A/N: Hey, guys! I'm glad that you all liked the last chapter. It was one of the chapters where I had no trouble writing because it was just so easy to set the dynamic the characters had with each other. And I know we all wanted Josh to stay for the FRIENDS marathon, but unfortunately, that didn't happen. But, we still have more holidays to celebrate, right?

Anyway, I don't really have much to say, so I'll leave you guys to it. Enjoy Chapter 10!

Chapter 10: The First Encounter

"So, Lucas told me about the brunch," Maya revealed as she and Riley traversed down a path in Central Park, their arms linked to one another for added warmth. The temperature was exceptionally freezing that day, which the two friends didn't appreciate at all.

"Yeah," Riley replied. "He scheduled for us to have brunch with our parents to tell them about our decision regarding the baby issue. Lucas and I agreed we both aren't ready to start a family yet. I mean, he's busy with his company and I have a handful of high school students to educate."

Maya nodded. "That's plausible," she commented.

Riley hummed in agreement as she stepped aside to avoid colliding with a businessman furiously speaking on his Bluetooth headset. "Besides, it's not like Lucas and I are against it," she supplied. "In the future, there will definitely be a little Riley and a little Lucas wreaking havoc in the house, but we'd like to just enjoy the married life for now."

Maya patted her best friend's arm. "Aren't you glad they didn't bring up the baby talk during Thanksgiving?" she questioned with a teasing smile. "I almost pulled out one of Lucas's finest wines to celebrate."

"I know, right?" Riley agreed followed by a heavy sigh of relief. "I'm sorry I'm dumping all of this out on you. It's just that I'm so stressed about this whole baby thing. Marriage alone is no joke, Maya. Talking about having kids is a lot more serious. Imagine growing a baby in your womb for nine whole months, delivering them, and then raising them properly so they'd grow up into a wonderful human being!"

"Why do you think I'm still single?" Maya taunted with a laugh.

Riley tugged at Maya's arm again as she passed her best friend a knowing look. "You'll find your person someday. Trust me, I have a feeling he's just lingering around somewhere. It's just that you haven't bothered to look hard enough."

"He might not even be in New York for all we know," Maya commented.

"Anywhere that is not New York is still somewhere, Maya."

Riley's phone buzzed, which stopped Maya from vocalizing her comeback. She dug inside her purse for her phone, and once she found it, she swiped a finger across the screen to answer the call. "Hello?" she greeted.

Riley stopped walking, which caused Maya to halt as well.

"Uh-huh," Riley responded to her caller. "Oh, really? Sure. I'll be there—yes, I'm with Maya. All right, I'll see you soon. I love you."

Once Riley dropped the call and stowed her phone back in her purse, Maya perked a questioning brow. "Was that Lucas?" she asked. The last sentence Riley uttered to her caller was a dead giveaway, but Maya thought it wouldn't hurt to ask for clarification.

"Yeah," Riley replied.

"What did he want?"

Riley sighed. "Brunch was rescheduled," she declared. "His parents showed up at his office unannounced, so he figured we'd deal with this baby thing now rather than wait for the supposed brunch tomorrow."

"At least now you can get it over with," Maya noted. "Remember, everything's gonna be fine. Your parents and Lucas's parents will understand, I promise."

Riley flashed her best friend a grateful smile and engulfed her in a tight embrace. "If nothing goes the way as planned, prepare some Moscato and I'll stop by tonight. If everything works out fine . . . well, I'll still come over. I could really use a drink," she said.

With a laugh, Maya assured Riley that her Moscato would be ready for consumption by seven o'clock.

When the two best friends finally broke away from the embrace, Riley's gaze passed over Maya's shoulder as something captured her attention. Turning her head, Maya checked to determine what it was that her best friend saw.

As though some supernatural element had magically perched him on the park bench, Maya spotted Josh seated alone with a notebook opened on his lap. His back was hunched over as his hands scribbled across the curling page. From the way his hand moved, Maya could tell he was crossing off words on that single page.

"How's it going with him, by the way?" Riley inquired.

"Oh, you know," Maya babbled, shrugging nonchalantly.

"No, I don't."

"It's . . . I can't really tell you," Maya stated.

Riley's expression fell, looking like she identified with Josh's emotions. Sighing, she gave one last look at Josh before she turned back to her best friend. "Go to him," she instructed, nudging Maya on her side. "He looks like he could use some company."

