AN: Hey all, I hope you're enjoying the story so far! I've also been enjoying all your reviews. Keep 'em coming! This chapter is another climax in the story- so hope you all enjoy it and look forward to your reviews on it, or your prediction of what's gonna happen. If you have any ideas for the story, feel free to share as well. I hope you all enjoy your Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate. Hope you make some time for some family and some dancing! Just don't sneak into a nightclub though. Might not be the best idea lol. Enjoy the read :)
Chapter Nineteen- Truth Time, Part 2
"ID, please?"
"Sure, right here," Josh pulled out his driver's license and handed it to a lady seated by the entrance to the club who was checking them.
She observed the license for a few seconds before handing it back to Josh.
"You can't drink," She informed him bluntly.
"I know," Josh responded.
"You need to sign this," She handed Josh a form. "Anything happens to you, it's not our responsibility. We informed you of the rules."
"Sure," Josh muttered as he quickly skimmed the form before signing it.
"You have to pay a five-dollar cover charge," The lady announced. "We'll take cash or credit."
"Um, we're together," Josh pointed to Maya.
"Oh, sorry, didn't notice," The lady responded with an amused smile. "Ms., I'm gonna need to see your ID as well."
Maya gave Josh a nervous look. "It's ok," Josh assured her. "You have your ID on you?"
Maya nodded and took out her New York state ID from her purse. She handed it to the lady who scrutinized it for a few seconds before handing it back.
"You definitely can't drink," She informed Maya in a slightly harsh tone. "Sign this. Anything happens to you, it's not our responsibility. We informed you of the rules."
Maya gulped nervously before signing the form.
"Ok, ten-dollar cover charge then for the both of you," The lady informed them.
"Sure," Josh immediately handed her a ten-dollar bill.
"Alright. I need to stamp the back of your hands now. This will indicate to the bartenders that you're minors in case you try to get a drink. So, I wouldn't bother if I were you. Unless you feel like risking some embarrassment tonight," She stated as she stamped their hands with a bright, red ink. "Welcome to Brasilia Latin club. Enjoy," She quickly waved them off. "NEXT!"
Maya was slightly shaking with nerves as she held Josh's hand tightly.
"Pleasant lady...isn't she? Such a ray of sunshine," She stated sarcastically. Josh burst out laughing at her comment.
They walked past the security guard after showing him their stamped hands and entered a large lobby area that was filled with customers resting on couches and chatting. The dance hall was a few steps beyond the lobby. Maya was mesmerized as she observed the people surrounding her. There were a lot of couples- mostly older- but some who looked just as young as they were. There were also a lot of young women dressed in sexually suggestive attire- short dresses, crop-tops, bras, extremely tight blouses and shorts...she was beginning to feel completely out of place in her modest dress and the innocent look that was plastered all over her face.
"You ok?" Josh asked her softly.
"I dunno..."She muttered as she stared at a group of scantily-clad women who were drinking and laughing loudly near them. "I'm beginning to feel like I'm wearing way too many clothes for this place..." She stated matter-of-factly.
"Oh...yeah..." Josh retorted with a nervous smile. "Welcome to the club...it's usually kinda like this most places you go..." His voice trailed off.
"I asked you what I should wear Boing...you didn't tell me the truth, Mr. Truth-Time..."
"That's cos I didn't want you dressing like this, Maya...I don't want guys looking at you like that...cos that happens a lot in clubs, too...you'll see..."
"Oh, ok..." Maya retorted with a soft smile. "How about you? Do you look?" She asked him straightforwardly.
"Huh?"
"At girls...when they're dressed like that...do you look?"
"Oh wow..." Josh responded with an amused grin. "You're going all in tonight with your questions aren't ya? First you asked me if I'm gonna save sex for marriage, and now you're asking if I look at other girls? What else you gonna ask tonight, Ferret? If I got a secret kid here in Philly who looks just like me?"
Maya giggled in amusement. "Truth time, Boing! You started this whole let's tell each other everything we've been hiding thing...so yeah, now I wanna know all your dirty secrets, Mr. Matthews."
Josh chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. "I don't have a secret kid here in Philly. At least, not that I know of. Hopefully, it stays that way, cos I'm too broke to be paying child support right now," He informed her with a teasing grin.
Maya smiled widely at him. She took off his NYU beanie- the same one she bought for him for his 18th birthday back on Valentine's Day- and ran her hand affectionately through his hair before placing the beanie back on his head.
