had said had slapped her right across the face. It was obvious that he was the next man she was going to fall in love with, and try as she might to deny her strong feelings for a man she had only known for a few hours, they were there. �Where exactly do you want to go?� she asked him again, feeling completely awkward trying to bring up conversation. �Anywhere peaceful,� he sighed, looking at her calmly again. His intense staring did nothing but calm her in a way she was very confused about. She nodded in agreement, and started driving toward a park she had been to years before, always found so romantic and beautiful but could never find the right person to share it with. It would be the perfect mutual setting where they could talk. Once they pulled into the parking lot and Regan turned the car off, she and Blake sat in the dark silence, staring ahead into a grass hill. Blake finally opened his door and came around to open Regan�s. She led him up a case of stone stairs to her desired destination. He was right behind her when she stopped and he bumped into her gently, putting his hands on her shoulders to steady himself. She stopped for a few seconds, looked down at his hands and then back up to meet the gaze in his eyes. The look on his face was so deep and so passionate that it took her only seconds to realize that all he wanted to do was kiss. �Uh,� she said, breaking away from him. �I�ll show you where I like to go and think.� He felt his heart fall. He had gotten so close to her lips and her fear told her to break away. Everything in his body (and unaware to his knowledge, hers too) told him that being that close to her was right. Leaning toward her mouth to kiss her felt even more right. He knew he had to find the perfect moment, and had to get her to overcome her fears of being hurt. Blake had no intentions of hurting Regan. He would have sooner hurt himself. She kept walking until she met up with another stone staircase, this time leading her downward. She eventually met up with the sidewalk, and continued to walk until she was greeted by an old looking, white wooden bridge that went over the river. Blake found that his breath caught in his throat just looking at it. The spot was unbelievably romantic, and he felt more than flattered that she had decided to bring him here. �This is where I come� to think,� she said, hesitating as she looked up at him. She climbed the rigid steps into the bridge and sat down on the floor. She looked up at him mischievously and smiled. �I can see why,� he commented, sitting down across from her. There was a brief period of silence as they stared at each other. Everything about the moment was romantic, and everything about being together told Blake it was right. Regan was the right girl from him, and now, looking into her deep chocolate eyes, he was sure of it. �Regan,� he whispered, scooting closer and taking her hand. She looked down at her hands and felt an all too familiar feeling as his thumb caressed her soft skin. �B-Blake?� she asked, her heart aching to reach out and kiss him, but her mind begging her to be sensible. �Tell me about� that promise.� She gulped, afraid he would have asked that. She knew Maria very well, and she had known all along that Maria told him about the promise Regan had made. Now she just had to explain her real reasons for doing it. She wasn�t sure if she could. �Why do you want to know?� she inquired. He shook his head and smiled. �Regan, I�ve known you since four o�clock, and already I think you are one of the most amazing girls I�ve ever met. I want to know everything about you. Including that promise.� Regan blinked for a second. It wasn�t supposed to happen this way. With Evan, it had taken him a month to realize how wonderful she was. With Chase, it had taken him a few years of their friendship. With Blake, it had taken him a few mere hours. It spoke volumes to her, and touched her heart in no way any other man had. �You don�t even know me,� she whispered, looking down. �Then let me know!� Blake begged, moving closer to her. �I want to know everything about you! Tell me! I already know enough to think you�re wonderful. I know about your family, I know about your friends, I know about your writing. Come on, there has to be more. Tell me!� He was amazing her with every word he said. She couldn�t believe that after all of her agonizing, all of her tears, and all of her hours spent with her journal, he had finally come to her with no questions asked. She knew then, looking at him, that he was destined to be more to her than just a minor acquaintance. �What do you want to know?� �Anything,� he said, and she rolled her eyes exasperatedly. �Okay� tell me about� past relationships.� All of a sudden, her face hardened. She whispered, �I don�t think that�s a great thing to talk about.� It hurt him to see the look on her face. He didn�t want to press her, but he wanted to know what was so bad� what could have been locked up in there� why was she hiding so much and why had she made that promise? He wanted to know everything about her, but having her lock up all of her feelings about love was going to be a huge block in the road. �Please� tell me� what went so wrong? Why can�t you talk about it?� �Because,� she whispered, looking away from him. �It�s not important.� �Why isn�t it?� She was getting aggravated, but understood his curiosity. If she had met someone like her, she would have pressed too. �Because it just� isn�t okay?� she snapped and instantly felt guilty. �Alright,� he said, knowing now to back off. Regan knew that one day she would have to tell him, if she wanted him in her life for a long time. At that moment in time, she truly felt that she did. Right now, having just met him, wasn�t the right time to tell him. She would try and push it back as much as possible. Blake wanted to know so bad what had gone wrong in her past, but knew that the time would come when she was ready to tell him. He was ready to tell her about his horrible past, but unlike her, he had finally come to terms with it years ago. It still hurt him to think of it, but it hadn�t killed him as much as it had before. �Tell me what you want for your future,� Blake relaxed. He had found some sort of loophole, and thought that he could get some kind of romantic conversation out of her. �What I want for my future?� she smiled wistfully thinking about it. She always thought about her future. �Yeah. Tell me everything you want, don�t leave anything out,� he said, smiling at her now cheerful face. She grinned. �I always think about my future. I always thought I�d graduate, go straight to college, get married, have kids, and die happy.� �And now?� Her grin faded and was replaced by a look of disdain. �My life changed.� He frowned. �Do you care to explain that?� She looked up at him hopelessly, and he knew that something having had to do with her past had to do with her future. �Not right now, but I will.� He finally smiled and knew that she was thinking about their future and not just her own. It touched him. �Well what IS your future like then?� She smiled again, and looked down. �Well, I always wanted to go Michigan State after I graduated, but I�ve been thinking about Ferris State a lot lately.� His eyes popped open. �No you�re not.� She looked at him weirdly. �Don�t tell me�� �I�ve already gotten a scholarship there!� he exclaimed. They both laughed. �Wow, Regan Stanbury. You are amazing.� She watched him with bright eyes. �You wouldn�t think that if you really knew me.� His smile faded. �Why not?� She looked down into her lap. �Because� if I was so wonderful�� she hesitated, but he begged her to continue. �I wouldn�t be so easy to leave.� It hit him then like a ton of bricks. That was her problem. She felt that since she had been heartbroken so much, there was something wrong with her. Regan promised herself over and over she wasn�t going to cry. Especially not now, on what appeared to be their first date. Somehow though, she couldn�t help it. The tears escaped her eyes as she thought about Chase and Evan and even Blake. She thought about how much she wanted to be with Blake but how much she didn�t want to get hurt. �It�s okay sweetie,� Blake said, pulling his arms up and putting them around her. He pulled her into his warmth and she sobbed for what seemed like days into his caring and loving shoulder. As she cried, he could only wonder what had happened to her that was so bad to make her think she was a bad person. At that moment, he promised himself to devote all of his energies to finding out the reasoning behind Regan�s hurt. |
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