AN

That wait wasn't so bad was it? I don't usually put chapters up this close together, so make sure you didn't miss chapter 9! Wow. Thanks so much for the feedback on the last chapter. I feel like the joshaya shippers might start revolting! Hang in there guys! Fun fact: The song Maya and drunk Josh were dancing to was "Everyday" by Ariana Grande. Enjoy another chapter in which Lucas says naughty things in french.

Chapter 10

A swirling melody played across the canyon as the cool wind grew stronger. Riley and Lucas were still cuddled up in the bed of his truck, currently engaged in an intense battle of thumb wrestling.

"Favorite movie?" Lucas grinned and attempted to trap Riley's thumb under his. She playfully stuck out her tongue at him and dodged his thumb, her fingers may be tiny, but they were fast.

"Singing in the Rain," she lifted her head from his shoulder and bit her lip in concentration.

"I've never seen it."

Riley gasped, "It's a classic! How have you not seen Signing in the Rain?"

Lucas used her moment of shock as a distraction and successfully pinned her thumb down. "Got ya!" He teased. "I don't know, I've never really watched a classic movie before."

Riley rolled her eyes and freed her thumb. "Well one day we will have a classic movie marathon together. You are missing out on some of the greatest films in history."

"Sounds like a date to me." He gave her a wink as his lips curled up into a grin.

"What about you? Huh QB one? What's your favorite movie?"

Lucas shook his head at at her, "I thought we agreed to no stealing questions, I already asked that."

Riley rolled her eyes, "Fine. What is your go to movie snack?"

"Popcorn and a blue ICEE. And for the record, my favorite movie is Toy Story. When I was little, I used to be convinced my toys would come to life. I would try to hide in my room to catch them in the act."

Riley giggled, "and did you?"

"No. Those little bastards were too sneaky."

Riley's giggle turned into a full on laugh.

"Favorite singer?"

Riley wasted no time with her answer, her tone shifted from lighthearted to drop dead serious. "Beyonce."

Lucas was slightly taken aback by the change in Riley's voice. "Really?"

Riley raised her eyebrows at him, almost daring him to challenge her. It was a look she saw her mother frequently use on her father. "She is the queen of the universe. Don't even try to deny it."

Lucas shook his head and smirked, "Whatever you say City Girl."

Riley playfully glared at him. She did not mess around when it came to her love of Beyonce. She took a moment to think of a good question to get under his skin a little. "What physical feature is a turn on for you?" Her own words surprised her, wait what? Where did that even come from?

Lucas bit the inside of his cheek. Oh so she wants to play dirty again? His wolfish grin reappeared and Riley knew her plan had backfired. His hands slipped down to her hips and he pulled her into his lap. "Legs. Especially yours."

Riley's heart quickened at her new position across his lap. Her cheeks burned and she unconsciously shifted her legs back and forth. Be Cool, she reminded herself.

"Really? Why?"

"Nope. It's my turn." Lucas leaned his head down to rest against hers. "What is one thing you've never told anyone, not even Maya?"

Riley bit her lip again.

Didn't she know that little action was killing him? He moved his head away to remove the temptation to kiss her, but his free arm decided to have a mind of it's own and wrapped around her waist to hold her against his chest.

Riley absentmindedly grabbed his hand and continued their wrestling match. "I like to have award show ceremonies for myself, and sometimes I pretend that I'm not there to accept my award, so british or french Riley has to accept in my place." Heat flooded Riley's cheeks as she watched the grin on Lucas's face grow. His meadow green eyes flickered with amusement.

"That is the most adorable thing I have ever heard in my life."

Nice job Riley. Way to make yourself sound like a dork. "Thank you, I think?" Riley mumbled.

"So French Riley huh? Parlez-vous français?"

Riley's jaw dropped. A smooth talking southern boy was one thing, but a smooth talking southern boy who spoke fluent French was another. Her mind instantly went blank and she replied with the only phrase in French she knew, courtesy of a song her mom would jam out to if it ever came on the radio.

"Uh...voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir?"

