Leaning back in her armchair, Maya propped her feet up on her desk. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," she said into the phone.

"I am. But I really miss you," Lucas said. She could hear a lot of noise in the background. "We should take a trip here someday, together."

"I can't wait to see what there is in good ol' Tex. Besides farm animals and people who tower over me."

Lucas laughed. "I'll call again in a few days," he said.

"Tip over a cow for me," Maya said.

"That's inhumane," Lucas argued.

"Then eat some authentic smokehouse ribs for me," she said.

"Glad to do so," Lucas said. "I love you."

Maya squealed inwardly, the way she did whenever he said that. "I love you too." They hung up.

I love you, I love you, I love you. The squeal she'd been suppressing found its way out of her mouth. When she realized what she was doing, she rolled her eyes and smacked herself on the head. "Stupid Maya," she told herself. She didn't stop smiling though. She stood and took her cowboy hat off the hook where it hung on the same wall where her desk was stationed. It was her one month anniversary gift from Lucas. He had it airbrush decorated in her style: the front rim of the hat was New York City on a hot day in the spring, the back was NYC at night. The top surface of the hat was a street view of the city with her favorite quote from Alicia Key's song "New York" – "Concrete jungle where things are made of, there's nothing you can't do."

"I wonder what happened to the first cowboy hat he put on my head.." she wondered aloud. She thinks back to their sophomore year History class, when they were studying the history of the Old West. Lucas had taken it in stride, acting a lot cheesier than he usually was….

[FLASHBACK]

She felt the hat before she saw it. "You're in my territory now," a voice drawled. She knew that exaggerated accented anywhere. Maya looked behind and up at Lucas, who, for the fourth day in a row, was decked out in his "Texas" clothes: worn jeans, red bandana and shirt with little cows on it, and a real, honest, cowboy hat that he wore when he worked on the ranch in Texas. She was going nuts.

"It's okay when I point out your heritage to make fun of you," she told him, slamming her locker door, "but this flashy Texas pride is really getting on my nerves." He smiled widely and bent down to be level with her face.

"Now don't tell me the little lady is getting tired of our game," he teased her.

"Save the sweet talk for Riley," Maya replied.

"Someone getting nervous that she's falling for the gentleman?" he asked. Maya rolled her eyes. He tapped her on the nose, scrunching up his face in a smile that should only be reserved for baby bunnies. She punched his arm in response, as hard as she could. "Ow!" he exclaimed, rubbing his arm.

"Tex don't mess with New York!" Maya proudly declared. She took her hat off and started dancing down the hall, bursting into the chorus of "New York" by Alicia Keys. "Concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there's nothing you can't do," she sang. She tossed Lucas his hat like a Frisbee. Lucas laughed and followed her down the hall to their history class as the bell signaling five minutes until the next class rang.

"See? You understand heritage pride too Miss NYC," he said. She shrugged.

"I was born in this city," Maya said. "I was born to this city."

"You'll understand then," Lucas said, growing serious, "how important it is to carry it with you, how much a part of you it is." He held Maya's hat like a precious relic. "You might think it's just a silly hat, but for me," he paused and shrugged. "I'm carrying the history of my family, of my home. It means everything to me." He looked at her wondering if she would make a joke.

Maya kept a calm composure and nodded slightly as her insides did a happy dance. She teased Lucas from the moment she'd met him, but she never expected she would find herself genuinely interested in his Texas pride, or even genuinely interested in being his friend. He didn't know it, and she didn't acknowledge it openly, but her jokes, over time, had become a subtle prodding for him to talk about his Texan roots.

"You know," she said as they reached their classroom, "now that you mention the hat, you look a lot better with one on." Lucas smirked at her, ready to comment on how she liked his appearance. "Because I can do this," she said, and she pulled down the brim of the hat to block his face. "Much better," she said. "Now be a gentleman and open my door."

[END FLASHBACK]

Maya took off the hat and held it as she had seen Lucas had. She smiled, knowing that moment would always be one she remembered as a stepping stone to seeing Lucas in a romantic light. Something suddenly occurred to her, and she grabbed her phone to send a text. What happened to the hat you put on my head during the Old West week our sophomore year?

Her phone rang with Lucas's favorite Rascal Flatts song ringtone a few minutes later. She smirked at his haste and read the message.

I gave it to you for our one month anniversary, redecorated.