Maya's hands wrapped themselves around Josh's arms as she slowly guided him to their living room couch. The pale walls were adorned with photos of the pair and their closest family and friends. "Okay now you're in front of the couch, so sit down."
Josh sat down slowly with a coy grin plastered on his face. He clasped his hands together as he played with the wedding band on his left hand. "Maya what is going on? This is our last night together before I have to go back to work and I was hoping-"
Maya pressed her finger against his lips. "Shush. I'm almost done. Then you can have all the Maya time you want." Josh rolled his eyes as he heard Maya shuffle around the room and loudly move things out of the way. "Okay and open!"
Pulling the blindfold off, Josh smiled to himself as he looked around the room. All the furniture was pushed to the side and all that was left was Maya standing in the middle of the room, grinning. Josh stood and let out a soft laugh. "Why is all of our furniture pushed against the walls?"
"Because."
Josh furrowed his brows. "Because what?"
Maya held up her phone and pressed play. The room instantly filled with music as the couple smiled at each other. "Because," Maya led as she took Josh's hands into hers. "I know you're this big actor and all now, but I can't have you forgetting where you came from."
Josh feigned ignorance and brought Maya closer to him. "Me? Forget my roots? Never." He twirled her around pulled her into his chest. "Besides," He bent down so that his mouth was right next to her ear. "You know I could dance circles around you."
Maya untangled herself from his arms and faced him. "Oh really? Then show me what you got."
The moment felt like a playful callback to their early days. It was almost like they were back in Los Angeles dancing in between rehearsals for the show. In a weird way, life was simpler then. Now, they were plagued by cameras, fans, and this awful thing called distance. It was truly no way to start a marriage but they couldn't wait any longer. After they wrapped up their movie, life changed for the two of them in drastically different ways. Maya's slowed down while Josh's sped up. Maya took a step back from the spotlight and did her best to go back to a normal life.
Meanwhile, Josh sky rocketed to stardom. Yes, he did start out as a dancer but he really fell in love with acting. It was another muse of his. After The Next Step, Josh hit the ground running. Going into audition after audition, hearing no after no until someone finally said yes. He booked a TV pilot that filmed down in Georgia and he was phenomenal in it. The moment Josh booked that pilot, his life changed. He grew more and more famous, but more importantly, he loved what he did. Before he knew it, the pilot was green-lit by the network and it was set to air in just another week, but that meant press and he'd have to be gone for a while.
When Josh was first filming, Maya was able to be down there with him since she was trying to figure her career out. They were newly engaged, still had to plan their wedding and it just wasn't a great time to be apart. So they chose not to be apart. In recent months, Maya was stumbling her way back into the professional dance world. She started out slow. First just taking a few classes to get back into the swing of things, trying to get back to her roots. It felt good to her. To flow and move and contour her body to create beautiful lines to the prettiest of melodies. A few classes as a student turned into one class as an instructor and one class as an instructor turned into several classes as an instructor, and Maya loved it.
They were on opposite ends of this weird spectrum but it was working, for now at least.
As their dancing slowed, they laughed and laughed but grew silent as Maya looked down. Josh tilted her chin upwards with his hand and caressed her face. "What are you thinking?"
"About how much I don't want you to leave."
Josh was afraid of that answer. "I know." Silence fell between them. "Look Maya I don't have to leave now. I can ask my manager to somehow get me out the press tour for the show. I mean we just got married and you're not that far along and I should be here if anything were to happen and-"
Maya's eyes darted up at him with determination. "Oh no. That is not going to happen. You've worked way too hard for this!" She led him to the couch and sat down to look at him. "I will be fine. We have family here. I have work, it's good that I'm finally busy again. It gives me time to feel like absolute shit without having to worry about being your awesome, hot, pregnant wife."
Maya smiled as Josh rolled his eyes. "I just don't want to leave you for a full month."
"We'll be fine baby. We can make it through anything." Maya sighed. "Besides, I don't want you to do anything to potentially mess this opportunity up for yourself. We're young and this is the prime of our careers. It's safe to say that we are juggling a lot. Certainly more than anyone else our age probably is dealing with. You know marriage, and having a kid, and the icing on top of the cake- being famous." She squeezed his hands tight. "This month will be a piece of cake."
Josh grabbed her cheeks and pulled her face closer to his. "I love you," he whispered before closing the gap and kissing her tenderly on the lips.
Maya smiled softly as she licked her lips. "I love you too."
.:.