"I'm glad to hear you don't have a kid cos I really don't feel like being a stepmom or dealing with any bitter Baby Mamas," She told him.
Josh laughed at her comment.
"You still haven't answered my actual question though..." Maya continued. "You can be honest if you look at other girls, Josh...when they're dressed like that...heck, I'm even looking...it's kinda hard not to so I get it..."
Josh smiled. "I'm trying real hard to think of an answer that's not gonna get me into trouble, cos I feel like this is a trap..." He muttered.
Maya chuckled. "I'm not trying to trap you, Boing. This is truth time. Don't be afraid to be honest. I'm not gonna get mad or anything...I promise."
Josh gazed quietly at her for a few seconds before he responded. "I don't look at girls like they're a piece of meat, or an object. I try never to do that because it's extremely disrespectful, and my Mama raised me right. But, with that being said...yes, I do look sometimes, Maya...I'm not gonna lie to you. Like you said, it's hard not to when it's all hanging out like right in-front of your face..." He took in a deep breath before he continued speaking. "But just cos I look doesn't mean that's what I'm attracted to...I hope that makes sense..."
"Kind of," Maya responded. "Can you explain?"
"Sure," Josh answered. "I like a girl who's confident...smart...beautiful but doesn't feel like she needs to show everyone what she's got...like she doesn't need to have it all 'hang out' for attention and for the whole world to see...know what I mean?"
"Yeah," Maya nodded.
"You're the only girl I see tonight, Maya, and the only one I'm going to be looking at," He told her. "I think your dress is beautiful, and I'm glad that you didn't wear something different...I'm attracted to you just the way you are...so don't feel like you need to do anything different just because of what you see here. Ok Sweetheart?"
Maya beamed at him. "Ok Boing. Good answer! But fair warning, if you see me wearing a crop top in the summer, I hope you're not gonna lose your attraction to me. Cos that might happen once I turn sixteen."
Josh chuckled. "You think Shawn's gonna let you walk around like that?" He asked her.
"He won't need to know. I'll cover it all up with like a jean jacket or something before I leave the house," Maya shrugged.
Josh simply shook his head at her. "You're gonna kill me Ferret. Do you have any idea how many guys are gonna be staring at you everywhere you go if you're walking around like that during the summer? You're gonna drive me insane."
Maya gave him a teasing grin. "Don't care. My body," She stated.
Josh sighed. "True," He muttered in a defeated tone.
Maya giggled before poking him playfully on the nose. "You're cute, Boing. And I'm just messing with you...again. I probably won't be walking around in a crop top too much. Maybe once in a while...I hate getting attention from creepy guys...sometimes they will be standing outside our apartment...or like across the street...and I'm not even wearing anything sexy but they'll still make like stupid comments...it's really annoying..."
Josh frowned. "Is this constantly a problem for you? Have you told Shawn about it?"
"Nah. It's fine. I can handle it. I usually just ignore them and walk really fast," Maya told him. "It gets worse during the summer though cos they can like stand outside longer. So yeah, no crop tops for me."
"Well, what they're doing is terrible Maya, and no girl, regardless of what they're wearing, should go through that. If it gets really crazy, please let me know about it."
Maya smiled. "It's ok, Boing. I'll be fine. Last thing I want is you getting into a fight with the creepy boys in my neighborhood."
Josh chuckled as he pictured the scene in his head. "They won't know what hit 'em," He stated in a deep, menacing tone. "So, they better back off my girl..."
Maya laughed and buried her face in his chest as she wrapped her arms around him tightly. "I love you, Joshua Matthews," She whispered.
Josh felt his entire body warming up as he buried his face in her hair. "I love you too, Maya Hunter," He responded.
"By the way, my question was a trap, Boing, and you totally fell for it. Next time I ask if you look at other girls, your answer better be a firm 'no' or you're in big trouble, Boy!" Maya hissed at him. "You see sum'in sexy, you look away immediately like your life depends on it. Otherwise, you're dead."
Josh burst out laughing. "Ok, you got it."
"Yo, Matthews!"
Josh disengaged himself from Maya's embrace as he turned towards the direction of the call. It was Eric Masters, one of his best friends from John Adams. He had just entered the club with a petite, tall blonde who was wearing a pink crop-top blouse with a black mini skirt. She looked like a model. Maya couldn't stop staring at her.