Lucas smirked and raised his eyebrows at her, "Dormir avec vous n'est pas la seule chose que je veux faire, je veux faire l'amour avec vous, mais ce soir n'est pas le bon moment."

Nothing. Her mind completely betrayed her. He literally could have just told her she smelled like a stinky cat and she would have drooled all over the place. "Uh...bonjour?"

Lucas laughed and kissed the top of her head.

"I had no idea you could speak another language. What did you just say?" Riley continued their thumb wrestling match by trapping his thumb.

"My dad insisted I be bilingual as a kid. He speaks seven languages. I'm fluent in French and Spanish and I know a enough German to get me by."

"That's impressive, but you didn't answer my question. You could have just said a bunch of gibberish for all I know."

His cheeks flushed with a pink tint to them and Riley giggled at his reaction.

"I'm not answering that. Maybe another time, but not now. Ask me something else."

Riley thought about her question. She knew what she wanted to ask, but she was nervous. Her fingers stilled and moved to lace their hands together. "Um...you said earlier I could ask you anything." Her voice was soft, Lucas could barely hear it over the sound of the breeze rushing through the canyon.

Lucas nodded and moved his arm from her waist to her shoulders and ran his fingers down her arm. "Of course." He waited for her to continue, but she didn't. "Riley what is is?"

She looked up at his face. Her eyes were wide and innocent with a sparkle of determination behind them.

"Do you want to kiss me?"

Her question hung in the air. Lucas didn't know how to answer. Yes, he wanted to kiss her, god more than anything, but a part of him resisted. He wasn't good enough for her. She still didn't know about his past and he couldn't bring himself to tell her. Lucas knew as soon as he admitted what happened in Texas, she would never want to speak to him again. At least for now he could pretend that part of him didn't exist. He could live in ignorance and wrap his arms around her and kiss her until the sun came up, but he knew deep down he wasn't meant for her. She deserved a prince, not some anger-ridden cowboy. However the other side of him, the ornery Texas Lucas who had the rally girls begging at his feet, didn't know if he could control himself if he kissed her. Texas Lucas would want more, he wouldn't be able to stop. He'd get addicted to the feeling of her lips on his, the feeling of her soft body against his. Even if she forgave him for his past, what would they be? Highschool sweethearts until graduation? She'd go off to some art school in the city and he'd be somewhere else playing football? But since when has that ever mattered to him? His heart screamed at him, just kiss her.

Lucas hadn't realized he'd been quiet for so long until Riley attempted to pull away from him.

"Riley…"

Her eyes refused to meet his. Crushing waves of rejection caused her entire body to feel weak and cold. "Lucas it's fine. I get it."

"No you don't." He pulled her body back to his chest and brought her chin up to look at him.

"Listen to me. I want nothing more in the world as much as I want to kiss you. But..." Tell her. Just tell her about your past now.

Riley's heart gave a feeble twitch. "But what? Is it because I'm Josh's little sister? Because I'm too dorky?" Her body shook as she spoke and Lucas felt his control slipping.

He shook his head. "No. It's nothing like that..." he paused for a moment, "I'm afraid if I kiss you right now, I'll never be able to stop kissing you."

Riley was positive she must be hallucinating from lack of blood flow to her brain. Her logical side was gone and replaced with daring Riley. She wanted to be brave. She wanted do something bold.

"Who says you have to stop?"

She was playing with fire. He knew she would only break his heart, but in that moment she looked up at him through her long lashes and Lucas's walls crumbled. He didn't care what might happen tomorrow, or the day after that, or even the day after that. When she looked at him like that, there was no way in hell he could deny her anything she wanted. He moved his hand to cup her cheek and brought his lips down to meet hers.

Riley felt like she was flying. Warm sparks flowed through her body all the way to her toes. His lips were soft and gentle. She knew she couldn't be dreaming, there was no way she could ever imagine a feeling like this. Her free hand moved to grasp his bicep, the other lay flat against his chest. Time seemed to stand still, the breeze stopped and the trees were silent. Lucas moved his arm from her shoulders and wrapped it around her waist, then pulled her tighter against him. He pulled away for the briefest of moments before finding her lips again. He gave up trying to control himself as he attempted to ease her lips apart with his. Riley moved her mouth against his until the sweltering foggy feeling began to take over her again.

