Bedroom
All the times Maya imagined herself being in Josh's bedroom for the first time this has never come up. Not that she as willing to look a gift horse in the mouth. All the same it was different. Especially considering he was no-where to be seen, all the times she had imagined being in his room he had most defiantly been there too.
Maya let herself fall back on this bed taking in the scent of his after shave on his pillow. Hands down she knew there was no-one else in this world that would ever smell as good as Josh Matthews.
"Maya" Riley laughed as she came out of the adjoining bathroom, seeing her best friend practically eating her uncles pillow.
"No judgment from you Matthew's" Maya said taking one more good lungful of the scent. It was ok for Riley, Lucas was always there, in sniffing distance. More than willing to hold her hand and kiss her. Maya could go weeks without seeing Josh and though he had kept his promise and not disappeared on her again that didn't mean that they were together either. And that didn't always bother her because she knew it would happen. She knew that they would have there someday it was just hard sometime, especially when all her friends were currently with there someday. It was hard to always be the third wheel.
"Of course not" Riley said in a teasing voice, she couldn't help it. It was so strange to see her best friend boy crazy. It was even stranger to know that the boy she was crazy over was her Uncle Josh.
"Hey did you hear me pass comment on the kissy noise you sent Lucas down the phone" Maya huffed, watching Riley unpack some of her things in to the dresser draw.
"Yes" Riley laughed turning from her task to face her best friend, who was busy looking over her shoulder to see if she could spot anything else in that draw that might belong to the man who's bedroom she was currently in. "I think you said something about not being able to last a week without him"
"What do you know" Maya huffed.
"Maya" Riley laughed again. She knew her best friend was happy for her really, she could tell. Not to mention Maya herself had said so much to her a million times, still she knew that she felt out of it sometimes. She and Lucas were still going strong, as were Smackle and Farkle. Maya had broken up with Brice a few months ago and though they were still friends she knew that it wasn't the same. She also knew Maya would never admit to feeling left out, to being insecure about be the last of her friends to experience love and dating. Maya was her best friend and always would be. But the past year and all the drama concerning Lucas had shown them that they couldn't protect each other from every hurt in the world. They just had to be there for each other when the world hurt them.
"I really don't think your getting the enormity of the situation her Riles" Maya said pacing the room "Were in the inner sanctum here, the things we can see, the things can learn" Maya was looking around the room the same was Auggie did that year they went to Disney land.
"You know I stay in here most summers right" Riley smiled, flopping down on her uncles bed herself.
"Not with me you don't" Maya grinned widely, her face full of mischief. This was true although Riley and her family came to visit her grandparents in Philly for a week every summer. This was the first time Maya had been to stay since she was 6, it had worked out well really. Shawn and Kitty had wanted to time to themselves and had decided to use Shawn's cabin upstate for the week. And well her Grandma Amy had always been the more the merrier type so Maya had been more than happy to tag along. Though Riley did wonder if Maya wouldn't have been more pissed out her parents wanting to get rid of her if it wasn't for the fact that Josh was home for the summer too.
"Does Josh even know your coming" Riley asked.
"And where would the fun be in that" Maya smiled, pulling the books out from the shelves reading the titles before pushing them back in. She was full of nervous engry and as much as it was always good to see Josh she wanted him to stay away too. She wanted to learn more about him, what he liked, stories and little quirks she could only find out from his family.
"He's going to flip" Riley laughed. She knew her Uncle was always happy to see Maya, who wouldn't be she was Maya. Still she knew that her best friend did not always make it easy on him and his self imposed someday and something told her Maya wasn't in anyway going to make it easy.
"He'll love it" Maya smiled, coming to sit down by her friend on the bed. "How's Huckleberry?"
"Good" Riley sighed, Maya had been right about one thing she was going to struggling not seeing her boyfriend for a week. Still it had worked out too, while she was in philly with her grandparents Lucas and Zay were heading to Austin for the week with there families too "He's landed and on his way to Pappy Joe's"
"Oh Pappy Jo" Maya chuckled.
"Be nice" Riley smiled, nudging her best shoulder.
"I am" Maya smiled "I love Pappy Joe"
"He's going to call me tonight" Riley said wistfully
"You'll get though this Riles" Maya smiled, her arm going around her best friend "Just think how much fun it will be when you see each other again"
"Maya" Riley said with fake shock as her friend wiggled her eyebrows.
"Who are you trying to kid" Maya laughed as her best friends cheeks flushed pink.
Maya was happy for Riley and Lucas, she really was and honestly she was completely and utterly over that fake feelings thing. Still she couldn't help but feel the odd one out. Everyone seemed to be paired up other than her, don't get it wrong, she knew it was better to be on her own than be with the wrong person. She had leant that from her short relationship with Brice, still it was hard to be on her own sometimes. That was way she had jumped at the chase to spend the week with Riley, to get back to being them without everyone else in the way. Yeah ok so Josh had been a factor too but mainly this had been about reconnecting.
They were growing up but Maya never wanted them to grow apart. She knew things were changing for them all, they were all experience different things and yes it did bother her that she seemed to be last of her friends to get there.
When Riley had turned up at her door 3 weeks ago with a huge lovebite on her neck Maya had laughed and helped her cover it before Shawn or her father had seen it. When Smackle had turned up with one last week she had been shocked. When Farkle had turned up to see them off with one she had been jealous.