"Masters!" Josh exclaimed excitedly as he moved to embrace his friend.
"Missed you Matthews! You looking good, man!"
"Thanks. You too," Josh replied. "College is doing you good, man."
Eric laughed. "Sorry for the delay. Had to get some gas after I picked up Selena."
"No worries," Josh retorted. "We just got here like a few minutes ago."
"Oh ok, great. Um, Selena, this is my best buddy from high-school- Josh Matthews. He goes to college at NYU but he's back in town for the weekend. We were on the baseball team together. Josh, this is my girlfriend, Selena."
"Nice to meet you, Selena," Josh shook her hand politely.
"Nice to meet you too, Josh," Selena responded with a strong, foreign accent.
"Where are you from, Selena, if you don't mind me asking?" Josh asked her curiously.
"Barcelona, Spain," Selena responded.
"Oh wow," Josh responded. "Cool!"
"Yeah, we met during Orientation at Penn State. Can you imagine her coming all the way from Spain to go to college here?!" Eric commented.
Selena grinned. "What can I say? I wanted some adventure," She joked. Eric and Josh both burst out laughing.
"No, I really want to work on my English and my parents come here before to Philly so I come. That's why."
"Oh ok. Really cool. Very brave of you to do that," Josh nodded appreciatively. "Um, this is my girlfriend, Maya...Maya?"
She wasn't standing next to him like he had assumed. He turned around and saw her standing a few steps behind him, fidgeting with her fingers and looking slightly anxious.
"Hey, you wanna come join us? I wanna introduce you," Josh called out to her with an amused smile. Maya gave him a nervous smile and walked tentatively towards them.
"Hi all," She muttered awkwardly with a wave of her hand.
Josh grinned widely at her in immense amusement. He was always amazed at how shy she could be sometimes, especially in social settings where she felt uncomfortable.
"This is Maya, my girlfriend," He proudly introduced her with a warm smile. He rubbed her back gently in an attempt to ease her anxiety.
"Nice to meet you, Maya," Eric greeted her warmly. "I've heard a little bit about you from our other friend, Kyle. You guys met during the summer. You rode his motorcycle."
Maya grinned. "Oh yeah. So, you three were like best friends?"
Josh nodded. "Yep. It was me, Kyle and Eric. The three musketeers."
Eric laughed. "Matthews was the coolest among us though, as much as we hated to admit. The girls couldn't get enough of him. But he was too cool- and picky- to pay 'em much attention. So, you don't have anything to worry about Maya. He's a good boy."
"Anyway, Maya- and yes, I'm clearly changing the topic," Josh responded. "This is Selena, Eric's girlfriend. She's from Spain- Barcelona."
"Verry nice to meet you, Maya," Selena extended her hand in greeting.
"Sure. Nice to meet you, Selena," Maya shook her hand politely.
"Ok. Now that we are all acquainted, shall we dance?!" Eric exclaimed excitedly.
"Sure," Josh nodded. "You ready, Maya?" He asked her softly.
"Yeah," Maya nodded with a wide grin.
Josh held her hand as they walked into the dimly lit dance hall. It was packed with numerous gyrating bodies. There was barely any room to maneuver. The four of them forced their way through the throng of people to a less crowded spot at the back of the club near the restrooms. They stood there for a moment observing the people, the music and the ambiance.
The DJ was playing mostly Latin American music. Maya recognized a few of the songs. Once Despacito, a hit song by Luis Fonsi that she was very familiar with, started playing, she couldn't help nodding her head along to the catchy, upbeat rhythm.
"Oh, somebody's ready to dance," Josh teased her.
She blushed and gave him a wide, mischievous grin.
"Yeah, we're ready to dance too," Eric announced. "Matthews- I brought some booze. Do you guys want some?" He took out a few water bottles filled with a clear liquid- which looked exactly like water- from his bag. "It's vodka," He explained with a sly grin.
"Oh wow," Josh stated with a shocked expression on his face. "You going strong tonight, man. I think we're good. I gotta drive..."
"Well duh. Me too," Eric retorted with a slight chuckle. "We just gotta make sure we don't get wasted man. That's all." He handed a bottle to Selena before he started sipping from his own bottle. "Take it, man. Just drink it slowly," He shoved a bottle towards Josh.
Josh looked slightly uncomfortable as he glanced over at Maya to see her reaction. She looked uncomfortable as well.