She slowly pulled away.

Time rushed forward again, the blowing breeze resumed and the sound of the rustling trees returned.

Riley's chest heaved as she attempted to catch her breath. Lucas's eyes were still closed as he pressed his forehead against hers.

Riley's voice was breathy as she spoke, "Wow. I see what you mean."

Lucas chuckled softly and opened his eyes. Her milk chocolate eyes shined at him, and caused chills to run up his spine.

"You have no idea." He move their bodies down to a more relaxed position against the truck. Riley slid off of his lap and laid her head on his chest. Her arm wrapped across his waist in a lazy hug and her hand began to draw small circles against his abs. He kissed the top of her head and let his nose nuzzle into her soft hair. She smelled so sweet, but it was a scent he couldn't quite place. His eyes drifted shut at the relaxing sensation of her fingertips.

"Lucas?"

"Hm?" Lucas could hear her smile in her voice.

"Thank you."

Lucas smiled and tilted her head up to meet his again. His nose brushed against hers, "Even though this just happened, there are some moments you know you're gonna remember forever. This is one of them."

When Maya reached Josh's room again, she found him tangled up in his sheets on the floor next to the bed. She laughed at the sight and shook her head. She knelt down next to him and ran her fingers through his hair. He stirred at her touched and groaned.

"Maya?"

"Yeah, it's me. Come on let's get you back into bed."

He fidgeted around on the floor as she attempted to help him crawl into the bed.

"Mmm….shoes."

"I know, I'll get them off for you, but you have to get back into the bed first."

With help from Maya, he flopped onto his back on top of the bed. She moved to the edge of the bed and started to untie his shoes. Josh wiggled around and Maya let out an annoyed sigh. She finally managed to slide his shoes off and dropped them on the floor.

Josh continued to squirm around the bed. "It's too hot…" he groaned and attempted to take off his shirt. Maya grabbed the hem of his shirt and slid it off before he accidentally strangled himself with it, her fingers grazed his chest in the process.

Josh moaned. "Maya...you have to know…."

He tried to sit up in the bed, but Maya eased him back down. "What do I need to know?"

"I couldn't do it…she wasn't you...wrong hair...weird nose…I'm sorry Kitten...so sorry." His fingers fumbled with the button on his jeans. "Hot…" He mumbled.

Maya swatted his hands away and undid the button for him. He shoved down the waistband and kicked the jeans the rest of the way off, leaving him in his dark boxer briefs. "You're so amazing Kitten…Did you know that?" He grabbed onto her arms and pulled her next to him on the bed. "I don't know what's happening to me."

"That's because you're drunk." Maya answered.

Josh shook his head, his words were still slurring together. "Noooo Maya...I want you. Can't stand seeing you with...with him."

Maya froze. The world around her came to a crashing halt. The room was spinning and she wasn't even the one who had been drinking. She couldn't do this right now. Not like this. Not when he was drunk.

Josh closed his eyes and hastily grabbed a pillow and covered his face. His drunken ramblings continued on, "Ima coward Maya. Ima coward and I'm in love with you and I can't even tell you." He curled onto his side and clutched the pillow to his chest.

Tears burned in her eyes. The words she never thought she would actually hear, words that haunted her dreams, words that she buried deep down in the dark next to her daddy issues and evil ballerina nightmares, were coming out of his mouth...but he was drunk and probably wouldn't remember a thing in the morning. He didn't mean it. She knew there was no way…

She stood from the bed, as his hand reached out to find hers.

"Baby, don't leave me. Don't go."

A silent sob shook Maya's chest and she covered her mouth with her hand. She didn't know what to do, or what to say. So she ran. She hurried out of his room, making sure to close the door behind her, and darted across the hall to Riley's room. She was surprised to find it dark and empty. Her parents would be home any minute, where the hell was Riley?

