16. Maria and The Better Vibe
"...And I got this one the day I graduated high school."
Maria beamed as her eyes scanned over yet another one of Punk's tattoos; this one a part of the intricate sleeves on his arms.
"I don't know how you keep finding space!"
He laughed and rolled his sleeves back down, shaking his head in amusement as Maria's eyes continued scanning his colourful array of ink.
It had taken Maria a whole day spent buried under her covers to work off the hangover Mike and Roman's party had given her as a parting gift, and if it wasn't for her lunch date with Punk, she was sure she easily could have spent yet another day in bed. Her excitement was unreal and had been since the moment she woke up that morning; persisting now as she sat opposite him in a local restaurant. What were the odds that the guy she had spent most of her high school career crushing on would show up one day out of the blue and invite her out? Okay, so maybe it wasn't explicitly a date, but as Alicia had assured her, it was a start. And just one strong start was really all Maria needed at this point.
She had gone over all the possibilities for today over and over again. Admittedly she had practically nothing to catch him up on. No awesome job, no relationship, no recent travels and adventures... Unless her brief attempt at a fling with Roman Reigns counted for anything. And if Punk was still as cool as he was back in school, she was sure he'd probably have a laundry list of things to talk about. Eve had made Maria promise not to lie or to exaggerate about anything, but as she got dressed and made-up for lunch, the temptation began to feel far too strong. Even as they sat talking about his tattoos she couldn't shake the feeling that she had nothing interesting to say.
"How was Chicago, then?" She asked him, going back to the college questions. Punk grinned at the question as he sipped his Pepsi
"Best thing that's ever happened to me," he answered, his grin persisting in contemplation. Maria nodded eagerly as he spoke. "It's just... the total antithesis of Bridgeport. It's got life, it's got culture. The people are gritty and real; they're genuine. Nothing like the rich, superficial assholes that mutate here."
Maria giggled. "You probably would have hated LA."
"I don't know," he said with a shrug. "If you like it so much it can't be that bad."
Maria took a sip of her drink to hide the blush that was heating up her cheeks. Punk grinned and popped a French fry in his mouth, watching his old classmate as her eyes bounced around the room. She always had this knack for taking in the world around her; he remembered how teachers would scold her for 'daydreaming' or how she'd spend hours wandering around Call It Classic, the local record store where he worked throughout high school, picking carefully through the selections of music only to buy maybe a record or two. She'd gained a reputation back at school for being... somewhat bizarre, but she never really seemed to notice, or care. Punk had always had a sort of respect for her free-spiritedness and carefree attitude, and he could see that this hadn't really changed. Her newly red wavy hair bounced around her shoulders as she chattered away and picked at her food, and her ever-expressive features seemed very interested by their current surroundings.
"Do you know them?" He asked suddenly, noticing that her gaze had travelled over to a couple sat a few tables away from them.
"No," she replied, barely looking away. "This may sound a little weird, but I just noticed how when she got up to go to the bathroom his eyes followed her the whole way there and he had this really cute, goofy smile on his face. And as she was walking away she did that lip biting, inner squeal thing and now they're sat there awkwardly just sort of fumbling around and making conversation when I can tell all they really want to do is just grab each other and make out or something."
The silver ring in Punk's lip glinted as a grin spread across his face. Maria, seeming to snap back into her own reality, turned back to him and blushed and giggled in embarrassment.
"You must think college has made me a lunatic," she said.
"Nah, not at all," he replied, leaning forward across the table. "So, what do you think their situation is? First date?"
She grinned and shook her head. With one more look over at the pair, she also leaned in and dropped her voice to a whisper.
"They're a couple. He's about to propose."
The two shared a serious look for a moment before leaning back in their seats and bursting into laughter.
"Where do you learn all of that?"
Maria shrugged. "I guess I've seen a lot."
The two laughed again as Punk shook his head in disbelief.
"That's rad."
"Really?" She giggled.
"Yeah, really."
She blushed as they shared another grin before his attention returned to the plate of food before him. She too began picking at her food but continued to observe him as discretely as possible; taking in the masses of tattoos; the lip ring that had caught her eye many a time back in high school; the worn out Chicago Cubs baseball cap on his head that he described as a relic from his college days... Punk was a man of decoration and expression but he was definitely not lacking in substance. Her friends would roll her eyes if she was to say this out loud, but there was just... such a good vibe about him. He was so nice to be around, even as they sat in silence eating the junk food before them. His company had a calming influence, and his conversation was consistently interesting, or funny, or thought-provoking. Either way, he kept her on her toes. Maria liked that.
"Do you think you'll end up moving back there?" She asked, finally, popping another fry in her mouth. "To Chicago, I mean."
He barely even had to think about the question. "Hell yeah. I'm hoping sooner rather than later, too. I've got a great group of friends out there and some of us having been talking about getting an apartment in the city and making shit happen."
