"Hey, Riley. It's Lucas." Said a sweet voice with a bit of a southern drawl to it.

"Lucas!" Riley squealed with delight then rushed to hit the button to let him in. "Come on up!"

Riley proceeded to smooth out her clothes and then shake her head about to make her hair appear sexier and have more volume, but instead she just looked like cousin It.

"How do I look?" She asked, striking a random pose.

Auggie face-palmed, while Josh just gave two thumbs up, not wanting to hurt his niece's feelings. Maya was the only one to respond verbally as she rubbed her forehead and spoke to no one in particular, saying, "I try... I try so hard, but I just can't undo weird. I just can't."

Just then, Lucas knocked on the door, so Riley ran a hand through her hair to smooth out the kinks, then proceeded to answer it.

"Hi." Riley greeted with a wide, toothy grin."

"Hi." Lucas responded with a sweet smile of his own.

Maya rolled her eyes as she watched them just stand there and smile at each other for a long moment until she decided to speak up.

"So, what brings you here, Huckleberry?" Maya inquired, not really caring about his answer, but just wanting to use one of the many nicknames she had for him.

"This." Lucas said, lifting up a green notebook that he had been holding in his right hand. He looked at Riley as he added, "I finished copying your Science notes, so I thought I'd bring it over and give it back to you. Thanks again for lending me your notebook, Riley."

"No problem." She smiled as she retrieved her notebook from the adorable Texan in front of her.

"You would do homework on a Friday night." Maya teased.

"What's wrong with that?" Lucas asked.

"What's right with that?" Maya retorted, sounding baffled.

"Okay, smarty-pants, what should I be doing on a Friday night?" Lucas queried.

"Something fun." Maya answered.

"Games." Riley cut in. "Games are fun. Why don't you come in and play one with us, Lucas."

"Sure. I love board games." He replied, as he crossed the threshold. Lucas took two steps toward the living room then suddenly paused and looked back to Riley. "Wait...we aren't playing The Family Game are we? Cause I'm not such a fan of that one anymore." He couldn't help but ask as he thought of the last Matthews game night he had crashed.

"No." Riley giggled. "Don't worry."

"We're playing Disney Trivia." Auggie chimed in.

"No, we're not." Josh stated, emphatically.

"Aw, what's the matter, Josh? Afraid I'm gonna kick your butt...again?"

"No...I'm just bored with this game." Josh covered, knowing his ego really was a bit bruised after that last round. He also just wanted to disagree with Maya. Their bantering was fun. He didn't want it to stop. Honestly, he was just afraid that if they didn't tease each other, they wouldn't talk at all, and Josh just couldn't let that happen because he actually quite enjoyed interacting with regular Maya as opposed to the usual crazy, love struck Maya. Not that she was really in love with him. I mean, she is not exactly a kid anymore, but she is still too young to know what love is, let alone feel it. So was he. Right?

"Yeah, I'm so sure." Maya answered, sarcastically.

"Come on, Uncle Josh! One more time?!" Auggie pleaded, causing Maya to grin.

With one look at his nephew, Josh knew he couldn't say no to those puppy dog eyes.

"All right, one more round, but that's it." Josh relented.

"YES!" Auggie cheered, then proceeded to high-five Josh, followed by a low five, and then a series of random hand gestures that they both did in perfect unison.

Clearly, they had their own secret handshake, which Maya thought was utterly adorable. Her heart melted a smidge as she watched their movements and the smiles on both boys' faces, both so genuine and sweet. The number one thing Maya loved about Josh was how much he loved his family, immediate and extended and even the ones not directly related like Shawn. He cared for them all the same and showed it whenever he could with the simplest gestures like handshakes and surprise sleepovers. He really was the most amazing guy ever. How could she not have feelings for him?

Everyone gathered back around the coffee table, Lucas wedging himself between Riley and Maya, and then all helped to reset the game board. Fifteen minutes or so later, Maya had won again and jumped up to do a little victory dance just to rub it in Josh's face. Fortunately for him, her taunting was cut short by the pizza guy.

Josh placed the pizzas on the dining room table and Maya began to open them while Riley and Lucas got plates and napkins from the cupboard and Auggie made a bee-line for the bathroom. Maya's eyes went wide as she saw what Josh ordered: one large pepperoni and one medium, half-pineapple and half-jalapeƱo pepper.

"What's this?" She questioned, gesturing to the medium-sized pizza.

"That's ours." Josh stated simply.

"Ours?" Maya repeated.

"Yeah, I know Riley and Auggie prefer pepperoni, but you like pineapple-god knows why-and I love spicy toppings, so I figured we could just split one together. That okay?" Josh inquired.

"Oh, yeah, of course...thanks." Maya finished sheepishly. She was trying to play it cool, but it was a hard task when she was internally awing at his sweetness. How did he remember that her favorite pizza topping was pineapple? Better yet, why did he remember? Maya dismissed the thoughts, figuring he just remembered because it was weird...but what if there was more to it than that? With a grumble of her stomach, Maya let the thought drop. She was too hungry to think logically.

"Mmmm..." Maya moaned in appreciation as she picked up a large slice and bit off the tip.

"Here's a plate." Riley said, handing over the item in question.

"Thanks." She replied with a mouthful of pizza.

"Lucas," Josh began. "I don't know what kind of pizza you like but you are welcome to whatever's here." he finished, gesturing to both pies. "Even my beloved jalapeno-topped goodness."

"Thanks." Lucas responded with a slight chuckle. "But I am more of a pepperoni guy." He explained then began to fill his plate.

"Really?" Josh inquired, surprise evident in his voice. "I would have thought a Texan like you would go for the spicy one."

"Eh," Lucas shrugged. "Spicy is okay, but I much prefer sweet." He clarified, eyes locking with Riley's as he gave her a knowing smile, which she gladly returned.

"I can respect that," Josh nodded. "But I'm finding that I like spicy better. It keeps you on your toes and makes everyday a little more fun." Josh added, quickly glancing at Maya with a small smirk on his lips. She was nibbling at her crust, completely unaware of Josh's double meaning, but he figured that was probably for the best.

Before anything more could be said, Auggie came running into the dining area, water dripping from his damp hands that he failed to dry completely in his haste to eat.

"I'm ready." The little boy stated. "'Za' me!"

They all just smiled and shook their heads as Auggie sat down at the table. Riley made him a plate, and they all ate the rest of their meal in peace.