"Nah, I'm good, Masters," Josh pushed the bottle back towards his friend. "We just came to dance that's all."
"Dude...this makes it all better, though. Why you acting like you haven't done this before? You telling me, you clubbing sober in New York?!" Eric commented with an amused chuckle.
"Eric, if he don't want it, don't force him," Selena chastised her boyfriend. "He is very pushy, Josh, isn't he?"
Josh chuckled. "Pushy is not the word I will use for this jerk, Selena. I'm surprised you're with him, to be honest."
"Hey!" Eric protested. Josh and Selena laughed at his reaction.
"Ok, well, Maya and I are gonna dance. You two join us when you've finished pre-gaming. Ok?" Josh informed them.
Eric gave him a thumbs-up as he drank some more vodka from his bottle. "Ok Matthews. Your loss. What about you, Maya. You want one? Or you gonna be as lame as Goodie-boy Matthews here?"
Maya grinned. "No, I'm good. Thanks," She responded politely.
"Alrightie," Eric replied with a warm smile.
"Let's dance, Maya," Josh muttered as he gently led her to the dance floor. They both started moving to the rhythmic beat surrounding them.
Despacito
Quiero respirar tu cuello despacito
Deja que te diga cosas al oído
Para que te acuerdes si no estás conmigoDespacito
Quiero desnudarte a besos despacito
Firmo en las paredes de tu laberinto
Y hacer de tu cuerpo todo un manuscrito
Maya couldn't help laughing as she gazed at her boyfriend.
"What?!" Josh asked her.
"What are you doing, Josh?!" She yelled out to him. They had to speak loudly in order to hear themselves above the music.
"I'm dancing!" Josh cried out as he moved awkwardly from side to side.
Maya burst out laughing again. "That is the nerdiest dance I've ever seen in my life," She teased him. "I think Farkle dances better than you!"
"Well, it's a dance!" Josh screeched. "Des-pa-cito," He started singing along to the music as he continued to move his body. "Quiero que respirar tu cuello despacito...deja que te diga cosa al oido...I don't know the rest of the lyrics...des-pa-ci-tooo..."
Maya laughed.
"You gonna dance with me or you just gonna be laughing at me all night? Cos, if this is 'let's make fun of Boing night' I'm gonna stop dancing, and you could do it all by yourself," Josh told her.
Maya grinned. "Sorry. I'm gonna dance too."
"Alright. Well then, dance with me Baby," He told her. "Baila conmigo!" He translated in Spanish.
Maya beamed at him and started moving along sensually to the beat. She raised her arms high in the air and started shifting her waist from side to side as she nodded her head to the rhythm.
Pasito a pasito, suave suavecito
Nos vamos pegando poquito a poquito
Cuando tú me besas con esa destreza
Veo que eres malicia con delicadezaPasito a pasito, suave suavecito
Nos vamos pegando, poquito a poquito
Y es que esa belleza es un rompecabezas
Pero pa montarlo aquí tengo la pieza
"Oh la la...senorita...muy sexy!" Josh cried out as he gazed at her. He was completely mesmerized.
Maya giggled. "Come on, Old Man. Keep up!" She teased him. Josh chuckled and started moving along with her.
"Shake that waist a lil Boing! You're so stiff!" Maya yelled at him.
Josh laughed and attempted to move his waist. Maya burst out laughing when she saw the attempts he was making.
"Here, lemme help you out," She muttered before wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. "To the left...to the right...to the left...to the right...des-pa-ci-to!" She sang out loud as she helped Josh move his waist to the beat.
Josh chuckled as he followed her direction. "There. You got it!" She looked up at him with a proud smile. Josh leaned in towards her and kissed her softly. "Gracias, Ferret," He whispered after pulling away.
Maya beamed at him as she kept her arms wrapped around him. The next song was Bailando by Enrique Iglesias, another song they were both familiar with.
You look at me and girl you take me to another place
Got me feeling like I'm flying, like I'm outer space
Something 'bout your body says 'come and take me'
Got me begging, got me hoping that the night don't stopBailando, bailando, bailando, bailando
Tu cuerpo y el mio llenando el vacío
Subiendo y bajando (subiendo y bajando)
(Bailando, bailando, bailando, bailando
Ese fuego por dentro me está enloqueciendo, me va saturando
"Ooh...you doing good, Boing..."
"Stop making fun of me, Ferret."