"What about us? I thought we were hanging out?" Maya countered with a kiddish pout.

Riley giggled as she took both of Maya's cheeks in her well-manicured hands and pinched them lightly. "Aw, my best friend is so adorable," she gushed. "But I have to go face reality. I have some grandchild dreams to crush, remember?"

Maya's eyebrows rose. "That's harsh when you put it that way."

"Like you said," Riley started, "they'll understand."

Still attempting to play the disappointed best friend card, Maya nodded in agreement to their plan to part ways. "Fine," she articulated. "Go crush some dreams."

"And you go to your guy," Riley teased with a grin.

"Riley," Maya warned, "that guy has a girlfriend—"

"Yes, I know. I just meant that he's your guy, like, 'Oh, you wanna get a tattoo? You can go to my guy if you want,'" Riley defended, although she had a playful grin on her face.

Maya passed her best friend a look that got Riley to put her hands up in resignation.

"Okay, okay. We're done with the teasing today, I promise."

"All right, I'll see you again tonight," Maya said. "Moscato at seven, don't forget."

Riley cheek-kissed Maya while she wrapped her body in a parting embrace. After they broke away, the two best friends' concluded their afternoon together.

When Riley was no longer within her sight, Maya began making her way over to Josh. She decided to creep behind Josh to greet him with a little scare. But just as she lifted her arms to shake his shoulders, Maya stopped when she caught a glimpse of the open notebook on his lap. Her arms hung in midair, brows creased, as she examined the chaos that was his notebook. The page consisted of crossed-off words, as though Josh had been emptying the ink tube of his pen on the paper.

When Maya's guilty conscience began to eat away at her, she lowered her arms and decided that it was time to make her presence known, but not in the way that she planned.

"Hey," Maya greeted, still standing behind him.

Josh jumped from the park bench in utter surprise. When he realized that the person who spoke was Maya, he sat back down. A hand flew to his chest, feeling the heightened pulsing of his heart.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that," Maya apologized. Although she didn't go with her original plan to scare Josh, she managed to surprise him nevertheless.

Josh shook his head. "No, it's all right," he assured.

"Are you sure? You're looking paler than ever."

"No, really, you're good," Josh guaranteed as a smile emerged on his face. "I'll just have to set a reminder to get back at you for that one of these days."

Rolling her eyes, Maya gave Josh's shoulder a playful push, which caused him to laugh. "Can I keep you company?" she questioned while she gestured at the empty space on the bench.

"Go ahead," Josh answered.

Maya watched him scoot over as she took a seat, catching him in the process of hiding the exposed notebook page. The act didn't surprise her at all because she had a notion that the notebook was off-limits, although she couldn't deny that the page intrigued her.

"So," Maya began, which broke the silence between the two. "Are you, like, writing America's next greatest novel or are you journaling?"

Josh chuckled, shaking his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Neither. I'm not a novelist nor am I journaling, but I am writing something . . . or at least I'm trying to."

"Is it for People's Verse?" Maya queried.

"Y-yeah, it is."

Josh's stuttering gave Maya the indication that he was lying. The last time she checked, he still didn't have a story to work on. She pressed on, nonetheless.

"What is it about?" Maya prodded.

"I can't tell you," Josh answered.

"Why not? It's not like I'm gonna go around New York telling everyone what People's Verse is going to put out for their next issue."

"I don't want to show you because my writing sucks."

"I thought journalists are supposed to be good at writing?" Maya asked in utter disarray.

Josh stared at Maya for possibly the longest time he'd ever stared at her. His blue eyes were so intense yet gentle, which yielded Maya the perfect balance she needed to not waver under his gaze. Just when she was about to tell him to quit staring, Josh placed his arm along the bench's backrest and leaned in closer.

"There are four types of writing styles," Josh began.

Maya mentally cursed herself for bringing the subject up. The lecture that came along with it didn't thrill her.

"There's expository writing, descriptive writing, persuasive writing, and narrative writing," Josh enumerated. "I guess you could say I'm all right with three of those, but what I'm not good at is descriptive writing. It just so happens to be the category in which poetry writing falls under."

Maya lit up when she caught the last portion of Josh's sentence. "Aha!" she exclaimed. "So you aren't writing an article for People's Verse! You're writing a poem!"

