Chapter 1
"I have got the best idea!" Maya said as she sucked on a lime slice and then chucked it across the bar counter.
"I think you've had one too many drinks," Riley replied, throwing the bar tender an apologetic look.
"Don't you wanna know my good idea, Peaches?" Maya pouted.
"Honey," Riley said. "I don't think any idea you're going to have right now will be a good one. Unless your idea is to go home and sleep off the questionable amounts of alcohol you've consumed."
"Nope! It's better!" Maya shouted.
"What's your good idea?" Isadora asked, mouthing sorry to Riley.
"We should all go to the Cape to visit Uncle Boing!"
"Uh. . ." Isadora said.
"That is the opposite of a good idea," Vanessa told Maya. "That's actually a really, really bad idea!"
"Whhhhhy!?"
"Because Maya, because you're getting married!" Riley answered. "You're getting married in a week!"
"And I can't just leave Zay alone with the twins," Vanessa added. "He'd go crazy without my help. I wouldn't even be here tonight if Lucas hadn't agreed to let me have a much needed night out."
"And I have to work in the morning," Isadora said. "We have a Red Hat Society coming and two school groups. I'm in charge of all three of their tours."
Maya stuck out her tongue at them. "Well, you two are the lamest bridesmaids ever! What about you Riles? Will you come with me to the Cape?"
"I-I really don't think that's a good idea," Riley replied. "You and Josh have history. I don't think you need to reopen that book a week before you're getting married to somebody else."
"Fine! Just fine! I'll go by myself then!" Maya said, standing up and stumbling a little bit. "There's nothing any of you can do to stop me. I've got the good doctor's keys."
"How did you get the keys to Lucas's truck!?" Riley asked, startled.
Maya waved them in the air. "I took them from your purse when you weren't looking."
"That's just great," Riley mumbled.
"It looks like you're babysitting the lovely bride to be," Vanessa said, smirking.
"You are the maid of honor," Smackle said. "It's your duty to make sure she's okay and that nothing happens to her."
"Bu-bu-but!" Riley protested. "Zack isn't going to like this!"
"What Zack doesn't know won't hurt him!" Maya interjected. "Come on Riley. Please!? Pretty please take me to see Josh in Cape Cod! Please!? I'll never ask you for anything else ever again."
"I highly doubt that," Riley mumbled.
"Please Riles? If you say no, I'm just going to go all by myself," Maya said again.
"Fine! But only because I don't want to be responsible for anything that could happen while you're driving under the influence."
"Oh! Don't be such a grandma!" Maya chided. "Are you girls coming?"
"As much as we'd love to, we both have other things to do!" Vanessa answered.
"But say hi to Josh for us," Isadora added. "Send him our love."
"I hope you guys know that you are two of the most unfun bridesmaid ever!" Maya told them as she gave them wet, tequila kisses on the cheek. "Come on Riles! We need to get this show on the road! Time's a wastin'!"
"Good luck," Vanessa murmured.
"Call us when you get there!" Isadora said.
Riley groaned and caught a hold of her best friend's leather jacket. "Hold on a sec, I need to call Lucas and tell him what's going on."
"Ugh!" Maya moaned. "Freakin' ball and chain. Why'd you ever agree to marry the guy in the first place? You haven't been any fun since you said 'I do'!"
"He is my husband, I can't just up and leave town without telling him!" Riley told Maya. "You'll understand one day!"
"I hope not!" Maya said empathetically. "Go and call him before I go by myself."
.
Twenty minutes later, they were on the road. Maya was in the passenger seat with her feet up on the dashboard while she swung her glittery feather boa around and sang at the top of her lungs and very off-key with one of her playlists on Spotify.
In the middle of "Pumpin' Blood", Maya stopped and looked at Riley with annoyance.
"What?" Riley asked, suddenly self-conscious.
"I don't hear you singing!" Maya answered. "It isn't a real road trip until we sing together."
"I don't know really this song," Riley said.
Maya huffed and scrolled through her songs until she came on one of their childhood favorites. "Okay then. We'll add some nostalgia to the mix! You better sing!"
"No! I am not singing!" Riley answered. "Somebody has to be the adult here! I cannot sing and drive at the same time!"
"Boo! Being an adult is so overrated!" Maya replied her, turning up the music and rolling down her window.
"You play dirty," Riley said as Billy Joel started to play. "You know I can't resist Billy! Especially this song!"
"Then just do it! Give into the music!" Maya urged, giggling wildly.
"I think we need to stop and get you something to eat and drink," Riley said. "You're really drunk!"
"Am not! I can still talk perfectly good! I'm not slurring my words or anything!"
Riley sighed. She was in for a long ride.
Two hours into their trip, Maya finally fell asleep. Riley breathed a sigh of relief and turned down the music, with a few pushes of a button. She found Delilah After Dark and started to come up with explanations to give to Josh for showing up at his doorstep.