Maya brushed her tears away as she sat on the bed and pulled out her phone. She had no texts or missed calls from Riley. She quickly dialed her number, but it went straight to voicemail. Great her phone is dead. She sent a text to Zay asking if he got home safe and then sat against the pillows for a moment and tried to process what had just happened.

She wasn't lying when she told Zay she had a good time with him. He had always been upfront with her about how he felt. He didn't send her mixed signals. He wanted to be with her, she knew he did. Their moment in the living room proved it. He almost kissed her, and she almost let him.

Tears began to fall from her eyes again.

Why did she almost let him kiss her? Her heart knew the answer. She felt hurt and betrayed. Watching Josh make out with Victoria was like a knife in her chest. She had never kissed anyone other than Josh. She wanted to know what it felt like, even if it wasn't fair to Zay. She wanted to know what normal love was supposed to feel like. Zay always had a special place in her heart. He made her laugh and was always ready to be there for her when she needed him. He was the safe and logical decision to her. It would be so easy.

But that couldn't compare to how Josh felt to her. He felt like home, like a cozy sweater on a cold day, or a warm teddy bear in the middle of a storm. Between his electrifying kisses and his fiery demanding touch, he drove her insane on a regular basis. He knew how to challenge her, and he sure as hell wasn't afraid to. When other guys cowered away from her bold flirty determination to get what she wanted, Josh knew how to put her in her place. He would give in to her big pouty doe eyes on occasion, but usually just to humor her. Tonight everything changed.

Josh was right, he was a coward. Then again, maybe that made her a coward too? Her mind told to do the smart thing, but her heart was having none of it.

Her tears turned to sobs. She curled up on Riley's bed and cried harder than she ever had in a long time.

She faintly heard hurried footsteps on the stairs. She felt relief now that Riley was home. The door to Riley's room cracked open. Maya wiped her tears and sat up in the darkness.

"Riley?"

The sound of birds chirping tickled Riley's ears. Even with her eyes closed she could tell her room seemed brighter than normal. Maya must have left the window open again. She groaned and buried her face into her pillow, but something didn't feel right. Her pillow felt stiff and it didn't fluff around her head like it normally did. Her pillow suddenly squeezed her back.

Riley's eyes shot open.

She wasn't in her room. She was outside at the canyon, in the bed of Lucas's truck. They somehow managed to end up laying on the hard metal surface. Lucas was laying on his back. He had one arm under his head and the other wrapped around her. Riley's head was cuddled on his chest with one leg resting on top of his. She attempted to sit up, but his arm pulled her back into him.

"Lucas! Wake up!"

He groaned and buried his head into the softness on his chest. His back was killing him.

Riley shook his chest, desperately trying to free herself. "Lucas! Seriously wake up!" She broke free of his grasp and immediately reached for her phone in her pocket, only to find that it was dead.

Lucas finally sat up and rubbed his eyes, "Riley?"

She was beyond frantic at this point. "Oh my god. We stayed out all night."

Lucas groggily looked around and his mind finally caught up with hers. He jumped up from the truck bed and lept over the side, gracefully landing on his feet. "Come on, I have to get you home."

"Oh my god. Oh my god. My parents are going to kill me." Riley stood up and ran her hands through her hair. This was it. She was officially a dead woman. She hoped Maya would write her a nice obituary for the newspaper. Maybe her father would show her some mercy? Maybe he would just lock her in a tower for the rest of her life? Riley pictured herself in a Juliet-esque purple gown with long hair braided down to the floor. She would spend the rest of her life sitting in her bay window, waiting for a prince to…

"Riley, come on!"

Lucas's voice brought her back to reality. He was waving his hands at her from the end of the truck bed. He quickly lifted her from the truck and set her on the ground before hastily slamming the tailgate shut. Riley sprinted around the truck and climbed into the passenger seat, not bothering to wait for Lucas to help her like he usually did. The truck engine revved to life and Lucas sped away from the canyon, back down the tiny dirt road. Riley glanced at the clock, it was already six in the morning. I'm dead. I am sooooooo dead.

