Maya's POV

I needed to be prepared for this. I picked up a hot dog from the street cart on the corner since I forgot about getting food. I didn't even bother with condiments. I was just eating it out of necessity. I used to love food. Now I just eat so my drinking won't make me sick. I've never puked from drinking. I guess that's because I'm Irish, and maybe the fact that Jameson is Irish whiskey helps too.

After finishing my hot dog I unpacked my liquor store supplies. One bottle of Jameson. One bottle of Sparkling water. One bottle of butterscotch schnapps. One bottle of orange juice.

I grabbed a large shot glass and a regular glass and prepared my favorite shot. Some people call it a mcgriddle shot or a mcdonald's breakfast shot. It's a doubleshot: one shot of Jameson, one shot of butterscotch schnapps, followed by an orange juice chaser. It tastes like pancake syrup and orange juice.

I knocked back the liquor and gulped down the orange juice. Damn that was good.

I know why she's calling. At least I think I know. I'm gonna need another drink. Make that two.

I made another pancake shot, and after downing that, I made my usual Jameson and sparkling water in a regular glass to sip on during the call.

Ahh, I feel so much better now.

I picked up my phone and called Riley back.

"Maya?"

"Hey Riles."

"Hey. I'm so glad you called me back," Riley said sincerely.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Okay good. I thought you might have called because something happened."

"No, I'm fine. Everything is fine."

Except when a girl says she's fine she's never actually fine.

"How are you?" she asked me.

"Oh you know me, I'm always okay," I lied through my teeth.

Riley's POV

She's not okay. And we're not okay. And we need to talk about it now, before Lucas gets back.

"Maya, we never talked about-" I started.

"I know." she cut me off.

"I think we've put it off long enough." I said.

"Did you tell Huckleberry?" she asked.

"Obviously not, Maya." I answered.

"Why not?" she asked "It's been a few months now. That's a long time to keep-"

This time I cut her off.

"Because I haven't even talked to YOU about it yet. How can I possibly tell him anything if we haven't talked this out yet ourselves?" I countered.

This is why we need to talk about it and we need to talk about it now.

"I know you wanted time or space or whatever, and I gave you that, but I can't go on pretending like nothing happened," I said.

"Okay," she said.

"Okay?" Like is that all she's going to say?

"Whatever you want," she said, like she always used to.

"Why did you leave?" I asked her.

"To avoid this conversation that we're having right now," she answered.

"And you wanted to avoid it for the past three to four months? Why?" I asked.

…silence…

"Maya? are you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Well?"

Maya's POV

I was right. I thought this was the reason she called, and it is. The last time we saw each other was when she came back for my mom's funeral a few months ago. I was a mess. An emotional, impulsive, reckless mess. And I made such a mess of everything. And then I ran away. Because I was already barely holding it together, you see, and I just couldn't bare to hear her call it a mistake.

Riley's POV

I can't believe she's still avoiding this, even now. I waited. She eventually answered.

"Because I was a mess. I couldn't even sleep that night. I held you and listened to you snore-"

"I do not snore," I corrected her.

"Oh honey, you snore."

"Do I really?" How did I not know this.

"Hasn't Ranger Rick ever told you that?"

"Lucas doesn't spend the night. We both share our dorms with a roommate. It's against the rules, not to mention awkward," I explained.

"So how do you…um…?"

Is she really asking me what I think she's asking me?

"Well we really haven't had that many opportunities to," I replied.

"But you two have done it right?" she pressed.

"Yeah, sometimes, when I know my roommate is going to be gone for awhile, I tell him to come over. And we do it, and then he goes back to his room."

Maya's POV

Omg. gross. Why did I even ask? Ew! Please get this Rucas sex visual out of my head. I've never puked from drinking but I might puke from this. I gagged.

Riley's POV

Did she just gag?

"Um, Maya?"

Maya's POV

I cringed. "Wow, Riles. That sounds so romantic."

"Fuck you and your sarcasm." Wow, Riley's mouth has gotten dirtier. I like it.

"Well if you insist, darling," I flirted. Maybe I had one drink too many before this phone call.

"I already did. I already fucked you and you left and that is literally what we are talking about right now Maya, can you focus please?" she said, frustrated.

"Okay, sorry. Well as I was saying, you were snoring-"

"Yes. I'm a Snorlax. Go on," she remarked.

Okay, here goes.

"I watched you sleep and I just kept imagining you waking up in my arms instead of his and I was afraid that when you opened your beautiful eyes…" I sighed.

"What?" she coaxed.

"That I'd see regret in them, and I couldn't handle that Riles. Not at that moment anyway. I couldn't take that chance. I'm sorry that I just left you like that without an explanation. You don't deserve to be treated that way. I just hope you can understand."

Riley's POV

I had a feeling that was why. This is a typical Maya move. Do something incredible that changes the dynamics of our relationships and then run away scared. She's been doing it ever since she first kissed me in the bay window in 8th grade and then ran away to Shawn because she was afraid of my reaction.

"I understand," I said.

"You do?"

"I'm relieved, honestly," I admitted.

"You are?"

"I was afraid that you were avoiding me because you hated me," I revealed.

"Riley, I could never hate you," she said, emphatically.

"But you would have every right to. We were drinking. You had just suffered a tremendous loss. I wanted to comfort you. I wanted to take your pain away. But getting so close to you, while we were drinking, with our emotions running high, that was irresponsible of me. You were vulnerable. I shouldn't have-" she cut me off.

"Stop. Don't ever say that you shouldn't have. I don't care if it was right or if it was wrong. I don't regret it," Maya said.

"I don't regret it either, Peaches. But I do care about whether it was right or wrong."

"Of course you do. You wouldn't be Riley if you didn't," she said.

"I never meant to wrong you," I said

"I'm not the one you wronged this time," she replied.

Well, she got me there. After a few moments of silence she said,

"Listen, honey. I want you to ask yourself the real reason why you haven't told Lucas yet, and call me back when you have the answer for me, okay? I gotta go," Maya said, and then she ended the call.

I guess I have a lot to think about. *sighs*