A/N: Hello everyone. I always planned on coming back to this but I wasn't sure when I would find the time. What honestly brings me back today is a comment I received on December 14th, 2022 from a Guest on the final chapter of Second Dance. To that guest, I thank you for your kind words and the respect you paid Twitch. As a dancer myself, I remember watching his season of So You Think You Can Dance, the show that inspired this entire story of Josh and Maya as dancers, and I was in awe of his talent and it influenced me from such a young age. With that said, I originally planned on this being the last book for Josh and Maya's story. After a lot of deliberation and what I want to tackle with these characters, this is going to have to span longer than just this book. They deserve more and with a tragedy such as Twitch's passing, I want to give us all something warm to hold onto as we navigate a hard time in the dance community. If you made it this far in these stories, heck in this note, I thank you. And I present to you, Step to Step: A First Dance Story.

As anyone else would expect, the wedding day of Joshua Gabriel Matthews and Maya Penelope Hart, would be nothing short of eventful. Yet, the chaos that was surrounding the pair on their special day couldn't seem to faze them. Their relationship has been anything but traditional. From how it started to where it is, is quite funny considering the conditions of which the seed for their relationship was planted. Which made even more sense as to why the couple insisted on sleeping together the night before their wedding.

The light barely peeked through the curtains of their Brooklyn home as it slowly stirred them awake. Josh was the first to fully open his eyes and peeked over at the red numbers on their alarm clock. 9:32 AM. Realizing they'd have to be up soon, Josh took a deep breath and took one last peaceful moment to stare at his beautiful bride. After all she would be stolen from him later on in the morning before he could even drink his coffee. Maya's blue eyes opened and she smiled as she Josh smiling softly at her. She stretched her short pale arm above her head and let out a small yawn as her golden blonde hair lay messily on her head. "Good Morning," she said through her yawn.

Josh's smile grew from soft to enormous as his teeth began to show. "Today you become my wife."

Maya laughed softly and brought her small hand to his face and rubbed the pad of her thumb against his cheek. She stared at his mouth for a moment and whispered, "Yeah. I am."

"Nervous?"

Maya shook her head. "Nope. As long as I have you everything will be fine." Her eyes darted to his. "What about you?"

"Nervous? No. Eager? Yes." Josh sighed and rested his hand on top of hers. "But how are you feeling?"

Maya's other hand darted to her belly which was the same size as it was when she told Josh about her pregnancy a few weeks ago. "Good. No nausea, just kind of here I guess."

"Good. I wasn't sure if you were going to feel sick at all today. Have you told anyone? Besides me, of course."

"No. I want us to sit with this first. Bask in the glory of it all until we get the all-clear or whatever it is people talk about when they first find out they're having a baby."

Josh nodded and took Maya's hand into his. Bringing her hand to his lips, they pressed against her skin softly. "Yeah. We should-"

The door thudded open as Riley's determined face stood in their doorway. "Rise and shine lovebirds!" She briskly made her way over to Maya's side of the bed and began to pull her up. "It is my job to make sure that you two are getting married at precisely two-thirty this afternoon. Maya barely even fought her as she just let Riley pull her up out of her comfy bed. "I let you two spending the night together slide, but you both know that I am a woman of tradition so no more rule breaking!"

Riley's small hand pushed Maya gently in the direction of the bathroom as she started barking orders at them. "Okay," Riley said as she pulled her iPad out in front of her. "You," she pointed to Maya. "Go take care of your morning breath and take a shower and make sure you wash your hair! The stylist needs you to have clean hair for her to work."

The brunette turned to her Uncle. "And you," she said pointedly. "You need to leave the premises immediately. Her dress is on the way and there is absolutely zero chance that I'm going to risk you seeing it before the ceremony."

"But what am I supposed to do until-"

Riley held up a finger to silence him. "I've scheduled for your and your groomsmen to hang out at Dad's until it's time for you to head to the venue. Now go. I don't need you running behind schedule."

