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Walking into the stadiu This wasto play professional ball since I could re for a Division One school was the next step I was on the doorstep to the professionals I could taste it As I left the stadiuot out the doors and headed for the parking lot

When I stepped off the curb to my vehicle, I noticed there were only a few cars in the lot

"Mason?"

I stopped when I saw a girl leaning against the far wall of the stadiu htened from the wall She had two friends with her, but they lanced back to theement When she drew closer, I took in the brown hair and dark eyes The petite frairl anyht jeans like all the other girls at this school, I was surprised to see the confidence in her now

I grinned "Marissa"

Her hands lifted to her side She pressed the back of her hands against them for a second before a smile appeared She let her arms drop down Her head was tilted to the side, and as she drew closer, her cheeks grew pink "Mason" She said my name in a rush

The confidence was there; I saw it appear for a h school that I remembered "Is this a coincidence or…" I studied her friends They were turned towards each other with their heads bent forward One atchingtheirl standing with her back to me stiffened This wasn’t a coincidence, but I asked anyway, "Or were you waiting for me?"

"Um" She lifted a hand to scratch her ear It fell and linked with her other hand, and she lifted up on her tiptoes in a nervous h-pitched laugh ca"

She’d been waiting for me I had known she was a student at Cain University She emailed me after she was accepted I hadn’t responded In fact, I hadn’t responded to any of her e them and because of that, I could understand her e her on after bringing her to the cabin with us I cut all co it hadn’t been enough

I wasn’t going to dance around the conversation this tiaze jerked to ulped She heard the seriousness in my tone, and she held a hand up "Wait Mason, wait"

I narrowed ers slipped into her pockets, and her hands hung there "I’ve been thinking a lot about our friendship over the years"

I didn’t have a good feeling about this "And I think that you started to assume I liked you I didn’t" Her eyes lifted, rew redder "Okay, that was a lie I did like you Iar Then the girls started in" She stopped and drew in a ragged breath Her voice grew thick with es they did"

Regret stabbed atatback and forth, but she stopped it All irlfriend?"