Chapter 49
"Hey momma." Lucas was holding Brinley and picking up the house.
"Hi sweetheart, so Riley's coming over today huh?" Taylor continued to chop fruit for B's lunch.
"No, why do you think that?"
"You're cleaning, and look frazzled. The only time you look that way is when she's coming over." The green eyed man kissed his little sister and set her down to watch Frozen.
"Actually, Josh and Maya are coming over. Riley's birthday is on the 1st, and she's throwing a party but we all want to do something special for her. So, we're going to brainstorm some ideas." His mother smiled.
"I'm so glad you two are back together." He chuckled.
"Mom, it's been over a month. I mean, I am too but we agreed to just look over that terrible week."
"What about Missy and Charlie?" Lucas hated his name.
"Missy and Riley are pretty great actually. According to Maya they aren't like best friends, but she's coming to her party in a couple days. Charlie, he uh, well-"
"Let it out."
"He needs to get his a-s-s kicked." Taylor laughed at him spelling it out because of Brinley. "He hasn't done anything particularly heinous just flirting and holding her in a hug a little longer than necessary.' Mrs. Friar cleaned off her hands and placed them on his broad shoulders.
"Luke, you should be very proud of her. She's an amazing person to forgive two people who have done her so much wrong." He kissed her cheek. "I'm also very proud of you."
"I didn't do anything."
"You did though. You are tolerating Charlie for her, and you chose Riley. I don't think you know how overjoyed we were when y'all got back together. She's good for you honey. I can see you two in the-"
"Mom." He chuckled.
"No, i'm serious. Don't you? You're a momma's boy, I know you've thought about it." The green eyed man grinned and looked towards the ground with his cheeks flushed. Mrs. Friar clapped her hands. "Honey, YAY!"
"Mom, stop it!" There was a knock on the wooden door and she took a few quick breaths to slow her heart, but she didn't get rid of the smile. "Hey y'all. Come on in."
"Peaches works till 5, so we have like 4 hours." Maya turned around and skipped into the kitchen. "Hi Mrs. Lucas' mom, i'm Maya. Riley's best friend forever."
"Hello Maya. Nice to meet you. Nice to see you again Josh."
"We'll be in my room if you need me."
"Do you want a snack? I can make sandwiches?" The running back didn't say anything, but continued to escort his friends down the hallway into his room. The blonde immediately saw his guitar and had an idea.
"I KNOW WHAT TO DO!" The guys chuckled and started tossing a football across the room. "Y'all i'm serious! This is going to be awesome. Lucas, i'm assuming you play."
"Yes m'am."
"Well, I sing and Josh can play the bass." They continued tossing the pig skin, not comprehending where Maya was going. "We can set up a little stage in the backyard of her house and play some songs for her. You could sing one and I could sing one."
"What about me?" Her blue eyes widened at her boyfriend, he didn't sing very well.
"Oh, you can if you want to." She giggled. "Anyways, we would just need to get her out of the house during the day to sneak everything in. Which, huckleberry is where you come in."
"I've already got a few things lined up during the day. Cake?" Lucas questioned.
Josh raised his hand. "My mom's making a two tier cake."
"Presents?" Maya asked quizzically. "Josh and I went halvsies on a new pair of boots."
"That's extravagant." The blue eyed girl giggled and was sick of the football so she caught it middair. "Hey!" Lucas exclaimed.
"She always goes extravagant for our gifts. So, we have to. Just wait till your birthday."
"Baby, can we play now, please, please, pleeeaasse!"
"We need to find songs honey." The blonde sat in her boyfriends lap and started googling. "Lucas, shouldn't you be doing the same thing?"
"Nah, i've got it already. I just need to know the song you choose today so I can learn it. I only have a few days." She smirked, noticing how much thought he'd already put into this.
"I've got it!"
"Seriously, why did we even need to meet up if you knew exactly what you wanted."