Josh didn't even try to argue with her because there was absolutely no way that he'd win. So instead, he followed orders and looked forward to seeing his girl later.

As soon as Riley was sure Josh was gone, she walked into Maya's bathroom and sat on the tub as Maya showered. As Maya scrubbed her scalp vigorously with shampoo, she looked over at her best friend. "Riley?" she questioned. "Why are you sitting on the tub while I'm in the shower?"

Riley cocked her head to the side, completely oblivious to the lack of privacy she was giving her. "What?" she asked, innocently. "I'm just waiting to fulfill my best friend duties."

Maya began to rinse the shampoo out of her hair and frowned. She knew Riley, and in that moment Riley wanted something. "Cut the crap Riley. What are you on about?"

Riley dropped her façade instantly and huffed her chest and crossed her arms. "How much longer are you going to wait to tell me that you're pregnant?"

Maya stopped mid-rinse and stared at her friend. "How do you know that?"

Riley gave her an incredulous look and rolled her eyes. "Please. I knew the second you peed on that stick. We have a psychic connection Maya. You should know that by now." Riley shuffled her feet on the ground from where she sat. "Besides, you're going to need someone to help you dodge drinks tonight. People and more importantly tabloids are going to catch on to your lack of drinking tonight, if I don't help you cover it up."

Damn her. Maya knew Riley was right. She would need her help. Maya continued her shower and rolled her eyes. "I hate it when you're right."

Riley smiled to herself and giggled before jumping back into wedding planner mode. After all there was going to be wedding in just a few short hours and she had to make sure it went off without a hitch.

.:.

The streets were quiet as Josh slowly approached his older brother's home, tux in hand. He felt calm, not a worry or nerve in sight. All he could think about was well- Maya. The beautiful blonde woman that danced into his life a few short years ago. It was crazy for him to think about how far they'd come. From auditions, to dancing together on national television, to filming a movie, and now they're getting married. The morning sun shined on him as he gleefully git closer and closer to the door. Walking up to the familiar door, he swung it wide with open arms. "My brother!" he shouted.

Cory Matthews, turned around, curly hair and all and grinned. "My brother!"

The two embraced as laughter filled the space around them. Taking the moment to look around, Josh noticed every single person close to him was already in the room. In disbelief, he smiled and hugged everyone. "I can't believe you all made it!"

The only daughter of the Matthews' children, Morgan, smiled and flipped her short blonde hair over her shoulder. Ready to tease her younger brother she pinched his cheeks and laughed. "And miss you successfully trick a girl into marrying you? I think not." Feeling a sudden pinch on her arm, she winced. "Ow! I was joking Mom!"

Morgan looked behind her to see Amy giving her a warning look. "Be nice, Morgan." She turned to her youngest son and gave him a big hug. "Oh honey," she breathed. She pulled back and could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. "You're really all grown up aren't you?" She felt the tears start to escape and swatted her son away. "Oh here I go! I'm going to be a mess all day."

Swopping in behind his wife, Alan laughed and handed her a tissue before giving his son a hug. "I told your mother that today would take her for a spin, but no! She never listens to me."

Josh just laughed as he was engulfed with words of love and support from his family. Looking around, he noted one person was missing. His very best friend, Andrew. "Where's Andrew?" he asked as he looked around.

Knowing he couldn't make it through the day without his best man, Topanga swopped in and took Josh aside into the kitchen. "He's on his way," she quelled. She took Josh's tux in her hands and set it aside as she gently brushed off his shoulders. "He's under strict, top secret orders from Riley and is performing his best man duties." She placed her hands firmly on her brother-in-law's shoulders. "And Josh?" His eyes met hers. "Today is going to be perfect."

.:.

Flowers bloomed all around them in every color you could imagine. The aisle was a cobblestone path adorned with white petals thrown by the flower girls earlier on. At the end of the aisle Josh stood tall and proud, as he looked to see everyone rise as Maya soon began her entrance. Smiling to himself, Josh couldn't help but well up with tears as he heard the familiar song play as Maya's eyes met his. The instrumental of Ashes by Celine Dion played and he couldn't help but think of when they danced together to that song.

