Chapter Sixteen: Open Invitation

Riley placed her wine glass down onto the tray table in front of her. The flight had been bumpy to say the least, riddled with turbulence, and she was already incredibly nervous as to what this trip would entail. On one hand it would be exciting to surprise Maya, however on the other, leaving Lucas behind to question her commitment seemed wrong and unsettling. She looked out of the small double-paned window, recognizing the thousands of lights beneath her. They were still as mesmerizing as she remembered, especially cast upon the dark of night, and it was just enough of a comforting sight to relieve anxieties a tad.

Being such a late flight, there weren't many passengers aboard, so luggage seemed to funnel out of the carousel quickly. Hers hadn't made its way down yet though, so Riley took the opportunity to call Lucas and let him know she had made it safely to New York. He wished the girl a fulfilling trip, and described his own plans for the weekend—studying for an exam, repairing a piece of broken fence, and then if he had time he would meet up with one of his cousins downtown for a few rounds of pool. It made Riley feel less guilty knowing that he would at least be occupied. Just as he was saying he loved her, a purple bag dropped and hastily she snagged it, reciprocated his sentiment, and then marched towards the JFK exit to hail a cab.

The elevator ride ascending the building lasted a lifetime within her thoughts…she kept kicking herself for not calling. She should have called, right? How was she to know if her friend would even be home, it was Friday night in New York City, the lively young woman could be anywhere. Riley still had a key to her former apartment, but it would be odd to just let herself inside of a place she no longer lived, wouldn't it? Her face flushed with the embarrassment of being unprepared as the bell dinged and doors opened to reveal that familiar yellow entrance. Thousands of times she had been here before and mindlessly twisted that knob, but this was the very first one where the girl was clueless of how to even approach it. She braved all insecurities, took a deep breath, and clutched onto the handle of her suitcase, rolling it forward. With three gentle knocks, Riley announced her arrival.

"Coming!" Maya echoed out through the barrier. She stood on her tippy-toes to reach the peephole, eyes widening immediately. "Riles?" Simultaneously, she clutched down and swung the door wide open, taking zero beats before throwing her arms around her best friend. "Are you really here right now? I can't believe it!" It was a hug that had been entirely too absent from her life lately, but one that fell into place as if no time had passed. Neither could say how long the hold lasted—fifteen seconds? Thirty? A minute? They were frozen in embrace, savoring it and making up for the numerous that they'd needed within the last two months.

"Gosh, I've missed that," the brunette said, finally separating herself. She held Maya's hands within her own, smiling at the view before her, a face that could instantly take away all worries and ensure her that everything would somehow be okay amongst the chaos. "Able to provide a gal a roof for the weekend?"

Without hesitation, the small blonde grabbed the handle of Riley's luggage and rolled it across the threshold. "Are you kidding me? Honey, I'd be offended if you stayed anywhere else!"

Following the other, Riley's tired long legs stomped boots atop the floor mat and then repositioned her body so that she could hang her coat on that well-known purple hook. Her nose was flooded with the aroma that she'd grown so accustomed to when living there, a rich French vanilla. Maya loved to burn candles, and vanilla was always her favorite. It was beyond soothing to be encompassed by that smell again. However, as she turned around to face the living room, her eyes latched onto an object that she didn't recognize—a person. Perched upon the couch was an entire person that had somehow gone unnoticed when she walked in. "Oh, hi," Riley said awkwardly to the girl, taken by surprise. "I'm so sorry, Maya, I didn't realize you had company over." Definitely should have called, she thought to herself.

"Don't be an idiot, Riles, I'm so glad you're here. And you don't need to apologize, we were just watching a movie." Maya faced the girl on the couch, waiting for her to assure that it was no interruption.

Rising from her seat, the young woman crossed the room and outstretched a hand to Riley. She was dressed slightly edgy, as Maya would dress, but tapered out with brighter colors. Her naturally black hair was pulled up into a deliberately messy bun, and Riley assumed based off of appearances that she was a fellow artist type like Maya.