Maria continued her grin-and-nod act, but could feel her heart sinking. He always spoke with conviction and told it like it is, so if he was talking about moving to Chicago, she was sure it would be done before the year was up.
"Plus," he continued, pushing his plate away and staring at Maria with a frank expression in his eyes. "There's just nothing here for me, in Bridgeport. You know what I mean?"
She nodded vehemently, her mind racing. Did that mean there was no girlfriend in the picture anymore? No Amy?
"This place..." He shook his head as he gestured around the restaurant with his hands. "Just being back here after college is such a trip. All the people you bump into, all the familiar places, all the memories..."
He sighed.
"It's nice for a while but I can't keep living in this little nostalgic bubble. It's time to move forward."
"Yeah," Maria said quietly. "You're right."
"I'm sure you feel the same way," he smiled. "Back in the day you were such a dreamer. I'm sure you're itching to get out of this place."
"I didn't think you even knew who I was back then," she confessed, blushing all the while.
"We had a bunch of classes together," he said with a laugh. "Of course I knew who you were. What would make you think I didn't?"
"Well," she sighed and began picking at her food again. "Outside of the girls I didn't really have that many friends, I guess. And don't get me wrong, I didn't mind that at all," she added quickly. "But I always thought you were such a cool guy. I don't think we ever had one conversation but I thought you were badass. And Amy too, I used to idolize her. I'd be lying if I said this red hair wasn't influenced by her."
Maria giggled and shook her head just thinking about it all.
"That's funny," Punk said. "I never would have guessed."
"What, about the hair?"
"No, not the hair," he laughed. "The other stuff."
She nodded, quickly understanding what he meant.
"I guess we all just miss things when we've got other stuff to focus on," Maria said with a shrug.
"Yeah," Punk said thoughtfully. "I guess we do."
Maria sighed and looked up at Punk again, finally biting the bullet to ask what had been on her mind for a long, long time.
"How is Amy?"
A short silence ensued, in which Punk stared down at the plate before him in thought.
"Amy is currently travelling around Central America. I think she's probably hit Nicaragua by now."
"Oh." Maria frowned. "So you guys..."
"Still going strong, believe it or not. That woman may be married to the road but I'm not that bad of a boyfriend, if I do say so myself."
Maria's heart sank. So there it was. The confirmation out there in the open; bringing back down to earth any dreams she may have had. And just like it did back in high school, the feeling sucked.
"That's great," she finally managed to choke out. "I'm so happy for you."
He gave a wry chuckle and readjusted his cap.
"It's been a bumpy ride," Punk confessed, playing absent-mindedly with the French fries on his plates. "We were pretty on and off all throughout college. I guess the point of it was to see other people and not be too tied down, but when we were both back home the summer before senior year we decided that we want to be in it for the long haul. It's fun to mess around – and trust me, I've done my fair share of it – but there's nothing like knowing you have that special person in your life who you can share everything with. Amy's the only woman I've had that with. It was so hard having to wave her off again almost straight after graduation, but her and her friends are all about the carny life so they just had to get out there and go travelling. We've been talking about the future a lot and I don't know where we're going to end up for certain, but lord knows that woman knows how to keep me on my toes."
He sighed and leaned back in his seat.
"Man, I love her. But that's enough about me," he said suddenly, looking up at Maria again. "So, how long have you been with your guy?"
Her eyes widened.
"Huh?"
"The way you talk about love there's no way you haven't got someone!" Punk leaned forward with a grin. "So, who is he? Is he some LA type? Or better yet, someone from high school?"
"Uh, well," she stammered for a while, her state of shock apparently stopping her from thinking straight. Eventually she cleared her throat and sat up in her seat. "No, actually. He's neither. He's... I met him recently through a friend. His name's..."
Her mind quickly flashed back to Roman's party, and all the events that had unfolded in the weeks prior to it. And then she remembered Alicia telling her about the mysterious man from the party who had asked her to remind her that she had put his number in her phone...
"His name's Dean."
She swallowed and grinned nervously at Punk, who was smiling warmly at her as she spoke.
"Is it serious?" He asked.
Already too caught up in her lies, Maria nodded in response.
"Well, sort of. We haven't been dating for very long but he just feels like he could be the one, y'know? I just have such a good feeling about him. It's going really well."
Punk grinned and reached over to give her a warm pat on the hand.
"That's awesome," he said. "I'm so happy for you! You deserve a good guy."
She smiled and nodded nervously, shoving more food in her mouth in an attempt to stop herself from saying anymore than she already had.
"Hey," Punk chimed up suddenly. "Seeing as we're both still in town, it'd be awesome if we hung out again soon. Some friends of mine are in a band and they're playing a show in Connecticut soon – I remember how into music you were back in the day, so if you'd like to come..."
"Yeah," she said with a nod. "Yeah, that sounds good."