"I didn't until I got here. Don't make me elbow you Josh, i'm in a prime position." She glanced at Lucas and smiled. "This One's For the Girls by Martina McBride. Can you do it?"
"One sec." He grabbed his laptop and stared at the guitar chords on his screen. "I don't see why I couldn't. I'm going to need to practice with you though."
"Sorry Josh i'm busy." He pursed his lips, trying to remember if he said anything.
"I didn't ask you to do anything sweetheart."
"I know, more of a just in case kind of thing." The running back already had his guitar in hand and was practicing. "Hey! Maybe, Topanga would let us all stay the night on her birthday, since we're all going to her application, scholarship party thing the next day." Lucas swallowed the frog in his throat and tried to remain calm.
"Yeah, you should ask 'em." Maya could tell he was excited, she loved that Riley had someone like him. "Josh, we will need you to distract her one day though so we can practice together."
"So, you're telling me i'll have to hang out with my niece? Ugh! Of course I will." Josh laughed.
Maya cleared her throat. "Okay, so her party is on the Thursday the 31st, starting at 10. Well, it's more of a New Years, birthday combo. Anyways, Lucas your job will be to keep her away."
He scoffed. "I'll do my best, but she's going to want to set things up and be in charge. Surprise, surprise." Everyone laughed. "Unless her wonderful bestfriend tells her she's got everything under control and enjoy the day with her boyfriend?"
"You got it Luke. I'll come over on Wednesday to practice, she has to work so that should be fine." The 3 friends were proud of themselves and you could tell from the expressions their faces formed.
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"Hey beautiful. Get dressed!" Riley was laying on her bed after a long day at work, face down when Lucas bombarded into her bedroom.
"Why? Where are we going?" He chuckled and plopped down beside her.
"Even though you look adorable in your work attire, I don't think you'd want to wear that to Sundance Square." The brunette rotated her head to see him.
"Sundance Square?!"
"Yes m'am. I know it's a little chilly but-" The green eyed man was cut off by her hug.
"I've been wanting to go there for weeks. I don't care if it's cold." Lucas revealed his dimples and inhaled deeply, he seemed to fall in love with her more everyday. "Are you sure? Restaurants down there aren't che-"
"Shush, and go get ready." Riley climbed off of her bed and stood at the entrance of her bathroom.
"Yes, you have time to take a shower." Her stomach did flips, it was crazy that he always knew what she was thinking. "That's why i'm here 2 hours before we have to leave." She ran towards him and pushed her lips on his.
"You're one of a kind." Just like that the bathroom door closed, leaving him alone in her bedroom. His smile was contagious, still not believing how wonderfully blessed he was to be with her.
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"You look beautiful. As usual." The brunette smirked at his compliment and looked at the ground. She loved her sweater dress and cowboy boot combo, but Riley loved their date night more.
"Thank you. So, Mr. Mysterious what are we doing down here?"
"Well, I wouldn't really call me Mr. Mysterious." He joked. "I told you we were coming to Sundance Square didn't I?" Riley raised her brows to acknowledge him. "I thought we'd go to PF Chang's and walk to the AMC theatre and let you pick the movie."
The brunette tried to control her excitement. She was excited to spend time with him, and to be in Sundance Square. Riley would be okay with going to their spot and doing nothing, he just liked to show her off. "I'm pretty pumped."
"Good, so how was work today?" The couple held hands as they walked down the lit up streets, covered in Christmas lights and carriage rides.
"Eh, I spent most of the day being mad that you got cut." He laughed. "No big deal though, I need the hours, for college." Lucas opened the door to PF Chang's and were promptly seated. It was a dimly lit, modern restaurant, that the brunette thought smelt heavenly.
"Are you going to cheer?" He asked quizically. The brunette bit her cheek and glanced quickly at her knee.
"No, probably not." His lips seperated. She was so talented, why wouldn't she want to cheer in college?
"Why? You're an amazing cheerleader." The waitress interrupted their conversation to take their drink orders.