Why couldn't see find someone like that, someone who wanted her like that. Why couldn't the one she wanted, want her. She and Brice had done things, they kissed and held hands and in had been nice. But that was it, nice. Not passionate or burning or anything she had really felt in that first kiss with Josh all those months ago. It had been good and they were friends and that was the best thing really cause they both agreed they weren't right for each other.
The same went for her and Zay, they had had dates, that weren't really dates. They always had fun together and he was always there to help her tease Riley and Lucas. It would make sense for them to be together, for feeling to develop but that just didn't seem to happen. And then there was Farkle, wonderful crazy Farkle who had and always would be her best guy friend in the world. He had seem to have found his other half way before the rest of them. She could imagine him and Smackle growing old together. At this point she was honestly starting to this that there were something wrong with her.
"Ok" Maya said jumping up from the bed, she didn't want to think about that. She didn't want to worry about how Josh would react when he saw her. They had been in contact, they had text and emailed and she had seen him on the odd occations when her had randomly turned up to the Matthew's but that had been it. They had not held hands since that night. They had not shared another kiss, they hadn't even talked about the kisses that they had shared that night. And though she knew he wasn't mad at her and that he wasn't seeing anyone at the moment she wasn't 100% sure how happy he would be to see her in his room. "If I was the really good stuff where would I be"
"Bottom dresser draw" Riley smiled, jumping up to join her friend. Clearly Maya was fixed on finding out what she could about her Uncle and as much as she loved Josh, Riley was not about to pass up an opportunity to get one up on her slightly older uncle.
"Good thinking Batman" Maya said as both girls made a grab for the drawer.
The dresser hadn't really given them at anything. Although Maya had the thrill of coming across Josh's underwear draw (Riley had had to catch her briefly when the view of Josh's underpants caused her to think of him wearing nothing but them)
"Steady girl" Riley smiled.
"How can you be so calm" Maya huffed, frustrated that so far they had found zip. Not that she was 100% sure that she was actually looking for. Some sign maybe that she had made a difference in his life. That she mattered somehow. That he thought about her between the text massages and the emails. She mocked Riley for not being able to make it though a week without seeing Lucas but that was because she knew that she would find New York strange without Josh in it for 2 months. She honestly didn't know how she had become so pathetic. He was just a guy right. A handsome, smart, funny, amazing guy…that got her in a complete tangle.
"Again" Riley signed "I stay here a lot"
"Oh yeah and what if this was Lucas' room" Maya pointed out, because as much as Riley and Lucas relationship was heating up Maya knew that she had not been in Lucas' room. Something that was defiantly a big deal for her best friend. She was a romantic and Maya had no doubt that when her friend was ready Lucas was going to be her first. Maya was a little more realistic about these things. She understood hormones weren't always the same as love. She had enjoyed kisses with other guys besides Josh. From what she gathered Josh had enjoyed a lot more with other girls. Still she knew her mind enough to know that she wasn't ready for that yet.
"Then I would be looking under the bed" Riley said dropping to her knees on the floor.
Under the bed proved to be more enlightening that they had first thought.
"Ok…this is embarrassing" Riley said her cheeks flushing as she pulled out playboy magazine from underneath her uncles bed.
"Guys really like this type of thing" Maya said opening the magazine, turning the page around wondering if it was even possible to get in that position.
"I guess" Riley said, tilting her head too.
Maya didn't look anything like the women in Josh's magazine. These woman were all boobs and shapely legs and older.
There was no wonder Josh was all about this Someday crap. She wasn't mature enough for him now. He was a 19 year old college student, how had she been stupid enough to think he would be happy holding hands and hanging out. He wanted someone how knew how to kiss and touch him. Someone who would have sex with him. Someone who wasn't her.
"Maya" Riley asked in a small voice.
"What's wrong honey" Maya said distracted from her own insecurities by Riley's upset.
"You think this is what Lucas wants" Riley said looking at the woman on her pages, weighing up exactly what she had that Riley didn't.
"Lucas is crazy about you" Maya insisted, pulling the magazine away from her friend.
"I know but…" Riley stated
"No buts" Maya huffed stuffing the magazine under the bed again "You are amazing Riley Matthew's. You have the biggest heart in the world, your body is banging and your eyes are incredible"
"We'll I do have nice eyes" Riley smiled, feeling her cheeks blush at her friends kind words.
"See" Maya said pulling her friend into a hug "Ranger Rick is Dumb but he's not stupid"
"You never going to give him an easy time are you" Riley sighed, though she had to admit that Maya was always going to the there to make sure Lucas knew just how lucky he was to have her.
"Never" Maya smiled, pressing a kiss to the top of her best friends head.
"What are you guys doing" Auggie said entering the room.
"Nothing" Both Girl's answered at the same time, frantically pushing the magazine back under the bed. No way did Auggie need to see that.
"Girls" Auggie huffed "Do they get any less confusing" he asked his uncle who was entering the room behind him.
Josh Matthew's took in the position of her Niece and her best friend. The saw there flushed cheeks and it didn't take much putting together.
"MA!" He yelled.
Ok so Maya would feel bad in the years to come that she had invaded Josh privery, and not only because he wouldn't talk to her for the first 2 days of the trip but because she had let herself believe that Josh was someone different than that he was.