God it felt like it was ages ago and there she was, making her way to him now. As the moment settled within him, he felt a tear escape his eyes. She was beautiful. Her long blonde hair was framing her face in gorgeous layers that were reminiscent of a bouncy, voluminous blowout. Her face, accented with the most subtle yet powerful makeup to ensure that she felt her most beautiful on her wedding day. Finally, her dress. A simple white dress that hugged her curves and fell past her feet with a very small train. Pinned in her hair was a veil adorned with pearls that matched her shoes. She looked absolutely perfect.

As Maya approached Josh, it felt like time was moving in slow motion. Her lips were adorned in a subtle pink gloss that was very similar to her natural lip tone. Her lips were parted slightly as she felt the air leave her body as she realized what was happening at that exact moment. She was getting married. To her very best friend and it couldn't be anymore perfect. Her eyes traced his body just before they locked eyes. He wore a classic black tux with his hair slicked in the most handsome of ways. Maya clutched the bouquet in her hands with nothing but positivity as she knew in that moment she was so sure of this.

Before they each knew it, they stood in front of each other. Tears in their eyes, smiling wide and staring at each other with so much love. Surprising to everyone, they opted for the traditional vows. They wanted to give their personal ones to each other in private, later. They exchanged vows, cried, exchanged rings, cried some more, and looked to their officiant with glee as they said what they'd been waiting to hear all day. "It is my honor to present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Matthews! Joshua, you may kiss your bride."

Josh grinned and swopped Maya into his arms before dipping her. "Don't mind if I do," he whispered so that only she could hear. Maya scrunched up her nose in laughter and threw her head back just before their lips met for their first kiss as husband and wife. Pink lips met pink lips as thunderous applause surrounded them as they relished in their moment. Topanga was right, the day was going to be perfect.

.:.

To no one's surprise, the reception was lively with lots of music. Josh abandoned his suit jacket long ago, while Maya traded her heels for white sneakers decorated with those same pearls. They all danced and laughed and lost themselves in the moment. Josh looked around for his best friend, Andrew while Maya danced with Riley and noticed him standing at the bar with a beer in hand. Making his way over to his friend, he slid in beside him and took a swig of his beer. "Corona? Not a bad choice. I'm more of a Modelo man myself."

Andrew rolled his brown eyes and ran his fingers fingers through his dark, coarse curly hair. "Shouldn't you be dancing with your bride?"

"She's fine. She's off dancing with her best friend, which made me look for mine. I was hoping to find you on the dance floor but instead I find you here. What's going on man?"

Andrew and Josh had been friends since they were little. They danced together until they each decided to go their own different paths in life. Josh, obviously continued with dancing while Andrew opted for a different life, a more simple life. Sometimes they each wondered what life would have been like if they switched places. But neither would ever let the other know about their doubts, everything worked out the way that it was for a reason right? But at the end of the day, they always made sure to protect each other. They were like brothers. "Nothing," Andrew whispered. "I'm just really happy for you. You deserve this man."

Josh frowned and nodded to the bartender to hand him a beer as well. "Nah, something's up. And you may not want to talk to me about it now but when you are, I'll be here."

Andrew laughed softly and nudged his longtime friend. "Go enjoy your day man. We'll talk when it's time. You should soak up every bit of this. You never know when you'll experience happiness like this again."

Andrew's words were cryptic and weird to Josh but there was a part of him that knew he was right. He could feel it deep inside of him. This was the calm before the storm, yet Josh couldn't tell exactly what was brewing. So he did what his friend said. He downed his beer and made his way back to his wife and swiftly stole her from his niece. They laughed and danced and twirled with their family and friends soaking in all the good.

They didn't know it now but it was the calm before the storm. It was a good thing that they had each other because things were about to go to absolute shit.

A/N: Excited to be back! Hope you all enjoyed! I also love to hear your thoughts so leave a review!