Josh ogled at Maya again, but it didn't last as long as the previous one. He leaned away, rendering to his initial position. "Sophie's back," he announced.

Maya had to make sure she heard him correctly. The change of subject was so sudden she wondered if she hallucinated Josh's announcement. "She is?" she asked.

Josh nodded with a smile. "After a week, she finally went home."

"That's great!" Maya enthused, then paused as a thought came over her. "So, does Sophie's return have something to do with you suddenly writing a poem?"

Josh glanced at his notebook as though he was contemplating whether to tell Maya of his newfound idea or not. He caved in eventually when he noted her playful pout and the pleading look in her eyes.

"I had an idea," Josh revealed, edging on his seat. "I didn't want to tell you about it until I was sure that I have something I can show you. Last night, I started writing a poem for Sophie. You know how in the movies when the guy starts reciting this big romantic speech to the girl and it totally gives away the fact that he's going to propose? Maybe if I read Sophie a poem under the guise of picking up a new hobby, she won't suspect anything! So when I actually do propose, it'll literally come as a surprise!"

Maya nodded. "That's actually a fantastic idea! Very sweet and thoughtful," she commented.

Josh chuckled. "It'll be sweet when I actually manage to write a solid poem. Judging by the looks of it, I don't think I'm actually getting anywhere."

Maya's eyes gravitated toward his open notebook the same time Josh removed his hand to expose the page. Her eyebrows rose at the sight of crossed-off words. "Oh, wow," she spoke. "That's . . . that's . . . well, at least you came up with a bunch of ideas."

"Nice try," Josh replied.

"What in the world were you even trying to write?"

Josh lifted a hand to scratch the itching skin on his forehead. "Uh . . . you see, that's the thing," he declared.

Maya didn't say a word. She continued looking at Josh's poor and destroyed sheet of notebook paper. The longer she stared at it, the more she could pick out some of the words he penned down. They weren't that terrible, but his flow didn't sound right. Some of his lines didn't make sense if paired with the previous stanza or the following one. Furthermore, Josh's word choices were inadequate, incorrectly used, and—

That's when Maya got it. She figured it might be a bit of a risky and 'too forward' idea, but she thought it could be worth the try.

"Maybe I can help you," Maya suggested, catching Josh off guard. When she noted his hesitance, she added, "I'm not a professional writer, but I just thought that if you have somebody you can bounce ideas off of, and someone who can proofread your work, perhaps you'll get a better chance at getting this poem done before your anniversary."

Josh pondered over Maya's proposition. To him, although they'd exchanged stories, Maya was nonetheless a stranger to him. He didn't know a great deal about Maya other than that she's a struggling artist and that she's the substitute head event coordinator at Tan House Events. Letting someone into his deepest thoughts was intimidating, knowing for a fact that doing so could either lead toward a good outcome or the opposite. If Josh accepted Maya's offer, not only was he allowing her to get to know Sophie and how their relationship worked, but he was also giving her full access into his own emotions. Josh had to tell Maya what it was that he felt for Sophie and allowing her to know Sophie the way he did.

In the end, Josh came to a decision. He already trusted Maya—he implied it the second he asked her to help him with his marriage proposal plan—and for every moment he spent with her, Josh felt nothing but comfort.

"All right," Josh vocalized, sighing.

"All right?" Maya asked. "All right as in 'all right, I've made a decision and it's a no' or all right as in 'all right, you're in'?"

Josh flashed her a smile. "All right as in 'all right, you're in.'"

"Yes!" Maya proclaimed, jumping up from her seat and raising her arms in victory. She immediately sat back down, cleared her throat, and stuck her hand out for Josh to shake. "I mean, you've made a wise decision, Mr. Matthews. You won't regret going into business with me."

"It won't be the first time I'm doing this," Josh uttered as he enclosed his own hand around Maya's and shook it, officially sealing the (second) business deal they made.

"So, when can we start?" Maya interrogated enthusiastically, agog to get their business started.

Josh chewed his lip in thought. "I have to get back to PV in a while, so tomorrow maybe? When are you free?" he queried.

"Let's see," Maya replied. "It's Friday today, right? I don't have meetings with Leigh on Saturdays, so I normally spend all day in my art studio, but I guess seeing your face again tomorrow couldn't hurt."