Lucas tore through the town and prayed the sheriff didn't catch him speeding back to Riley's house.

"Riley, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to...my phone was in the cab, we couldn't hear it."

Riley shook her head. "It's not your fault. We lost track of time and fell asleep. It was an accident."

Lucas pulled up to her house and killed the engine.

"What are you doing?" Riley asked as she watched him unbuckle his seatbelt.

"I'm walking you inside. I'll talk to you parents. I'll tell them this was all my fault."

Riley put her hand on his arm to stop him. "Lucas stop, I appreciate the gesture, but I'm afraid it will only make it worse. I need to do this by myself. Maybe they don't know I'm gone?"

"Are you sure?"

Riley nodded and moved to open her door, but hesitated. On a whim, she turned back to Lucas and leaned across the seat to give him a quick peck on the lips. She bit her lip as she pulled away. "Just in case they never let me out of the house again."

Lucas grinned and reached to pull her in for another kiss, but she was gone before he could. He watched her run across the yard and disappear to the back of the house. He leaned his head back against the seat and ran his hands through his hair. "Riley Matthews…." he let out a long sigh, "...what have you done to me?"

Riley crept through the back yard, the house looked quiet and peacefully from the outside. Maybe they really hadn't noticed yet? She tentatively turned the knob on the back door and crept inside.

The room was dark.

Relief washed over her tense body and she let out a breathe.

A voice cleared it's throat and Riley's heart sank. Her mother was sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for her.

"Mom, I can explain."

Topanga held up her hands. "Well by all means, please do."

Riley hesitated. It felt like she was being set up, but she decided to roll with it. "Right…" Her voice squeaked as she spoke, "I went to see Maya. She wanted me to spend the night." Nice one Riley. Real believable. She mentally rolled her eyes at how pathetic she sounded.

Topanga nodded understanding, "Right of course. And I'm sure you just got cold and decided to borrow a sweatshirt?"

Her pulse quickened, "r-right."

Topanga's voice was calm, too calm. "I didn't know Maya happened to be such a big Texas Longhorns fan. Tell me when did she get a truck with Texas plates?"

Busted.

Riley looked down and winced. She was still wearing Lucas's hoodie. "Mom, it's not what you think..."

"Riley Rhiannon Matthews. I am one of the top attorneys in the state. You have exactly twenty seconds to tell me the truth, and don't you dare try to lie to me again." Topanga's eyes were menacing. Riley finally understood why her dad sometimes called her Godzilla.

"It was an accident I swear. Lucas and I went to the canyon after the game, just to talk. We lost track of time and fell asleep."

"So you spent the entire night with a boy?"

"Nothing happen. It was innocent, we were just talking. My phone died. I'm sorry Mom."

"Do you have any idea how worried we were? Do you have any idea the pain you put us through? It's a parent's worst nightmare to come home and not find their child in their bed. And then for you to try to lie to me about it? We raised you better than that Riley."

Riley looked at the ground. She felt horrible. "I know, I'm sorry. Does Daddy know?"

"Yes. He was too upset to speak with you."

Tears filled the brims of her eyes. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"Your father and I are very disappointed in you."

Riley sniffled, "I know."

"You're grounded for two weeks. No phone. No car. No Maya and especially no Lucas. Your father and I already called his parents to let them know about this as well."

Riley knew she was being set up. She should have known her mom would already knew where she was and who she was with.

"Mom that's not fair! It was just an accident, it wasn't Lucas's fault!"

Topanga shook her head, "Life isn't fair Riley. Phone?"

Riley pulled her phone from her pocket and placed it in Topanga's waiting hand.

"I already gave your car keys to Maya. She can keep them while you're grounded. She'll need a way to get around without you."

Topanga stood to leave the room, but Riley's small voiced stopped her in the doorway. "I'm sorry Mom. I know I let you and Dad down. Please tell him I'm sorry. Please don't let him be too mad at Lucas, nothing happened."

