�I�m lost.�
�I�m not surprised.�
�Whatever, just give me directions. I�m on Bruce B. Downs.�
�What the heck are you doing there?�
�I don�t know. I told you I was lost.� She was in Tampa on her way to see Derek play in a spring training game.
�Get back on the highway, exit on Martin Luther King and veer towards your right. Go all the way down and you�ll run into Dale Mabry. How the hell did you end up on�never mind�I�m getting ready for a game and you�re playing Dora the Explorer.�
She laughed. She didn�t want to tell him how she ended up lost anyway. �Ok, ok.�
�Where�s Ben?�
�He bailed out at the last minute. Some cute little thing he met a couple of days ago has all his attention.�
�Alright, I have to go. See you soon.�
**
�Look, Derek is bending over.� The young girl and her friend both squealed, gripping onto each other for support just in case they should happen to faint from the excitement. They were both wearing Jeter shirts, both were tied in a knot at the back to make the shirts tighter and smaller.
She would have to have been blind to not notice that Derek was fit but she hadn't checked out the butt. She looked out onto the field. By then, he was standing up but he was turned to the side and she noticed there was definitely something back there to look at.
She clapped her hands and smiled when Derek got a hit. She looked closer, was he bowlegged? Was he pigeon-toed? A lethal combination when it all led up to that butt. She shook her head; get a grip she scolded herself.
**
She followed behind Derek until they pulled into his driveway. She shook her head, it was the same feeling she got when she dropped her brother off at his dad�s�damn.
When she stepped through the door she smiled. It didn�t look like something off of MTV Cribs, it looked real. It looked like he lived there but she could tell he had some help. There was far too much cr�me, browns and earthy colors for a single man.
�What? Not what you were expecting?�
She shrugged, �Honestly, no it wasn�t.�
�Let me guess. You thought you were going to see black leather, streaming waterfalls��
�And don�t forget the stripper pole in the middle of the living room.�
He laughed, �There�s a bathroom right over there.�
They were on their way to go get something to eat but she just couldn�t go straight from a baseball game to a restaurant. The sun was somewhat brutal and she felt a little drained. She talked him into going back to his house for a minute so she could freshen up.
�I�m starving, don�t get carried away in there.�
When she walked out of the bathroom he shook his head, �You look the same to me. What did you do?�
She rolled her eyes and he laughed, �You re-did your make-up and you pulled your hair back.�
It took almost an hour to straighten her hair but during the game, the curls threatened to return with a vengeance. Luckily, she had a clip in her purse.
�I�ll give you a tour of the house when we get back.� She stepped out first and headed over to the passenger side.
�Do you really need a Hummer?�
�Yes.�
She smiled, �Ooh TV. Nice.�
She shook her head, �DirectTV? Pretty smooth.�
�Thanks. Its only to impress the women.�
�I�m impressed.�
He looked over at her, �You�re amazed by me.�
�Aren�t we smug.�
�But you like it.�
**
�They have obviously confused this with one of your many dates you�ve had here.�
They were in a nice little restaurant not too far from the stadium and they were stashed away in a nice little corner off to the side.
�No, I always try to sit in the background. It�s a habit.�
�Does it work? Particularly in New York?�
�It never works in New York but other places its been pretty useful. Especially when people don�t know I�m in a certain city.�
�How do you feel? Think its going to be a good year.�
He continued to look at the menu, �I think every year is going to be a good year.�
Maleeyah couldn�t help but laugh.
He looked up from his menu, �What?�
�You�re so polished. I�m not a reporter.�
�What I said is what I was thinking. Really. I expect to have a good year�no a great year every year. I expect to be better than the year before.�
They ordered and handed over the menus to the waiter. She waited until he refilled their glasses then spoke, �I always thought after games ballplayers went home and taped bags of ice all over themselves.�
�We do the ice thing in the training room. If its really bad, at home too.�
�What's your worst injury?�
�I thought you were a baseball fan?�
�I am but I follow the Braves. I mean, I know which teams are good, which teams are bad and who�s going to the postseason. I�d never win a fantasy baseball league though.�
�My shoulder kept me out the most.�
She was about to ask him another question before he put his hands up, �If we�re doing twenty questions I�m doing the asking. I don�t want to talk about me. I know all about me, that�s boring.�
�Well, I might not want to talk about me.� Really, what was there going on in her life that would interest him?
�Doesn�t matter; we�re talking about you.�
**
They were sitting at his place after the grand tour when his phone rang. He looked down at the number and stood up, �I�ll be right back.�
After fifteen minutes she stood up and walked over to the bookshelf, she had wanted to browse the titles all night.
�He wrote a book?� she whispered. �Who knew.�
�Hey, sorry that took so long.�
�Yeah, I was beginning to wonder.�
He stood next to her, �Well, not everything I do takes ten minutes.�
She smiled, �That�s good to know.�
�Good for who?�
She shrugged, �Whoever.� She smiled. He rolled his eyes at her.
Maleeyah pulled his book off the wall, �The Life You Imagine? The title-�
�Its from a Thoreau quote.�
�I thought so�aren�t you the intellectual.� She closed her eyes, �Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you�ve imagined.�
He smiled. She commented, �Nice.�
043 | No Ordinary Girl