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The sharp knocking on her door pulled Maria out of her deep sleep. She was disoriented for moment, the room still dark, but a quick look at the clock on her nightstand told her exactly who was at her door. She just appreciated that she knocked first this time.
“It’s too early,” she groaned, throwing her arm over her eyes.
The door creaked open and a moment later she heard footsteps hurry across the room. She only had a second to brace for the impact of Carol launching herself into the bed.
“You’re going to break my bed frame doing that one day,” she said, lifting her arm a little to see Carol grinning down at her.
“I can think of better way to break the bed frame,” she said wiggling her eyebrows.
“That line wouldn’t work even if it weren’t four in the morning.”
Carol just shrugged, still grinning. “Can’t blame a girl for trying.”
“What do you want?” Maria sighed, her eyelids beginning to droop again.
Carol gave her a shake.
“Lawson’s got something for us,” she said, barely able to contain herself.
That got Maria moving. She sat up and threw back the blankets.
“Good to know where your priorities are,” Carol teased, sitting back on her haunches.
“It’s not like Lawson has new tech everyday,” Maria said. She smirked before she said. “You on the other hand sleep in my bed every other night.”
Carol’s mouth fell open and Maria couldn’t help but laugh. She stood from her side of the bed and went to her dresser to find something to wear. She could see Carol watching her with her arms crossed, her bottom lip poked out in the most adorable way.
With her clothes in hand, she circled around the bed and stopped beside Carol.
“I’m kidding,” she promised.
Carol let her arms fall and sat up on her knees so they were at eye level. “I guess it’s alright, but I get first dibs.”
“Absolutely not,” Maria shook her head.
Carol pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow, but Maria wasn’t going to back down. That look might work on other people, but not her.
“You know the longer we stand here, the less time we’ll have when we get there.”
“You make a good point,” Carol conceded. She leaned forward to kiss the tip of Maria’s nose quickly before climbing off the bed. “Meet you downstairs.”
Maria smiled, her cheeks warm, as she headed for the bathroom.
“What took you so long?”
Maria stopped on the porch and crossed her arms. Carol was already in the driveway, waiting by their cars.
“I just spent the last ten minutes looking for my keys,” Maria said, raising an eyebrow.
Carol tried to look innocent, but Maria could see her smug smirk as Maria’s car key dangled from her finger.
“Oops.”
“Oops is right.”
Maria jogged down the stairs and Carol tossed her the keys.
“Ready for a rematch?” she asked.
“Are you ready to lose again?” Maria countered with a smirk.
“I did not lose,” Carol argued, pushing off of her car.
Maria scrunched up her face. “I think you did.”
“If that car hadn’t cut me off, I would have beat you.”
“But it did and you didn’t,” Maria teased, brushing past Carol to get into her own car.
“Okay, winner gets first dibs,” Carol called over the roof of her car.
“Deal,” Maria nodded, sliding into her driver’s seat as Carol did the same. “But I hope you like the view from the ground.”
She drowned out whatever Carol was saying with a few revs of her engine. Carol narrowed her eyes and revved her own engine in response. Maria smirked and held up her fingers and counted down from three. Before her last finger was completely down, Carol peeled out of the driveway sending gravel flying. Maria threw her head back and laughed, right behind her.
The winding desert roads were all but deserted this early in the morning. The sun had just begun to peak over the horizon as Maria passed Carol with ease. She glanced in her rearview mirror and saw her giving her the finger.
Maria blew her a kiss in the side view mirror and sped up.
For a few miles she blocked Carol’s attempts to pass her. She could imagine her frustration growing by the minute, the closer they got to base.
She saw a car coming a little ways up the road and slowed to get around it. When she looked back in her rearview mirror, Carol was nowhere to be found.
“What the hell?” Maria muttered out loud, double checking that she hadn’t just got stuck behind the other car.
And then she remembered the service road that connected the highway to the road the base’s back entrance. It completely bypassed the exit Maria wouldn’t reach for another two miles.
“Dammit.”
She hit the gas, clenching her teeth. There was no way she was going to let Carol win, especially not after she cheated.
Carol’s car was already parked in the lot when Maria finally made it to base, but she hadn’t gone inside yet. She was leaned against the back of her car, arms crossed, looking smug even from a distance.
“You cheated,” Maria accused, the second she stepped out of the car.
“Sore loser does not look good on you,” Carol laughed.
“I didn’t lose,” Maria argued, pointing an accusing finger at her. “You took a shortcut.”
“Since when is that cheating?”
“Since we already agreed on the route beforehand. Face it, you can’t beat me.”
Carol pushed off her car and into Maria’s personal space. “I think I just did.”
Maria’s eyes flicked from Carol’s eyes to her lips, still set in a smirk, challenging. She was overcome by the urge to kiss her right there. But she wouldn’t risk it on base.
“This isn’t over,” Maria promised, giving her shoulder a playful shove. “On the way home, no shortcuts.”
Carol smiled and looped her arm around Maria’s, laying her head on her shoulder as they walked toward the entrance of the hangar.
“You have my word.”
“Loser makes dinner?”
“I think I’m in the mood for spaghetti,” Carol hummed, lifting her head.
“Then you and Monica should have fun making it.” Maria teased, bumping her hip against Carol’s.
“I can’t wait,” she whispered, stealing a quick peck on the cheek before letting Maria go.
Maria smiled to herself as they headed in the direction of Lawson’s lab. Sometimes she wondered how she got so lucky.