"You could bring Dean," he added. "The more the merrier, right?"
She grinned through bared teeth and began panicking internally.
"Awesome. We'll be there!"
"Yes, Dan; I will marry you!"
The restaurant exploded in cheers and applause as the happy couple a few tables down joined in a loving embrace; a brand new diamond ring shining on the woman's finger. Punk looked over at a beaming Maria; his jaw practically brushing against the table.
"I'm a moron. I am an absolute idiot. I'm stupid. Just tell me how stupid I am, Eve."
Eve rolled her eyes as she handed her friend a mug of coffee, before curling up on the couch beside her.
"You're not stupid, Maria. You're... impulsive. Nothing wrong with that. The lying, however..."
Maria buried her face in the crook of her arm and let out a wail. Eve gave her a soft pat on the back and thanked the lord the staff room at Believers was currently private enough for a Maria breakdown.
"I am such an idiot! Why would I say that?! And now I've got to conjure up this imaginary boyfriend to bring to meet Punk-"
"Well, he's not exactly imaginary."
Maria shot Eve a glare.
"Come on, 'Ria. You know what I mean."
"It has nothing to do with him," she hissed. "He just happened to be the first guy I could think of."
Eve laughed and shook her head.
"You know, now that we know that Punk and Amy are still together and are apparently serious, maybe it's time to-"
"Time to what?"
Eve sighed and placed her coffee down on the table in front of them.
"There's no harm in moving on."
"You don't understand, Eve," the redhead said sadly. "I know it seems stupid to you and the others, but Punk was honestly the first guy I fell in love with. And after seeing him at Classic that day and then again here at the gym and going out to lunch with him today... It's all just confirmed that he's the guy for me. We have so much in common and I love being around him and..."
She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.
"It's stupid, I know. But sometimes you have to go with your gut and follow your heart. Even after all these years, those wounds don't exactly just fade away. It's easy enough for you, with Mike being your new BFF and Roman Reigns obviously being into you, but what exactly are my options? What guy has ever seen me as his plan A? John Cena didn't, not even Carlito did! And Punk... Okay, I know it's not exactly straightforward, but I felt something today. And maybe he did too. Who knows?"
Eve gave an exasperated sigh and listened intently to her best friend's musings. She held her breath as she heard the door to the staff room open and watch Dean walk in, whistling to himself. Maria's head snapped up and she stared at Eve in a silent horror.
"Dean," Eve said nervously, smiling politely at her new co-worker. "Hey."
He stopped and looked over at the two women, although his gaze turned quickly to Maria and remained there.
"Hey Dean," the redhead echoed her friend.
"Hey," he said slowly, with a frown.
"Maria came down to pay me a visit; you know, new job and all."
Dean laughed and gave a nod.
"That's cool. It's good to see you, Maria."
"You too," she giggled anxiously. "Your hair looks good today."
"Uh, thanks?" He frowned again. "Yours too."
Eve put a hand over her mouth to conceal her laughter.
"'Ria, I need to run and see one of the other trainers really quickly. Are you okay waiting here?"
Maria gave her a mortified look, knowing full well what she was up to.
"I mean, Dean's still here, so it shouldn't really be a problem, right?"
Before Maria could even responded, Eve had jumped to her feet and raced out of the room; giving Dean a grin as she did so. Maria gaped open-mouthed after her conniving friend. When she looked back at Dean and they made eye-contact, she felt like she was going to die.
"Sorry," she said quickly to him. "You must be so busy. I don't want to disturb. I'll just go see what Eve's doing."
Like Eve, she jumped to her feet and went to leave the room, but was stopped by Dean calling after her.
"Relax," he said, leaning against the countertop in the kitchen area. "I'm not busy. You're not disturbing me at all. I was going to make myself a cup of coffee if you'd like a refill," he gestured towards her now empty mug.
After a moment of contemplation and an inward sigh, she smiled and gave a small nod.
"Yeah," she said. "I'd love one. Let me give you a hand."
He grinned as she walked back over and began fussing around the sink, making polite conversation with him as they prepared the coffee.
"You must have felt like hell after the party the other day," Dean said casually, not even looking up from what he was doing.
Maria's cheeks flushed.
"Yep," she giggled. "I thought I'd never be able to make it out of bed."
Dean laughed.
"If it's any consolation, you are a hilarious drunk."
"I'm glad I was able to entertain you!"
He gave a wry smile. "You definitely did."
The conversation again came to a halt before the two of them began laughing at the awkwardness of the situation.
"Maria," Dean said suddenly, making her turn to look at him with a confused smile.
"Yeah?"
The blonde man took a deep breath and put his coffee spoon down.
"I wanna take you out sometime. Can I do that?"
Maria's eyes widened. Her mind began racing with thoughts and possibilities and before she knew it she was accepting his offer. A Cheshire Cat grin spread across her face as she looked up at him.
"And I know just the place..."