SS 114

"You know I always kind of thought it was bullshit when people said you get warmer faster if you get in bed naked" Maya mused. She and Josh were wrapped up in one another and the fallen shambles of their blanket fort.

"I think body heat is a lot more effective than that ancient radiator" Josh joked, nodding his head in the direction of the rattling radiator that sat under the living room window. " and a lot cheaper too"

Maya scoffed " Did you just call me cheap?" she teased, nudging his leg with her toe.

"Sush you" Josh knocked his head lightly against hers and pulled her body a little tighter against his own. Maya settled against him, leaning her head against his shoulder as she pulled the blanket a little higher up her shoulders.

Josh's stomach grumbled audibly. Maya laughed.

"You're hungry already? We just had breakfast!"

"Dude, that was hours ago" Josh pointed out.

"Huh. I guess you're right. It's like we're in some kind of time warp" Maya mused, running her finger tips along the bare skin of Josh's chest.

" I could eat now that you mention it," Maya offered.

" I don't know what we'd eat. We're working with pretty bare bones supplies here" Josh thought out loud.

"We'll that's your problem to figure out" Maya said through a stifled yawn.

"How do you figure?" Josh asked, amused.

"Well I made breakfast" Maya pointed out

"Yeah and then I made you come three times so what's your point?" Josh teased. Maya punched Josh in the shoulder.

" Don't act like that wasn't mutually beneficial!You're making lunch," Maya reprimanded.

"Yes ma'am" Josh teased, squeezing her hips.

"It's still really coming down out there," Josh observed, watching the snow fly outside the window. He reached for his phone and opened the weather app.

"They're extending the snowfall warning into tomorrow and it looks like it's only going to kick up this afternoon. If we're going to make a pilgrimage for supplies, we should probably do it now"

"Ugh I don't want to go out there" Maya whined, glancing over at the fast falling snow before burrowing further under the blankets.

"You can stay here if you want," Josh offered. " There's no point us both freezing our asses off"

"No I'll come" Maya stated " I'm not going to make you go alone"

"Be honest, do you just not trust my choice in snacks?"

"All i'm saying is that I once sent you out for salt and vinegar chips and you came back with barbecue peanuts"

Josh rolled his eyes but laughed good naturedly.

" We might as well get it over with. I'm just going to shower and then we can go" Maya offered.

" Alright let's go" Josh said, sitting up and pulling her with him.

"Oh no. This I am doing alone" Maya stated, untangling his limbs from hers.

"Come on!" Josh whined, grabbing onto hand and pulling her back when she tried to stand up.

" Have you seen the size of your bathroom? I don't think we could both physically fit in there"

Josh got a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Only one way to find out"

…..

After a shower that consisted of a lot of bumped elbows and uncontrollable giggles, Josh and Maya got bundled up to head out the door.

"I can't bend my arms!" Maya complained, her limbs so weighed down with layers of sweaters and thick down coats.

"You won't be complaining when I hope this door" Josh remarked as they approached the heavy security door that separated the lobby from the outside.

Maya braced herself, ready for the gust of wind that would come rushing through the door as soon as Josh pulled it open.

"Oh my god" Maya said through chattering teeth as they stepped outside and started down the street.

"I don't know if I'm going to make it" Maya complained, squinting against the snow flying in her face with the force of the howling wind.

"We're only going half a block," Josh encouraged, taking her gloved hand and pulling her forward up the street.

"Think of the pita chips," he incentivized. They trudged forward through the snow, the sidewalks thick with the stuff, not yet trampled down by the masses of pedestrians that usually roamed the streets.

"Shit!" Maya squeaked as her foot slid across a patch of ice. She instinctively pulled on Josh's arm to try to correct her balance and almost took them both down.

"A broken ankle is not on the shopping list" Maya said with a huff. They pushed forward, their final destination in sight.

"I've never been more relieved to see a Trader Joe's" Maya muttered as they stepped through the automated doors and the warm air hit her face.

"Should we divide and conquer?" Josh suggested, knowing they wanted to get in and out as fast as possible so they could really hunker down against the flying snow. Maya nodded.

"You go frozen and fresh and I will get non- perishables. Text me if you get confused" Maya teased, grabbing a cart and heading off in one direction while Josh set off in the other.

Maya made her way skillfully through the aisles of the nearly deserted store, finding everything she was looking for. When she got to the front of the store and saw that Josh wasn't waiting there, she circled back, figuring he was struggling to decide between two different types of frozen pizza.

She found him standing in front of one of the freezers, his phone pressed to his ear.

Who is it? Maya mouthed to Josh as she walked up to him, unsure of the situation.

Kate Josh mouthed back, listening intently to what Maya was sure was an overly dramatic rambling Kate on the other end of the line.

"Kate….Kate" Josh said into the phone, trying to interrupt Kate in the middle of her rant.

"Can I call you back later or something?... Yeah we're just at the grocery store….yeah with Maya. Ok. Ok. I'll talk to you later. Bye"

Josh clicked off the phone call. "Kate says hi" Josh said, sliding his phone into his pocket.

" Is she ok?" Maya asked. Josh rolled his eyes.

"She was going off about about this whole Randall thing"

"What Randall thing? Didn't she break up with him?" Josh nodded.

"She did, but now she's upset that he isn't coming to her party next week."

"Why would he go to that?" Maya asked, extraordinarily confused by the whole thing.

" Because she wants them to stay friends" Josh went on, pulling a bag of frozen dumplings out of the freezer.

"But didn't she pull out his heart and stomp all over it?" Maya asked, thinking of how upset Randall had been a few weeks ago. Maya knew you weren't supposed to take sides in a break up, but she'd always been a lot closer to Randy. She'd spent more time with Rand and if she was being honest, she'd sometimes felt like looked down on her a little. Maybe it was the age difference, or maybe it was the fact that Kate came from immense wealth and Maya had grown up a single mother who was a waitress, but something was always a little bit off. Kate was never down right rude, or even unkind, but she did give off a certain aire.

But Maya never mentioned it to Josh, and he and Kate had been friends all through College and now beyond. So Maya went to Kates parties and the occasional lunch and never complained.

Josh shrugged. " She wants me to talk him into coming, but I don't know. I don't think Rand exactly wants to see her"

Maya nodded.

"Well let's get out of here. You need to make lunch" Josh smirked at her.

"And you're making dinner?"

Maya shrugged.

"You want me to cook twice in one day? That's pushing it" She teased.

"We'll see" Josh replied good naturedly, grabbing Maya hand and pulling her and their cart towards the check towards the check out