Josh laughed. "It's settled, then. I'll see you tomorrow at Topanga's at around . . . most probably around lunchtime."

"Gotcha." Maya clicked her tongue as she hopped onto her feet. "I better get moving. There's some sort of magnet that, for some strange reason, is trying to pull me toward Topanga's. That place is, like, my second home now. If I'm not at my apartment or my studio, you know where to find me."

"Oh," Josh said as he got up to his feet as well. "Would you mind if I come with? I'm kind of in need of something hot to drink."

"Good taste in business partners and good taste in coffee," Maya remarked. "I plan to keep you around for a long time, Mr. Matthews."

Josh laughed, the corners of his eyes crinkling up in delight. "I have a strong feeling in my gut that you will."

The pair walked toward Topanga's, holding small talks about their jobs. Josh asked Maya about her job as Leigh's Creative Art Director, while she interrogated him on the story he's going to write for People's Verse's tenth-anniversary special issue. As the two continued to navigate their way toward the coffee shop, Josh and Maya's conversation chipped away until they fell in silence.

"What are you thinking?" Josh asked by the time they turned the corner that led to Topanga's.

Maya averted her gaze from the street ahead of her and looked at Josh. "Nothing," she answered.

"You don't look like you've been thinking about nothing," Josh rebutted.

Maya bit her lip. "Believe or not, I'm brainstorming for your poem. I might have offered to help you write it, but that doesn't mean I have a ton of ideas to dump on you. I actually want to be helpful. That is my job as your event coordinator, after all," she admitted.

A cold breeze flew by and Maya shivered in her jacket, which Josh didn't fail to notice. "You should've worn something warmer," he commented as his eyes took in her thin parka.

Maya shivered again. "I know, but I relied too much on my human heater, which is Riley," she clarified. "We were hanging out a while ago and she clung onto me the entire time we were walking around the park."

Josh laughed, but the sound of it died when his eyes landed on a particular boutique. He ceased in his tracks, stretching his left arm horizontally in an endeavor to stop Maya from advancing further.

Maya's chest hit his arm lightly, causing her to stumble for a moment. When she regained her footing, she followed Josh's eyes and it directed her to an olive-skinned woman manning the register inside Miller Boutique. The woman's smile was wide and convivial as she assisted a client in need.

"Is that . . . Sophie?" Maya questioned. She recalled Josh telling her that Sophie owned a boutique, hence it didn't take her long to put the puzzle pieces together.

"That's her," Josh confirmed.

"Are you gonna come in and say hi?"

Josh pursed his lips as he shook his head, tearing his gaze away from the boutique to meet Maya's. "No," he responded.

"Why not?" Maya asked, her brows creased.

"I'm with you," Josh answered.

"What?"

Josh sighed. "I don't want Sophie to know about you—at least not yet. If Sophie sees us together, then she's obviously going to ask who you are, then I'll have to explain our association to one another, and I can't risk Sophie knowing about my plan to propose," he elaborated.

Sophie strode over to the massive display window of the boutique and fixed the crooked skirt of a mannequin. Josh grabbed Maya's wrist and they scrambled further away from view.

"Well . . . I'm gonna go in," Maya declared as she set off toward the boutique.

"Wait—Maya," Josh called, gripping her wrist to stop her. "What are you doing?"

"I want to meet Sophie. What does it look like I'm doing?"

"I told you, I don't want Sophie to know about you yet—"

"Josh, I'm not gonna go in and reveal your plan to propose to her," Maya stated. "I just want to meet Sophie so I could see how she is like from my own point of view. Trust me, she won't speculate on anything about us working together. She'll only see me as a new customer."

With that, Josh let go of Maya's wrist and she made her way inside the boutique. The bell above the door jangled and Sophie turned to acknowledge the newcomer's arrival. Already, she had a warm and welcoming smile plastered on her face.

"Hello," Sophie greeted. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Oh, I'm just looking around," Maya responded.

"Okay, let me know if you need anything. I'll be at the register."

Maya nodded in agreement before she watched Sophie return behind the register. Walking around, Maya pretended to examine every clothing item the boutique sells, grabbing ahold of the fabrics to feel their textures. She even made a show of grabbing a blouse and holding it against her chest, as though she was testing how the item looked on her.

