THIRD TIMES A CHARM | adam banks [3]

Maria Quinn

"Ugh." I groaned putting the pillow over my head. The dorms phone was ringing and it woke us all up. "Somebody get it." Aspen muttered pulling the covers over her head. "I got it last time." Connie rolled over trying to make herself comfortable again.

"I got it the the time before that." Julie noted and the phone kept ringing. "And I got it the time before that." Aspen groaned pulling a pillow over her face. "Fine." I huffed rolling out of bed. I landed on the ground and I heard a muffled laugh from Aspen. "Oh, shut up." I pulled myself up and stumbled over to the phone. "What?" I spat into the phone while rubbing my eyes.

"That's no way to speak to your father." I heard the voice of Bombay on the other side of the phone.

"Bombay? What the-"

"I need you to meet me at the house around 5. Dress nice, we're having dinner."

"What? I don't even know if i have anything that nice. And dinner, with who? Where?"

"Relax, I'll tell you when you get here."

"Fine, love you."

I hung the phone up and sat there confused. "Aspen!" I threw a pillow at her and she didn't budge. I filled a cup with water and stood over her. "Aspen." I said while dumping the water on her. "Holy shit!" She sat up quickly and spit out water. "Oh, hey. I'm gonna borrow a dress." I smiled and walked over to her dresser.

"For what?" She asked getting a towel. Julie lifted up her head and laughed. "Your not supposed to take showers with your clothes on, dipshit." She said while her and connie both laughed. Aspen mocked their laughter while I went through her drawers.

"Dinner with Bombay." I answered her question and opened her last drawer. "Hey, is this mine!" I lifted out a dress i've been looking for. "I've been looking for this for like, a month." I complained grabbing the dress and going to put it on. "Oops." She shrugged and I shook my head.

By the time I finished getting ready it was two o'clock. "Where you going? I thought dinner was at five?" Connie asked me as I slipped on my shoes and picked up a purse. "Since I'm going up towards there, I'm gonna visits Hans." I stood up and started walking to the door. "Ooh! Tell him i say hello." Connie told me and i nodded.

"Same, and Good luck with your mystery dinner." Aspen joked and i saluted her jokingly before leaving.

-

"Hello?" I called out into the shop and I walked a little further. There was Hans in his chair. His usual spot. "Scarlett. Don't you look fancy." He looked at me surprised and I laughed. "Thank you. How are you?" I asked walking into the room. "Good, good. Sit, please." He gestured to the chair in front of him and I stopped before sitting in it. "My chair." I breathed out with a small smile on my face. "You kept it." I turned to him and he chuckled.

"Of course. Now, sit. Let's talk." He insisted and i sat down. "Why are you all dressed up? Have a date?" He questioned and I shook my head. "No, not this time. Bombay invited me over for dinner for some reason. I'm not sure why yet." I shrugged and he nodded. "How's everyone?" He said before standing up. "Good. Connie and Aspen say hi. Well, now that i think about it, not so good."

"The teams kinda falling apart. Adam got moved to varsity, charlie's not captain. Everyone's just miserable." I explained and he brought over a tray. "Drinks?" He set the tray down before he sat in his chair. I thanked him and grabbed the glass of water. "Well, I am very proud of you. I always knew you'd be a good captain." He said and the smile on my face grew bigger.

"And how is Mr. Banks? I haven't spoken to him in a while."

"Good, we don't really talk much. With him being on varsity, everyone's kind of mad at him for some reason." I set down the glass and looked around the room. "Woah." I beamed jumping up and walking over to the wall. The wall was full of old pictures.

Pictures from peewees, pictures of team usa, and even pictures of Bombay when he was little. I looked over to the right and there were pictures of me when i was around three. "You kept them all. Everything." I looked over to Hans and he just smiled. "God, I miss this." I said while looking at a picture of the whole team. We were all just sitting there laughing.

We were at dinner after we won the game against Iceland. Except Emily wasn't there, or Larson. So the picture was just of the team.

"Perhaps, you should remind them what it was like before everything changed." Hans suggested and I hummed. "That's a really good idea. You always have the best advice. Thanks Hans." I went over and sat back down.

I spent the next three hours with Hans. The smile never left my face. Though, it usually doesn't when i'm with Hans. He always knows what to say, when to say it, and how to make me feel better.

-

I unlocked the door to my house with the keys Bombay gave me. "Hello?" I called out and Bombay walked down the stairs in a suit. "Damn, who are you getting all dressed up for? New girlfriend you'll only be with for a month?" I joked sitting down on the couch and he laughed sarcastically. "No, a girlfriend that i've been with for at least three months with. That i want you to meet." He corrected and my mouth dropped.

"No way-" I jumped up excitedly. "Oh thank god. I hoped you wouldn't be mad-" He started talking but I cut him off. "You can keep a woman for that long?" I looked at him shocked, and his face dropped. "She's gonna love you." He said blankly and I smiled sarcastically.

"So, what's her name?" I asked following him into the kitchen. "Maria." He answered handing me plates to set around the table. "Maria..?"

"Quinn. Maria Quinn." He placed napkins down while I got forks and spoons. "Is she pretty?"

"Gorgeous."

"Any kids?"

"Little boy."

"Aw! How old?"

"Around Adam's sisters age. Now stop asking me questions you're supposed to get to know her during the dinner." He looked at me sternly as I mocked him. "One more." I pleaded and he sighed, "Fine." He rolled his eyes and I smiled. "Is she nice?" I asked hopefully and he gave me a look. "Of course she is."

"Listen, I'm sorry I didn't ask if you were okay with me dating her. And i'm sorry i've kept it from you so long. Truth is that i didn't even know if it was going to last. I wanted to get to know her myself and see if she was good enough for us both." He explained to me and I smiled at him. "It's fine! I don't have to approve of everything in your life. Of course you need to see if she's good enough for you before I meet her. I understand."

"Thank you." He smiled and i gave him a hug. The door bell rang as soon as we pulled away. "She's here!" I squealed and speed walked to the door. "God, you seem more excited than me. Tone it down." He laughed while fixing his hair in a nearby mirror. "Oh, come on. You look fine. Open the door!" I dragged him over.

He opened the door and my mouth dropped.