Joshaya- For Halee
"Maya, wake up. We're here," My mom reaches over to me and shakes me gently.
I groggily open my eyes and squint at the bright afternoon sunlight through the car window. As my eyes adjust to the light, I'm able to make out the blue two story house that we're parked in front of.
Every winter, my mom and I visit the Matthews' beach house in Florida for winter break. Because it's Florida,
the winter is way warmer than New York.
Riley and I always share the cute attic room with two beds and a dusty old dollhouse that we don't have the heart to get rid of. Corey and Topanga take the master bedroom, my mom sleeps on the sofa/bed, and Auggie gets a room all to himself.
I pull my headphones out of my ears and open the car door, stepping out onto the hot Florida concrete and looking up at the large beach house.
"Peaches!" I hear Riley's voice, and see her standing on the front porch with a huge grin.
"Riles!" I exclaim in reply, holding my arms open for the inevitable bear hug. She runs to me and envelopes me in her arms.
"I'm so glad you're here. It's been so boring these past few hours. Auggie and Josh won't stop-" Riley begins.
"Wait, Josh?" I interrupt. He's staying with us?
"You didn't know? He came with us this year," Riley tilts her head to the side questioningly.
I shake my head in reply, my mouth opening and closing with no sound coming out. Suddenly, my heart starts pounding and I begin to overly analyze everything. Did I pack cute clothes? Was it a good idea to pack my purple bikini or should I have brought the white one instead? I should have brought cuter pajamas!
"Peaches!" I'm brought back to reality by Riley snapping her fingers in front my face.
"Sorry," I shake my head and brush the hair out of my face sheepishly.
"Maya?"
I whip my head up and stare in shock at Josh. He's standing on the porch with a lopsided grin, his hands in his jean pockets and his hair as perfect as ever. Why does he have to look so good? It makes everything so much harder.
"Boing," I reply nervously, trying for a casual smile, but it comes out more like an uncomfortable statement.
"Haven't seen you in a while," He scratches the back of his neck.
"Yeah, not since.." I trail off, fidgeting with my shirt and biting my lip, trying not to say what we're both thinking. I hadn't seen him since our breakup.
"Hey. It's me again. I've called you about a million times and I'm starting to get worried. Please call me back," I bite my lip and hang up the phone. Plopping down on the couch of Josh's dorm, my mind starts thinking of all the places he could be.
"Maya?"
I shoot up from my seat, standing face to face with Josh.
"Where have you been? We had a date an hour ago!" I say angrily.
"I'm really sorry, Maya. I forgot I had to make up a test, and then the professor wanted to look over my notes. I lost track of time," He shrugs.
"That's the third time this week, Josh. You can't keep blowing me off like this! If you have school stuff, fine. But don't make plans with me and pretend you're gonna show up." I grab my bag and head out the door, but he grabs my arm to stop me.
"M, c'mon. I'll make it up to you. We can just cuddle and watch a movie," He gestures to the couch with a pleading expression.
"No. I've given you so many chances and you let me down every time." I quickly wipe away the tears beginning to cloud my vision. "It's over, Josh." My voice breaks.
"What? Maya, no!" He takes my hands in his and pulls me into his arms. I shakily bring his lips to mine and then pull away, rushing out the door with tears dripping down my cheeks.
"So... How have you been?" He asks, slowly going down the stairs towards me.
"Fine. What about you?"
"I've been... okay. I guess." He tries.
"Good. I'll go get my bags," I say to end this very uncomfortable conversation.
"It's okay, I'll bring them in," He jumps in quickly, rushing over to the car and pulling out my suitcase and duffel bag.
"Thanks," I force a smile, and we both head into the beach house to join everyone else.
"Peaches! Go put your stuff in the room and then get your swimsuit on. We're gonna welcome you here with a proper beach bonfire," Riley smiles at me from the kitchen, popping a marshmallow into her mouth and completely unaware of the tension between me and Josh.
"Are you okay?" Riley asks, fiddling with the knot on her peach-colored triangle bikini.
"Not really," I sigh, adjusting my light blue strapless swimsuit. "It's hard to see him after what happened two months ago."
"Aw, I'm sorry. But at the bonfire, you don't even have to look at him. And I'll be with you the whole time," Riley pats me reassuringly.
"What are you wearing over your bikini?" She asks, pulling on a white cover-up.
"I'll just go like this," I answer, too distracted to pick out outfit.
"Girls!" Topanga calls from downstairs.
"Coming!" Riley answers, linking her arm with mine and pulling me down the stairs.
"The sun is setting! Everyone is already outside watching it," Topanga points to the private section of beach in the back of the house, and Riley quickly guides me outside and onto the sand.
Cory, Auggie, and Josh have some plastic chairs and are sitting around the little fire, their seats facing the ocean.
Riley takes the open chair next to Auggie, leaving me with no choice but to sit in the chair next to Josh.
"Hey," He says quietly.
"Hey." I answer, crossing my arms over my exposed stomach and trying to make myself as small as possible.
"Are you cold?" He asks, noticing my position.
"A little bit." I say with a small smile.
"Here," He pulls off his hoodie and hands it to me, and I wrap it around my body gratefully. Now that the sun has gone down, there's a chilly breeze blowing through the night air.
"The stars are so pretty," Riley says in awe, gazing at the sky sprinkled with little faraway lights.
"They are," Josh says, and I turn my head to see him looking directly at me with an expression on his face that I've never seen before.
We stay like that for a moment, looking into each other's eyes but not saying anything. We both know that once either one of us speaks, the moment will be over.
"I missed you," he whispers, only loud enough for me to hear, and those three words make me almost faint. It's amazing the kind of power he has over me.
"I..." I breathe quietly, trying to calm my racing heartbeat.
"You don't have to say anything." He smiles sadly before leaning his head back to look at the stars.
"Get up," Riley shakes my shoulders vigorously, abruptly waking me from an amazing dream.
"Ugh," I groan, shoving my face into me pillow and willing myself to relive the dream.
"You went to bed so late last night," Riley rolls her eyes at me.
"Wait, that wasn't a dream? We actually went to look at the stars?" I sit up straight.
"Um, yeah. Why would you think it was a dream?" Riley gives me a sideways look.
I collapse back onto the bed with a huge smile on my face. Joshua Matthews missed me.
I throw on shorts & a tank top and hurry down the stairs with Riley for breakfast. I slow down when I see Josh's bags on the counter and Josh putting stuff in them.
"What's going on?" I say, trying to seem as casual as possible.
"Josh said he couldn't stay for the rest of winter break." Topanga replies, sitting at the dining table.
"Why?" I ask in surprise.
"Maya, can I talk to you for a minute upstairs?" Josh motions to the staircase and I nod, my heart rate beginning to rise.
When we get to the top of the stairs, he turns to face me.
"I came here because I knew you would be here too." He blurts out.
"What?" I blink in shock.
"I only came here because I hoped you'd forgive me. But since you've been ignoring me, I decided to go back to NYU."
"Ignoring you? W-what are you talking about?" I shake my head in disbelief.
"You mean, you haven't been ignoring me?" He asks, a glimmer of hope in his tone.
"No, I would never ignore you." I say reassuringly, pulling him into a hug.
He's tense at first, but then he relaxes into my arms. He's wearing the cologne that I'd picked out for him at the mall so long ago.
"Maybe I won't leave just yet," He chuckles into my neck, his breath sending chills down my spine.
"Good."