"Lucas, don't stress about it. Please, I know how you'll get." He looked at her quizzically, not understanding fully what she meant.
"Riles, you can talk to me about anything. You know that."
"Of course I do." She smiled and waited for Lucas to place their orders, since she had no idea what to get.
"Then why are you afraid to tell me what's going on?"
"I'm not afraid to tell you, I just know what you'll do once I share my secret." He placed his hand on top of hers, but didn't say anything. "With my knee, it probably isn't best for me to cheer anymore."
"Wait, what do you mean? I thought you said your knee was fine."
"Calm down, it is." Her dimples revealed themselves, hoping to chill him out. "But, i'm not going to cheer anymore. So, please don't make a big deal out of this and tell me how amazing I am hoping i'll change my mind."
"But you are amazing." Lucas mumbled. "You're so talented and I just don't get why you wouldn't want to. You love cheering, you said it takes you out of the world you sometimes want to escape." Riley's gorgeous teeth made him smile. She was impressed he remembered that, it'd been awhile since she said it.
"I would love to. But, the doctor recommended I didn't." Her eyes looked like they had glass over them. She took a drink, swallowing her feelings. "Between my ACL, and PCL and now my kneecap is a little loose, it isn't worth the risk."
"What did he say exactly? The doctor at the hospital said two months, and the physical trainers seemed optimistic." She enjoyed the emotions he was expressing, it showed how much he cared.
"Um, basically that ligament fibers stay elongated once they're stretched and i've stretched both ends, front and back. He said I could continue but i'm at an especially high risk to dislocate my knee." Lucas could tell she was extremely upset but tried to hide it. His soft lips touched her cheek. "I'm fine, really."
"No you aren't." The brunette looked down at the black table and shook her head from left to right. "Is that why you didn't come back to school that Friday?"
"Yeah. No offense, but I wanted to be alone."
"I understand sweetheart. He recommended it though, he didn't say you had to stop. It isn't like every girl on your squad is going to drop you on your knee." Riley lightly chuckled, she'd stayed clear of Missy all weekend, the brown eyed girl hated to admit it but, she was pretty angry with her.
"I know that, but in order to avoid the idea of having surgery and, or not being able to walk again it's best I steer clear."
"Sweetheart, you love it so much-"
Riley leaned in and kissed him. "I know I love-"
"You're going to regret not trying." His words rang true, she already regretted the decision but she had to do what's best. "Riles, you can't be afraid to try. Once you find something you love to do, work your butt off to be the best at."
"Lucas, I do. You know how I am, I practice a lot. Practiced, whatever. But, everytime I flip or fly, or even do specific dance moves i'm waiting to hear that pop." Lucas leaned back in his chair still bothered by what she decided. "The noise that brings me to the floor every time."
"Riley, when I first met you, you weren't scared of anything. Nothing intimidated you, I don't want to see you hurt, please don't misunderstand but, this isn't you. Someone telling you that you probably shouldn't do something, would normally push you to do it more to prove them wrong." The brown eyed girl took a deep breath, somewhat regretting telling him. "I want for you, what you want for yourself." Her lip curled slightly, she didn't regret it anymore. He always meant well, even when he was being pushy. "Don't let this scare you, nothing else ever has." The food was placed in front of them and the brunette waited for the waitress to leave before she responded.
"You scare me."
He smirked. "Oh do I? Why's that?"
"Yes, you do." She confessed. "All of your random proposals and what not."
Lucas laughed. "Nice change of subject. I don't regret proposing and I don't regret telling you to rethink your decision to not cheer. In just a few days you'll be able to cheer again, i'd hate for you to miss out on an opportunity in college just because you were to afraid to try."
The couple started eating, and she pondered over his words. It was okay to be a little scared, there was nothing wrong with her being worried at the idea of hurting her knee again. But, she couldn't let that fear overpower her own will. "I'll think about it."
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