"I'm Lexi," she flashed a warm grin, teeth perfectly white. "Maya has told me so much about you, and I recognized you instantly from some of her portraits. You're even prettier in person I must say, it's so nice to finally meet you."

"It's nice to meet you as well," Riley returned, though she was semi-perplexed as to how the woman had heard so much of her, whereas she'd heard nothing at all of this Lexi. "Really, I apologize for barging in, I can go stay at my parents' house, it's no problem at all."

Lexi let out a tiny laugh and shook her head. "No, please stay. It's getting late anyway, I need to get home and walk my dog. Small animals tend to pair with small bladders, so I know Theo has to be chomping at the bit by now. You two enjoy your time, I know you must have lots to catch up on." She smiled again at Riley with friendly green eyes, and then circled around to hug Maya, placing a light kiss on her cheek as she released. "I'll call you tomorrow?"

"That sounds good," Maya agreed, before insisting she text her when she made it back to her apartment.

What was going on? Was it just Riley's imagination, or was that exchange a little more than friendly? Whatever it was, it was uncomfortable, as she appeared to be the only person in the room that was out of the loop. Hearing the door shut amidst the girl's exit, the brunette cocked a baffled eyebrow at her best friend and raised arms in question. She was speechless. It was after midnight, her body was exhausted, and all of life around her had turned unrecognizable, both with Lucas and with Maya. Riley wanted nothing more than sleep at that point, and wanted it fast.

Seeing Riley's stunned expression, Maya bit the side of her lip, attempting to piece together her next words. This was obviously not how she'd planned on breaking the news. "So…I'm guessing we both have a lot to talk about?" her voice was apprehensive. "Care to join an old friend in our bay window?"

"Maya," the taller girl exhaled, running fingers through her hair. "I'm honestly just so tired. It's been a very long week, and I do want to talk to you about all of this," she motioned her finger towards the closed yellow door, "and about everything with Lucas. But can we do it tomorrow? I can barely form thoughts right now."

"Of course," Maya guaranteed. Though it was hard not to be disappointed. Riley had shown up on her doorstep after months of not seeing each other, and the first thing she wanted to do was go to bed. She understood she'd made a long trip and that it was late, but the sheer adrenaline of being reunited was enough to keep the artist awake for days. "Tomorrow bay window, then?"

"Tomorrow bay window, then." Riley promised with a wink. She didn't want Maya to second-guess whether or not she was enthralled to see her, but she was in no position for serious conversation. Sleep would clear her mind and give her new energy to take on whatever lied ahead, so it was important to not rush into it on dwindling fumes. Opening her reach, she let the other girl fall into her once more and secured her within her clutches. "I really have missed you, Maya. More than you know."

Once saying goodnight, the two girls walked down the tiny hallway and parted ways. Riley settled her things into her room, and pulled out a pair of silk pajamas, overly eager to remove anything from her body that the plane had touched. As she tucked down on the heavy comforter atop the bed, her eyes caught a glimpse of something striking in the corner of the room—resting on Maya's easel was her sunset. The curious girl dropped the blanket and lowered her weight onto the stool, admiring each detail captured by the paintbrush. It was exactly how she'd witnessed it, but somehow looked even more enchanting on canvas than it did in real life. Riley grazed her fingertips upon each groove, recalling every word that they'd shared to create them. She was taken away by how amazing it was to have such a person in her life that could really listen to every single thing she had said so acutely, and renovate those simple descriptions into a masterpiece. All exhaustion aside, she desired nothing more in that moment than to go tell the other girl how much she loved what she'd painted, and how it was exactly the thing she needed to see in the midst of the mayhem around her. But she knew she'd missed her chance, and that Maya was more than likely drifting into her dreams already—if there was one thing that would never change about Maya, it's that she was an expert at falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. So Riley took one last look, laid down, and said a silent prayer for clarity. Tomorrow would be a new day, and she'd have it all to spend with her friend—aside from all else, she was grateful for that.