Topanga doubled back and pulled her daughter into her arms. "We love you Riley, no matter what. Let this be a lesson to you and don't let it happen again okay?"

Riley nodded into her mother's arms. "It won't. I promise."

Riley waited for her mom to leave the room and listened for the sound of her bedroom door closing, before sprinting into Josh's room.

She slipped through the door and immediately shook her brother awake. "Josh! I need your phone! Now!"

Josh groaned and rolled over. "SHHH! Riley go away. My head is killing me."

"Please Josh! I need you phone!" Riley pleaded.

He covered his head with a pillow to muffle the sound of her voice. Every word made his head feel like it was going to combust. "I don't know where it is. Check in my jeans."

Riley dove to the floor and dug his phone out of his abandoned jeans. She fished it from his pocket and immediately opened a message to Maya.

Peaches, it's Riley. 911. Parents took my phone. We have to use Josh's.

She sent the message and opened another to Lucas.

Lucas, it's Riley. My parents took my phone and they told yours what happened. I wanted to give you a heads up. I'm so sorry if they got you in trouble.

She put Josh's phone on his nightstand and plugged it in for him. "Thanks bro. You smell terrible by the way. You should take a shower before Mom and Dad come in."

Josh sat up in his bed and instantly regretted it. The room spun and suddenly he had twin sisters. He covered his face with his hands and groaned.

"Geez Josh, how much did you drink last night?"

He hissed at the volume of her voice. "Too much. Way too much." He uncovered his face and glanced around the room. "Is Maya here?"

Riley shook her head. "No. That's why I needed your phone. Mom and Dad took mine."

"Why did they…"

Riley thought she heard footsteps again. She sprinted to the door and whispered over her shoulder, "seriously, go clean up before they ground you too."

She ran back into her room and collapsed on her bed. Well, at least I'm not dead right?

Lucas noticed his phone vibrate as he climbed out of his truck. He furrowed his brow, why would Josh be texting him this early? He glanced at the message and realized it was from Riley. He felt terrible. Her parents took her phone away and probably grounded her and it was his fault. He should have been paying attention to the time. He shouldn't have left his phone in the cab. He should have set an alarm and taken Riley home before her curfew. He knew if he hadn't given into his heart, if he hadn't kissed her, she wouldn't be in trouble. Although, he couldn't hide his smile as he remembered their kiss at the canyon. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. When their lips touched it was like the world shifted into place. His mind was clear and he knew exactly who he was. Kissing her made him realize he wanted to be her prince charming. He wanted to hold her in his arms and never let go. He didn't care if he had to give up playing football for the rest of his life, he would do it if it meant he got to kiss her just one more time. He thought about the quick kiss she gave him in his truck too. It was such a sweet and innocent gesture. It was just so...Riley.

Lucas walked into the kitchen and was met with his father sitting on a stool at the large marble island.

"I spoke with Mr. Matthews. I hope your little night out got her out of your system. Go change, we have a workout to do. You owe me five miles before we get started."

"Yes sir."

Lucas climbed the stairs to his room and thought about what his dad said. Did he get Riley out of his system? Absolutely Not.

AN

Soooo….I know the joshaya shippers are suffering right now, I've made all of you virtual internet cupcakes to make up for it. Keep holding out for the next chapter, we might get a little glimpse into Josh's head ;)

But can we just talk about rucas for a sec? They finally got their kiss, but Lucas STILL hasn't told her the truth about himself yet AND he's totally falling for her. What a dummy… Also, I do not speak French, so please excuse any grammar issues!

Let me know what you think! What parts stood out to you? I love reading your reviews, and I love replying to them as well! So, if you are a guest reader, think about getting an account so I can reply to you!

Fun Fact 2.0: I Don't Want This Night To End was the original title when this and the previous chapter were combined. All of the titles are the songs that inspired the chapter.

Again thank you times a million bajillion for all of the nice thoughts for my dad, yesterday was his birthday and the only thing he wanted was a fidget spinner so he could see what all of the hype was about, which I think is the most adorable thing in the world.

As always, review, favorite, follow, do all the things!

Lilly.