The Curious Encounter in East Meadow - Blackhill

Chapter 6 - The Closet

"Hotdog?" Marshall asked carrying a tray full of barbecued meat. He had definitely made enough to feed the whole neighborhood.

Maria politely shook her head no. She was sitting at the corner of their porch, trying to avoid the crowd that had gathered in Lily and Marshall's front lawn for their neighborhood potluck barbecue. She had wanted to stay upstairs in her room, but of course Lily had insisted. "You have to come Robin! We even invited all the single guys in the neighborhood so you can meet someone new!"

Actually, meeting someone new might be good. Things with Barney were going nowhere. It might have been helpful if Robin tried dating someone else to get him jealous. Plus, Maria needed the distraction. Ever since their 'adventure' the other night, Maria couldn't stop thinking about Natalie. When she'd left the club early, she was determined to cut Natalie out of her life. How Natalie had managed to creep her way back in during their short walk home, Maria couldn't figure it out.

Throughout the past week, Maria kept replaying their night in the garden. Her heart still pounded heavily in her chest whenever she thought about their moment on the swing, how warm and soft Natalie's body had felt against her own. Maria knew that Natalie just liked to make fun of her and give her a hard time. But something felt different in the garden that night. When they were standing close together under the many flickering lights, she saw something tender and fragile in those green eyes. She had so wanted to kiss Natalie then. She still couldn't believe she was able to muster up enough self-control to stop herself from making this mistake.

This woman seemed to have some kind of special power over her, Maria warned herself. Power enough to keep her here in Long Island, power enough to stop Maria Hill from doing her work properly. She couldn't let this get out of control.

"Hi, Robin, right?" A voice nearby woke Maria up from her daydreams. "I'm Nick, my grandparents live next door and talk a lot about you." Maria looked up. Some guy was leaning against the wall, sipping beer and obviously checking her out. Maria gave him a nod of acknowledgment.

"Mrs Podarutti? She makes a mean casserole." Maria said, making conversation. Nick took the hint and sat down next to her, leaned back, and stretched his arms across the back of the bench. Maria noticed that he had quite a nice body. Tall and muscular, a hint of a six-pack underneath that tight t-shirt. He also looked innocent enough. That would do, he'd probably work as Robin's new date.

"So Nick, what do you do?" Maria asked, turning her body towards him, letting her shoulder touch his forearm that was resting on the back of her seat. Just some of her standard moves. Nick went on to talk about his work as a celebrity chef. But Maria's attention was drawn to sudden commotions at the front of the garden. Lily was welcoming a new group of arriving guests. It was Natalie and her dancer friends. There was Yelena and Melina. And Steve Rogers. Great, Steve Rogers was here.

Maria was nodding at what Nick was saying, but her eyes were fixated on the group of new guests. She could faintly hear Natalie introducing everyone to Lily, and Yelena making some funny comments. After exchanging pleasantries, Maria saw how Natalie slipped her hand into Rogers' arm and pulled him away from the crowd so that the two of them could head towards the drinks table alone. All the way, Natalie was giggling at something he whispered in her ear. Maria felt a pang of jealousy rising in her.

Maria tried to shake the unpleasant feeling away and refocused on Nick instead, who was still talking about his new cooking show. "My producers said I need a catchphrase for my cooking show. What do you think about 'Oh my gosh, who's ready to nosh?'" Nick looked at her hopefully. Maria subtly rested her hand on his biceps and tried to come up with something encouraging to say. But out of the corner of her eyes, Maria saw Natalie staring in her general direction, eyebrows raised, a smirk on her face.