The four of them sat around a table outside one of the local wine bars on Park Avenue. It was Winter Park�s version of Rodeo Drive. There were expensive stores, clothing; furniture; and antiques. It had nice restaurants, spas, and golf shops. The street was cobblestone and there was a beautiful sitting park on the opposite side of the street from the stores.
�I didn�t know this existed in Orlando. This is pretty nice.� Derek commented after sipping on a glass of red wine from the bottle they shared.
�Oh, that�s because we�re in Winter Park and they want you to know it.�
Ben nodded and laughed, �Yeah, I made the mistake of calling it Orlando. Its about as big a taboo as you can make.�
Jack cleared his throat, �So Maleeyah. I love your name. Is there any meaning behind it?�
It was a question she was asked a lot, especially after people were aware of her ethnic origin, �Actually no. Its spelled M-A-L-E-E-Y-A-H. It was a compromise after my mom wanted to spell it M-A-L-I-Y-A-H and my dad wanted to spell it M-A-L-E-A-H. After all that discussion over the spelling, they pick a name with no meaning behind it.�
�How is my brother doing here?�
She looked over at Ben, �He�s doing well. He just needs a little redirection every now and then.�
�I keep you in line too.�
She simply looked at him and smiled before taking another sip of wine.
�How many girlfriends does Ben have?�
He knew his brother, �More than he can handle. They're really giving him a hard time.�
Ben was definitely one of the campus playboys. He really gave those little girls a run for their money. He wasn�t quite so disrespectful or treated them like trash; that she couldn�t handle or accept not even from a friend.
�Ok, enough about me.� He directed his attention to Derek,
�Are you in Tampa now? Or still in New York?�
�Still in New York? Are you kidding me? After the ALCS I couldn�t get out of New York fast enough. They wanted to hang us.�
�Can you blame them?� She looked up at him with an almost apologetic look. Even though she wanted to make mention of it she didn�t mean to say that so loud.
�No, I can�t say that I can. But as bad as it was for them it was ten times the embarrassment for us. I think fans forget that. For them, it�s a pastime for us its who we are. We don�t just root for the Yankees, we are the Yankees. So when the Yankees fail, we're failures�in a way.�
She didn�t think players really thought of it that way. �Well said.�
�But fans don�t want to hear that. And I can understand that.�
�What are you doing over the break?�
�Hanging out with your brother in Tampa, check out a few Bucs games, film a few commercials I have to do and take care of the foundation.�
�Wait. No annual trip to the Caribbean?�
He smiled, �Oh, I always make time for that. I said we should have you come along but your brother said we can�t put off our trip to fit your schedule.�
�You�re crazy. I�m definitely going.�
They sat around and per an agreement between the four they talked about everything they could think of except baseball, football and college.
**
They moved the party to a small jazz lounge tucked away in a small building near downtown Orlando.
�This is nice.� Derek leaned over and told Maleeyah. �How did you find this place?�
She spent a lot of time on the Internet and asking around trying to find nice unfamiliar places to enjoy.
�It was recommended.�
He nodded and sat upright and concentrated on the band on stage.
It was very rare she was able to enjoy this place. There weren�t that many people she knew who liked jazz music. College wasn�t full of the most devoted cultural aficionados. Hell, it was hard to find someone to go to the movies with. She had a fundamental problem with spending $9 to see something ridiculous like Be Cool or American Pie. She was far from a pop culture adversary; she listened to Top 40 music and she even watched the O.C. but she simply had her limit on her drivel intake.
Ben stood up and motioned for her with his hand.
She frowned. �What?�
�You�re bouncing around and swaying in that chair. Let�s dance.�
She was hesitant and smiled as she looked at him.
�Come on, you could sit and listen to CDs at home. Come on, let�s dance. I�m not asking you to be Jennifer Lopez or anything.�
He was right about that. And it was a pretty slow song. What was the point of going out if you weren�t going to enjoy it? She stood up and smiled.
When Derek and Jack stood up to see her off, she was genuinely surprised. She didn�t think men did that anymore. But chivalry wasn�t dead after all; guys just didn�t learn it until they were in their late twenties. After giving them both a smile, she followed Ben onto the small dance floor.
�I didn�t know you knew how to dance.�
He laughed. �There are a lot of things you don�t know about me Andrews.�
Ben had a secret desire to be a sportswriter so anytime he felt journalistic he would call someone by their last name. It made him feel very Woodward and Bernstein. However, being a sportswriter didn�t meet his parents� expectations or his own financial aspirations, which was why he was an Economics major.
�I guess you�re right about that.� They met in the middle of August at the school bookstore. They reached for a book at the same time and found out they were going to be in the same class. They quickly became friends and hadn�t looked back since.
�So tell me something I don�t know.�
�Ok but its about you not me. My brother and Derek are very impressed by you.�
�They don�t know me.� Another couple joined them on the dance floor.
�They think you have class and elegance.�
She didn�t believe that for one moment; men did not speak of women that way when there were no women around. Not to mention she saw Ben�s eyes look up when she asked him to tell her what they said. Sure sign he was making something up.
With one look she let him know she hadn't fell for his line.
�Ok, they said you�re pretty and you have a nice body.�
She shook her head and laughed, �Boys.�
007 | No Ordinary Girl