"No, seriously. You're moving your waist all good and sexy now, Papi."
Josh chuckled. "That's cos you're moving it with your hands!"
Maya laughed, before she started singing along to the lyrics. "I wanna be contigo, and live contigo, and dance contigo, para have contigo una noche loca...bailando...bailando..."
Josh wrapped his arms around her and kissed her again.
They danced together to a few more songs before Maya informed him that she had to use the restroom.
"Ok. Do you want me to walk you over?" Josh asked her.
"Josh, it's like right there," She pointed to it. "Unless, you wanna come to the lady's room with me?" She gave him a sly grin.
Josh laughed. "Nah I'm good," He replied. "Hurry back, Sweetheart."
Maya grinned. "Don't miss me too much, Baby. And you better not dance with anybody else!" She threatened him.
"I wouldn't dare. See you soon."
Maya checked her phone messages as she sat in the bathroom stall. She had two missed calls from Riley, two missed calls from Shawn, one missed call from Cory, one missed call from her Mom, as well as a text message.
"Peaches...Shawn's noticed you guys are not here...come home now...it's a long story. Call me and I'll tell you what happened...I'm so sorry."
Shit, Maya thought as her heart pounded. What the hell happened? She thought. She immediately called her best friend.
"Hello, Riles?"
"Peaches...are you guys still at the nightclub?"
"Uh...yeah...what happened? How did Shawn find out?"
"Grandma's sick...Dad and Shawn are taking her to the hospital...so it's me and Auggie, and Mom and your Mom left in the house."
Maya felt her heart drop. "What?"
"Yeah...um...Dad said she was like throwing up...and she was feeling weak...they think it's maybe food poisoning from the Chinese food we ate last night...Dad said he threw up too...but they're taking Grandma to the hospital...just to be sure...anyway, um, she asked about Josh...she wanted Dad to check on Josh to see if he didn't have any food poisoning...so they knocked on his door and he wasn't there...and they called him and he didn't respond...so that's when Dad and Shawn came to our room to check on us and they noticed you weren't there..."
"Shit," Maya muttered.
"I did my best Peaches...but I don't know if they bought it or not..."
"What did you tell them, Riles?"
"I told them you had a nightmare and you woke up and you were crying so Josh took you for a drive in his car to calm you down...and you guys were gonna be back home soon...but, Shawn still looked suspicious...I think he could tell I was lying...I was just so nervous, Peaches...I'm so sorry...you know how bad I am with lying...I didn't think they would actually check you know..."
"It's ok, Riles. Thanks for sticking up for us," Maya re-assured her friend. "We'll figure something out...what hospital did they go to? Josh is gonna want to know..."
"Cedar Heights Memorial...it's the same one that..."
"I know," Maya responded solemnly. She had an immediate flashback of sitting on a motorcycle with Josh as he sped towards Cedar Heights Memorial on the day his father died.
"I'll see you later Riles. I have to go tell Josh."
"Sure. I'm sorry, Maya. I tried."
"I know, Honey. Don't worry about it. Thanks. I love you. Bye."
"I love you too, Peaches. Good luck. Bye."
Darn it, Maya thought in immense frustration as she hung up the phone. What in the world were they going to do? They were just going to have to lie, she decided. They had no choice but to follow along with Riley's lie, and to try and make it believable. After all, they couldn't possibly tell the truth. It could mean the end of Shawn's support for their relationship, and she knew how much that meant to Josh, and to her, as well. Forget truth time. It was time to lie.
She left the bathroom and started running towards her boyfriend.
"Hey," She called out to him. "We're screwed."
"I know," Josh muttered with a panicked look on his face. "I just saw the missed calls. He also texted me."
"Who? Shawn?"
"Yeah."
"What did he say?"
He showed Maya the ominous text message.
Shawn: Josh, it's past 2am and I don't know where my daughter is. None of you are answering your phones. Riley says you guys went out for a drive but she seemed increasingly nervous when I tried to ask more questions...it looked like she was covering for you guys...but I don't want to jump to conclusions. I gave you another chance, Josh. I hoped that you would get your act together. We're taking your Mom to Cedar Heights Memorial. Meet us there, and let's talk. I'm expecting the complete truth about your whereabouts tonight. If I don't get that and I find out that you lied, the consequences will be worse than if you simply tell me the truth. Hope you guys are fine. Please let us know where you are and if you're ok, so we can stop freaking out. Thank you.