Chapter One- Girl Meets Flirtation
It had been two months since the ski lodge. What does all that mean? I've had two months to sit in silence while I obsess over the possibility of a future with Josh. My feelings for him sure felt a lot like a crush when I put it like that. Of course, when he and I were together it felt far from a dumb middle school obsession. Alone, things were different. None of that mattered, though. Finally knowing how Josh felt about me changed things. He had confessed after all this time and all I felt was frustration. If we both liked each other, why couldn't we be together?
Three years. That's what stood between the two of us now. Not one sided love, not false hope...only three little years. Three years meant nothing to me, but it meant everything to him.
Putting those three years aside, he and I had agreed we wouldn't talk for a while after the ski lodge. We wanted to confirm our feelings were real and not a spur of the moment romantic confession. Taking a few months to think represented yet another barrier Josh used to prevent himself from falling down a hole with someone a few years younger than him. I didn't mind because I had faith that what he felt for me was real and wouldn't change. Despite all that, it still didn't feel great to not talk to him for eight long weeks.
That's why seeing him step through the Matthews' front door felt extra exciting that Friday afternoon after school. Lucas was on his way to retrieve Riley and I for a movie, but I dreaded the event. Ever since the ski lodge, things had changed between the three of us. I could tell Lucas didn't want anything to change and Riley likely didn't either, but things still did. I third-wheeled on all their little "dates" and they ignored how uncomfortable I appeared. Seeing Josh stumble through the door gave me hope for an alternative plan.
"Hey, I could get used to stopping over here whenever I want," Josh grinned. He sat down on the Matthews' couch, reaching for the TV remote.
Riley and I sat at the kitchen table, observing as Josh made himself at home. Riley still seemed uncomfortable with the idea of me hypothetically dating her uncle. However, we had come to an understanding that she needed to respect how we felt about each other. To display that approval, Riley wiggled her eyebrows at me. She then whispered, "Now's your chance to put a start to the long game."
I rolled my eyes. "I don't think that's how the long game works, Riles."
Before either of us had a chance to actually greet Josh, Lucas stepped through the wide open front door. "Ready for movie night?" He grinned and made direct eye contact with Riley. He greeted Josh with a slight nod.
I looked to Riley to see if there was a chance of getting out of movie night. "Mind if I skip it tonight?" Being my best friend, Riley could tell my sudden change in motivation had nothing to do with their choice of movie or even with the two of them. Rather she knew it had to be the abrupt arrival of her gorgeous uncle.
Riley raised an eyebrow and Lucas looked between Josh and I. Before I could justify myself further, Lucas chimed in. "You'll miss a great movie. But go ahead." He smiled and took Riley's hand. "Have a good night, Maya."
It amazed me how sweet Lucas still behaved after everything that happened between the three of us. Riley never got jealous or lashed out at either of us for remaining best friends. I was beyond grateful for her understanding because I didn't know what I would do without Lucas by my side.
The moment Riley and Lucas exited the Matthews' apartment, I made myself comfortable on the couch next to Josh. Without saying a word, we moved close together as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "So this is what the long game feels like, huh?" Josh asked, finally breaking the silence. Something in his voice made it known that he hadn't enjoyed those eight weeks without talking either.
I shrugged, contemplating the long game and its relation to the two months of silence. It felt like the millionth time I'd processed that same line of thinking. "I don't think the long game means we stop being friends."
He laughed, which threw me in shock. How could he think my comment was funny? Did he not want me as a friend? "Of course we'll still be friends. I told you I needed you as a friend at the ski lodge, remember?" I did remember. That moment felt like the greatest thing in the world at the time. Then I realized the things he said were a more polite version of friend-zoning.
"So then why haven't we talked in two months?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
He shook his head and finally broke our eye contact. "I wanted to make sure what I felt at the ski lodge was real. We all went through a rollercoaster of emotions that weekend. I needed to know that agreeing to the long game didn't happen because of that."
Of course we had talked about this at the ski lodge after he went back to school at the end of the trip. But hearing it again provided somewhat of a relief. "And?"
His lips twisted into a sweet smile. It took everything in me to avoid breaking down and throwing it all away to kiss him. Silence filled the room for what felt like an eternity before his lips broke apart once again. "Nothing's changed, Maya." I let out a sigh of relief that I hadn't notice I'd been holding in. That weekend at the ski lodge, I had no doubt he meant every word he said. Yet something still told me not to get too excited about the hypothetical long game. The amount of unfulfilled promises in my life were infinite, and this felt like another one. "If anything, not talking for two months made me want to talk to you more. And I'm still in."
My lips mirrored his adorable smile and I reached for his hand, hoping that he might let me hold it without lecturing me about how we needed to wait a few years. To my shock, he didn't even flinch at the feel of my hand clasping with his. "So am I." I started to think of all the things I could say next and my mind could only seem to conjure up hopes that the long game might become a little shorter. "If only the long game didn't last so long."
Our hands stayed clasped between our bodies and his eyes broke our gaze to stare at them. Despite the irregularity of our relationship, everything felt completely natural between us. His eyes finally drifted back to mine. "Now that would kind of ruin the term 'long game', wouldn't it?"
I rolled my eyes, wishing he would agree with me. I used my free hand to lightly shove him. "You know what I mean."
He let out a short laugh before lifting our hands so that they sat folded together on his lap. His free hand lifted to cover the tops of our intertwined fingers and my cheeks burned a bright red. I swore I could be eternally content if they could stay that way forever. Josh must have sensed my happiness because he finally agreed with my statement. "I know."
My eyes shifted their gaze to stare into his and I felt his head a little closer than it had been only seconds before. "You know as in you can tell I don't really like waiting...or you know as in you don't like waiting either?" I knew I had asked a lot of questions already but I needed to know the truth.
His nose suddenly sat only inches away from mine and I had no idea how we got there. It could have been me that made the first move closer to him, but somehow it also could have been him. Even better, it could have been both of us. "Three years is a lot," he hummed quietly. He no longer needed a regular volumed voice for me to hear each word.
I shook my head, annoyed at the familiar statement. "So I've heard." At that point it seemed like he was filling the silence to avoid doing something he might regret. His temptation started to get the better of him and his head made a more obvious jump than it had in the previous few moments. He quickly leaned in closer to me. Our lips less than an inch apart, I felt myself smiling and closing my eyes. But all good things must come to an end.
"Josh, was that you?" Topanga's voice rang throughout the apartment. The two of us instinctively pulled away from each other while Topanga walked into the room.
Josh stood up and stepped away from me and towards Topanga. "Yeah, sorry I didn't give you a heads up." He glanced at me and, embarrassed, I looked down. My lips still held a small smile but I longed to be with him alone again. If only Topanga hadn't interrupted the moment.
Topanga led Josh to the kitchen where they discussed possible dinner options for when Riley and Lucas returned from the movie. I tried to focus on watching them decide, or scrolling through my phone, or even thinking about school work that needed to get done before Monday. Somehow all I could bring myself to think about was how in that one moment, the long game felt much shorter.
A/N: So I decided to try something new. It's been a while since I've written any fanfiction and I needed a bit of a break from some of the more serious, less light-hearted stuff I've been working on. It would mean the world to me if anyone reading this could let me know what you think, good or bad. Please don't hate the story because of the pairing. Thank you!