The game progressed with a few more situations with double meanings that flew past Riley's head. Maya and Riley eventually wound up being partners. Lucas mentioned once again that he just wanted to go home and Maya's smile fell for a second. She was enjoying sitting next to him and didn't want the fluttering sensation in her stomach to stop.
Josh allowed for the new teams to have a five minute break, mostly because he needed his own to relieve himself. Farkle took advantage of the moment to talk about what was bothering his athletic friend.
"You clearly don't like Josh, so what's up, Lucas?"
"I would rather not talk about it. There are just some things I need to work out."
"Such as?"
"Girl problems."
"You like one of our girls don't you? Which one?"
"I won't say. Like I said, I need to work some things out first."
Lucas was lucky that their break was over and the game could begin again. It was almost over when Riley decided to play the Long Game. Lucas complained again, this time it was about never seeing his Mama again. Even though he was serious, Maya smiled at him and nudged his arm with her knee. He smiled back for a moment before a frown situated on his lips.
Eight hours later, after the long game was finished and everyone was running on fumes, the lesson was learned. However, this isn't what Lucas was thinking about as he sat on the subway back to his apartment. That Maya was in it for the long game with Josh. Josh! A boy three years older than her, who lived in another state, and most importantly wasn't him.
Maya was on a similar train of thought as she relaxed next to Riley on her bed. The brunet was fast asleep, but Maya's mind was restless. The long game. Damn the freaking long game. She did understand that Josh was clearly not attracted to her. She saw the frown that marred Lucas' face the whole night. She had hurt him, but he didn't notice that when she mentioned being in it for the long game she was looking straight at the Cowboy and her heart ached a bit when he left a few minutes after.