He'd been totally clear about seeing Maya when he'd left New York three years earlier. He didn't want to. Ever again. She was only a reminder of everything he had lost.
.
Knocking.
The last time he'd gotten woken up with a knock on his door at 5am was when he'd received awful news. He never wanted to face that again, not in the wee small hours of the morning.
He lay perfectly still, hoping whoever it was would go away if he didn't answer them.
But they were still knocking, getting more and more persistent. Josh sighed and threw his covers off. He'd just have to scare them off since they weren't leaving by themselves.
"You better just leave!" Josh said. "I have a gun and I'm not afraid to use it!"
"Uncle Josh, it's me!"
"Riley?" Josh frowned and unlocked the door before throwing it open. "What are you doing here? Are things okay with you and Lucas?"
"We're fine!" Riley assured him. "I'm here because. . . well. . . Maya wanted to come and see you."
Josh felt all the air leaving him. "Maya's here?"
"Define here," Riley answered. "She's kind of drunk. I tried to talk her out of it but she wouldn't take no for an answer. She said she would drive here all by herself in my husband's truck if I didn't bring her to see you. So. . . we'll leave sometime this afternoon, I promise."
Josh scrubbed his face. "It's okay. Where is she?"
"Sleeping off the tequila in the truck," Riley said.
"Okay. I'll go and get her. You remember where the guest room is?"
"Sure."
"I just changed the sheets yesterday afternoon," Josh told her. "Go and pull down the covers so we can get Maya to bed. There are spare toothbrushes in the linen closet. You two can borrow my t-shirts."
Riley nodded and slipped into the house while Josh shoved his feet into his ratty flip-flops and went to retrieve Maya from the Chevy.
He stopped for a moment when he got to her, it had been so long since the last time they had seen each other. He swallowed past the lump in his throat and reached into the truck for her, he lifted her up like she weighed nothing at all.
Her eyes fluttered open. "Riley? Are we there yet?"
"Do you think you can walk?"
"Josh!?"
"No. It's Santa Claus," Josh answered sarcastically. "So, how about it? Do you think you could walk or do I need to carry you?"
"Actually, I think I'm going to be sick! Too much tequila. Would you stop moving for two seconds, please!?"
Josh slowed his steps for her. "You better not throw up all over me."
All Maya did was groan. "Why are you being like this?"
"Hold on, we're almost in the house. There's a bathroom right off the kitchen, if you can keep it in until we get inside, you can throw up all you want."
A few seconds later, she was hugging the toilet and emptying the contents of her stomach into it while Josh held her hair back for her. When it was all over, he helped her out of her spike heels and up the stairs to the guest room.
Maya smiled up at him dopily. "Hey, you grew your hair out and you have a beard too."
Josh caught her as she almost tripped on the corner of the stairs. "Yeah. Well, a lot of things have changed, Maya."
"Including you?" Maya shook her head. "You know what. Never mind. I am not nearly sober enough to have this conversation."
Josh was going to say something but the alarm in his room was beeping, telling him it was time to get ready for his day.
"Hey Riles, it's my turn to open up the coffee shop," Josh said, directing Maya to the bathroom upstairs so she could brush her teeth and get out of her club clothes. "Can you handle Maya by yourself?"
"Of course! You go on, we're the ones imposing on you," Riley replied, grabbing hold of Maya.
"I'll probably be back before you leave," Josh told her as he went to his bedroom to get changed. "There's lots of stuff for breakfast if you're hungry when you wake up."
Maya came out of the bathroom in his t-shirt and boxers, her hair pulled away from her face in a messy bun, her complexion a little grayer than before. "I'm going to bed."
"I'll be right there," Riley told her. "I'm going to brush my teeth and put something else on"
Maya nodded and stumbled into the guest room and onto the bed. She was out in a matter of minutes. Josh changed directions and went into the bathroom and opened his medicine cabinet, he pulled a bottle of Advil out.
"For when Maya wakes up," Josh said. "I know from experience that she'll have a nasty hangover even though she threw up."
Riley nodded and pulled him into a hug. "Thanks Uncle Josh."
Josh's throat was tight as he returned Riley's embrace. "Anything for you Riles. . . and Maya too, of course."
"I know."
"I've really got to go now," Josh told her after a few seconds.
Riley watched him go, wondering how messed up Josh and Maya were going to be after seeing each other again for the first time in six years even if it was only for a few hours.
TBC. . .
.
Author's Note:
I'm just going to leave this here. I hope you'll tell me what you thought. I anxiously await your thoughts on this new story. I promise you will have backstory to why Josh picked up his life and moved to the Cape. And you will know what's going on with Maya and with Josh/Maya. If you're not following me, at least follow this story. I swear you will like what is to come!
Love,
Holly, 4/1/2016