Chapter 26
Riana watched as Sean's plane flew up into the air and then disappeared behind a thick gray cloud. Once the plane had vanished from her view, she walked away from the window and out of the terminal before signaling a taxi to pick her up and drive her back to AJ's house.
Riana eased into the car seat once the taxi made its way out of the busy airport parking lot and coasted onto the evenly busy Florida street. The driver's window was rolled down, allowing cold air to seep into the car. Despite the usual warm weather of Florida, the air had dropped a few degrees and almost the entire population was clad in a nice pair of sweatpants with a sweatshirt.
Riana pulled her jacket more tightly around her tiny frame and leaned her head against the back of the seat. She was usually insecure about being alone in a car with a stranger, but Riana was too tired and the driver seemed harmless as he bobbed his head to the beat on the radio.
Riana leaned out of the window to see if she saw a plane in the air, but the clouds obscured her view. She was sure that Sean was already sound asleep, snoring and annoying the people around him. She snickered to herself at the thought.
Riana thought that the day when her and Sean would have to part would be so difficult, but to her dismay the departure was reassuring. He at first took the news in shock, but Riana explained everything to him so that he would understand. Riana had no tears, but she did feel a tiny bit empty when Sean wasn't with her. Even though she did have Leah, AJ, Brian and Nick to keep her company, she was afraid that sometimes she would feel lonely and homesick.
The ride home was silent and the only exchange of words between Riana and the driver was when he pulled up to AJ's house and she gave him his money. She walked into the house and pulled out the spare key that AJ had given her from her purse. After inserting the key in the lock, Riana walked upstairs to her room and flopped down on the bed, exhausted. A quick nap won't hurt, she thought and drifted asleep.
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AJ's car pulled into his garage later that night. Leah, AJ, Brian, and Nick all hobbled out of the car, each one of them carrying something in their hands.
"I can't believe we went with AJ and Leah to the mall," Brian grumbled to Nick as they walked inside the house. Nick responded with a groan and plopped himself down on the nearest chair. Brian couldn't even make it to the couch so he plopped himself against the door once all of them were inside. Leah chuckled while AJ rolled his eyes and snickered at his two friends.
"Guys, it wasn't that bad," Leah said. Brian looked at her like she was crazy.
"It was too bad! You couldn't buy a friggin pair of shoes because it didn't match your dress!! The sad part is that AJ agreed with you and helped you try on every shoe in practically the whole mall!" Brian said in a mouthful while the rest of them just laughed. Once their laughter died down, Nick stole a glimpse at his watch.
"It's late and I have a long ride home to Tampa. I'll come over tomorrow, ok?" Nick said and stood up and stretched from his position on the couch.
"Nick, you should really move closer to us. This is where all the action is," AJ said and wrapped both of his arms around Leah's tiny waist from behind. She grinned and leaned against him.
"I've actually been thinking about it, to tell you the truth. I just don't want to have a huge house all alone."
"There's a private community about ten minutes from here. The houses are nice sized and they would be perfect for you," Brian said. Nick nodded and took the newspaper that was lying on the coffee table. He flipped through until he found the ad for the small community. He ripped the ad and placed it into his pocket. He said good-byes to everyone and hopped into this car and planned to call for the house the next day.
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Riana woke up to the sound of gunshots coming from downstairs. Her first instinct was to reach for the phone to call the police, but instead she grabbed a baseball bat and tiptoed down the stairs so she could see where the noises were coming from. Her heart rate died down when she saw AJ, Leah, and Brian all sitting watching True Lies in the den. She walked over to them, bleary eyed and barely awake.
"Umm...what do you think you're doing with a bat?" Brian said, backing up and away from her.
"You guys scared the hell out of me!"
"I didn't even know you were home. How was today?" Leah asked as Riana sat down next to Brian on the couch. She shrugged.
"Well, I thought it was going to be a lot harder than what it really was. All we did was promise to call and right and that we would see each other on holidays and stuff," she said.
"So, he didn't run off the plane and into your arms to give you one last memorable kiss?" Brian said in a feminine voice. Riana laughed and shook her head.
"Too bad. I heard that those kind of kisses are really cool," Brian said. Even though Riana had no clue what the movie was about, she sat and watched quietly until the ending credits rolled onto the screen. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she didn't eat at all that day. With that in mind, she strolled into the kitchen to make herself a late dinner.
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"Thank you very much," Nick said and hung the phone back into its white cradle. At 2:00 he had an appointment with the owners of the house. Snaking his hands through his hair, he remembered that he needed to get ready, and fast. He zoomed into his bathroom and quickly showered before slapping on some after shave and changing into a pair of Nike shorts and a wife beater. He pushed his hair back and shoved a backwards hat onto his head before grabbing his keys and running to his Durango.
He was late, and he knew it too. The drive from Tampa to Orlando was well over two hours, and the traffic that had built up along the highway added his delay. He glanced at the radio clock and cursed when it read 2:45. He was usually late, but not 45 minutes late!
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"Oh no, I'm going to be late!" Riana cried as she ran frantically around the house as she tried to find her sandals that had been misplaced. Brian's head followed her as she ran and he chuckled when he handed Riana her shoes that he had been sitting on the entire time.
"You knew where they were the whole time?!?" she screamed and he leaned away from her so his elbow was leaning on the couch.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was sitting on them," he lied. She glared playfully at him and slid on her sandals.
"Where are you going?" He asked. She turned around and answered him.
"I saw some nice houses about ten minutes from here, and I got an appointment today at 2:30. But, I just remembered....I can't drive for a year because I'm not a US citizen. Can you drive me? Pleeeaaasseee?" She begged.
"The things I do for you," he said and raced her to his car.
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Nick flew into the Sales Office in a hurry. As soon as he walked in, a short man with a few morsels of hair walked over to him.
"How may I help you?" the man asked. Nick looked at the nametag that the man wore on his chest.
"Yes, Mr. Barrabus, you can. I called earlier this morning about a house in this community," Nick said. Mr. Barrabus nodded.
"Seems as if you have some sort of competition. That couple over there wants the same house," he said. Nick looked to where he was pointing and his eyes widened when he saw Riana and Brian, leaning over pictures of the house.
"Excuse me," Nick said and walked over to them. He tapped Brian's right shoulder and quickly moved over to his left so Brian turned a full circle until he saw Nick.
"Nick man! What are you doing here?" Brian asked. Riana looked up and smiled at Nick when she heard Brian start talking.
"I'm here to buy a house but it seems someone has already taken it," he said. Brian suddenly remembered that Nick had looked at the same house that Riana wanted the day before.
"Oh, I completely forgot that this was the house you were looking for! I'm sorry," he apologized.
"Nick, this is the house you wanted?" Riana asked him. Nick nodded.
"Don't worry about it. There's more than one house in this community," he said.
"I feel bad now. Do you want the house? I could easily find another," suggested Riana. Nick shook his head no.
"Hey, why don't you two just move in together? I know it's not a bad idea because neither of you want to live alone and paying the bills will be a lot easier," commented Brian. Riana looked at Brian and then at Nick who was already checking off the pros and cons in his head. He motioned over to Mr. Barrabus.
"We'd like to take a tour of the house. Together. " Nick said.
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