MI MILAGRO, JJ maybank

Chapter 7 - No one

The next morning, Maria had plans to meet Sarah. They went for breakfast early to catch up on what had happened in the past few days.

Of course, Maria omitted the parts about "following clues" and "John B's father's compass." However, Sarah was only interested in one thing: what the hell was going on between Maria and JJ?

Maria tried to avoid the topic, but it was nearly impossible. If Sarah wanted to know something, she wouldn't stop until she found out. She was very, very persistent.

"Come on, admit it," Sarah teased, flicking the paper balls she made from the napkin, while urging Maria to open up to her.

Maria took a sip of her coffee, looking to the side to avoid eye contact.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sarah. There's nothing to admit."

Sarah looked at her as if she were crazy. Did she really think she hadn't noticed? Every time Maria mentioned JJ while recounting the events of the past few weeks, Maria would blush profusely. This obviously didn't go unnoticed by her friend, who knew there was more than what Maria wanted to admit.

"Maria, I'm serious," Sarah took the coffee from her hands. "It's VERY obvious that you like him."

Maria tried to grasp what was hers and sighed as she looked at her hands. Well, it's not like she liked him, but she didn't dislike him either. She didn't know what to think; she only knew that when JJ grabbed her from the tree, or when he tackled her to the ground to protect her, or when he called her princess, it made her feel a flutter in her chest.

"I don't know, Sarah. He's incredibly good-looking, I admit that, but... You know one of the rules? <No pogue on pogue macking> I don't want to come out of nowhere and mess it up," Maria stirred her coffee with the spoon, lost in her own thoughts. She looked up and chuckled softly. "And this conversation is ridiculous! He doesn't like me."

"Who doesn't like you?" a voice came from behind.

Maria quickly turned around, praying to all the saints that it wasn't JJ standing there. Fortunately, or unfortunately, it was Rafe.

She turned back to her breakfast and said without looking at him, "It's none of your business."

"Rafe, why don't you go to a table far away with your friends?" her sister smiled, gesturing for him to leave with her hand.

Rafe simply looked at her with narrowed eyes, crouched down to Maria's level, brushed aside a strand of hair, and whispered, "We'll talk, you and I." With that, he left.

Sarah gave him a disgusted look and motioned for him to leave. She grabbed her friend's hands and leaned in close, whispering, "Just follow your heart."

She stood up to give her a kiss on the cheek and left, as she had prior plans.

Just as Sarah walked out the door, she received a message from an unknown number that read, "Hey princess, come to the Chatteau. Pogues SOS meeting."

Maria smiled to herself, but quickly stopped as she realized. Oh no, no, no, no way. Don't smile at your phone! That's bad, that's really bad.

She got up to go to the counter to pay and, pulling out her credit card, she asked the waitress, "How much do I owe?"

The waitress didn't even look up from the glass she was cleaning; she simply nodded towards the table where Rafe and his friends were sitting and said, "The gentleman paid for breakfast."

Maria turned around and saw Rafe, winking at her. What a guy!

She quickly gathered her things and headed towards the Chatteau, eager to see the person who had sent her a message.
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