Maya glimpsed out the window and saw Josh crouching in the corner, slightly hidden from view. The three mannequins and the army of knee-high boots displayed by the windows were enough to keep him concealed. When Josh noticed her staring, he gestured at her to get out.

Ignoring Josh, Maya brought her attention back inside the boutique and trudged over to Sophie. She planted both of her hands on the countertop, catching Sophie's attention.

"Actually, I do think I need your help," Maya informed, feigning desperation.

"All right, what do you need help with?" Sophie interrogated, the sweet smile she greeted Maya with a while ago was still plastered on.

"How much does it cost to get a dress tailored?" Maya inquired. She was sure a poster sign somewhere in the shop could easily tell her that information, but it was the first question that came to her mind. Plus, it was the best that Maya could muster given her current situation.

"It all depends on the dress that you want, really. We'll have to factor in the length, the material . . ."

Maya disregarded Sophie the moment she started her speech concerning the adjustable price of a tailored dress. Her goal was to see Sophie in person, so she could get a personal grasp of how she was as an individual.

As Sophie's tainted lips moved in a gentle manner, Maya took note of everything Josh saw in the woman. She was gorgeous, it was hard to deny that. Her olive complexion complemented the darkness of her hair, which glinted every time a source of light bounced off it.

Sophie was soft-spoken, yet she maintained a strong rectitude that made her so dashing and so appealing to her audience. Her overall poised demeanor contributed greatly to Josh's idea of her being an actual princess. She was eloquent, classy, and compelling—characteristics that Maya deemed matched Josh's personality very well.

And to think Maya got all that down by watching Sophie talk about how much she charges for a tailored dress. It was either she was skillful when it came to understanding people or she was one assuming individual that believed everything she thought was correct. Whichever it was, Maya knew she'd established a respectable platform for Sophie that she could work with for Josh's poem.

"So? Which one are you gonna go for?" Sophie inquired, pulling Maya from her thoughts.

"Oh, um . . ." Maya trailed off. "I was actually just asking for a friend. She's stuck in a meeting right now, so she asked me to do it for her—like a favor."

Sophie nodded. "I see."

"But, I'll keep those prices in mind and I'll make sure she gets her dress tailored by you," Maya said as she threw Sophie a knowing wink. "I've seen your designs and I'm confident that it's something that my best friend would actually wear."

Sophie smiled and told Maya that she's already looking forward to assisting her best friend.

And so, with a goodbye, Maya exited the boutique. She spotted Josh still crouching in the corner and made her way over to him.

"Didn't you see me gesturing at you to get out of there?" Josh stated as he let Maya haul him up to his feet.

"I couldn't find any reason as to why I should leave, so I didn't," Maya retaliated.

Josh sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "What did you even say to her?"

"I told her that your fly is open," Maya taunted. She snorted when Josh fell for it, looking down at his khakis to check if his zipper was actually down. It wasn't, which earned Maya a glare from Josh.

"Maya," Josh grunted. "I'm serious, what did you really say to Sophie?"

"Nothing," Maya responded, putting her hands up in mock surrender. "And I can tell that you don't believe me, but I really didn't say anything, Josh. I just thought that if I'm going to help you write a poem about her, I might as well take an honest look at the woman we're going to be writing about, right?"

"But I saw you say something to her," Josh prodded. "If you said you didn't say anything, then what were you doing then? Were you singing to her? What?"

Maya exhaled exasperatingly. "I just asked her how much she's charging for a tailored dress, that's it! Now stop worrying your heebie-jeebies off before you get another line of wrinkle on your forehead."

One of Josh's hand flew up to his forehead. "Did I really get another wrinkle?" he wondered.

Maya laughed. "No, you didn't," she reassured him while rubbing his back. "Okay, now that we know you didn't get another wrinkle line on your forehead, do you wanna grab that cup of coffee with me or not?"

"Of course, I do," Josh responded, shivering.

"Good, because if I don't get that scalding coffee in my system anytime soon, I'm literally gonna turn into a life-sized ice sculpture in the middle of the street."

And now Sophie comes in to play. Hmmm . . .

So, normally, I like to keep secrets. But because of how excited I am for the plot to unravel, I'm gonna let you in on a little something-something: Josh's idea to write a poem for Sophie for their anniversary/his marriage proposal sets the stage for the REST OF THE PLOT *wink wink*

Thanks for reading, and as always, I wanna know what you think!