Looking at himself in the mirror, Josh pressed the palms of his hands down his suit jacket. He wore a simple white t-shirt underneath a dark blue suit. He looked good, he felt good but he missed her. He looked over at the time, 6:52 AM, it read. Thinking to himself, Josh was unsure if she would be up but picked up his phone anyway. Sitting on the edge of his hotel bed, he scrolled down to her contact and pressed the video chat button, praying that she would answer. The hum of the phone filled the quiet room as he waited. The hum abruptly ended as Josh saw the phone call connect.
Maya's soft smile graced the screen as Josh perked up. "Hello, Mr. Matthews."
Josh smirked. "Hello to you too, Mrs. Matthews. I didn't wake you up did I?"
The blonde shook her head. "No, I was getting ready to go in to the studio for a few hours today. I had this piece in my head that I really want to flesh out and play around with."
"I wish I was there to work on it with you."
Maya sighed. "I know. Me too." Silence fell between them as they started to long for each other's presence. "But look at you. All dressed up and snazzy. Are you excited for today?"
The excitement rose up in Josh's body. "God Maya, I still can't even believe this is happening. It honestly feels so surreal. I literally never thought that I would be here."
Maya pressed her cheek against her knee and looked at her husband in admiration. "I'm so proud of you."
Hearing those words warmed Josh's heart. Her support meant a lot to him. He knew that this couldn't be easy. Yes, it was only a month but they were newlyweds and she was pregnant. Something inside of him was just starting to say that maybe he shouldn't be doing this, maybe he should be home. But Maya always supported his dreams and would not be happy if he came home.
Noticing his deep thought, Maya spoke up. "You're not coming home. I'm fine, our fetus is fine, and you need to enjoy yourself. Soak this in. You've earned it." Maya looked away for a moment and turned her attention back to her husband. "I have to go. Andrew offered to walk me to the studio this morning since you're gone."
Josh cocked his head to the side. "Andrew's in the city? I thought he was back in Philly. He never told me he would be around, let alone the fact that he'd be with you."
"I'm sure he just forgot to tell you. He gave me a call last night, but I do have to go. I don't want to keep him waiting. Call you later?"
Shaking the weird feeling that was falling over him, Josh feigned a smile and nodded. "Of course. I love you. Have great day."
"I love you too. Bye baby."
As his phone screen darkened, Josh frowned. Why wouldn't Andrew tell him he was going to be with Maya? Josh knew that they'd been distant over the past few years, but he could trust him. Right?
.:.
The wind was slight as Maya wrapped her jacket tighter around her body. Andrew stood streetside as Maya approached him. "Hey!" she greeted.
Andrew Adams smiled up at the blonde. He held out a hand and gave her a side hug. "Morning," he replied. "Feeling good? I stopped at a bodega on the way here and brought you a bagel." He held up a paper bag and grinned. "It has cream cheese," he coaxed.
Maya laughed. "You had me at cream cheese." She took the bag from him and took a bite. "Ugh. I needed this. Thanks."
"Of course. I have to make sure you're being taken care of while Josh is gone. He mentioned earlier that Riley is flooded with work for school so I figured I stay nearby and be helpful."
Maya smiled. "I appreciate that and I'm sure Josh does too. I actually mentioned it to him this morning and he just seemed kind of weird about it." Concern washed over Andrew's face. "But don't worry." Maya placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I think he's just stressed about everything. He'll be fine. He trusts you."
Their walk to the studio was nice. The weather was not too cool, not too warm. Just right. As they approached the studio, Maya remembered that she had it to herself today so that she could workshop a few things so when she unlocked the door, the room was completely empty. "Wow," Andrew breathed as he walked in behind her.
Maya's blonde hair flipped over her shoulder as she turned to smile at him. "I know right. I'm always amazed when I walk in here. It's a nice place away from all the noise and chaos out there." Maya walked over towards the far wall and set her bag down. She looked back at Andrew, he was so lost in the room. She could see the gears turning in his head. "You can hang around if you want," she called out.
Andrew snapped out of his own mind at the sound of Maya's voice. "Huh?"
Maya gestured around the room. "You can stick around. The studio I mean."
Taken aback by the invitation, Andrew was speechless for a moment. "Really?"
Maya rubbed her hands together and looked around the white walls and wooden floors in the room. "Yeah. Your eyes seemed to light up when you entered the room." She kicked her shoes off and started to warm up her body. "You dance?" she asked as she focused her attention to the mirror.
The pair made eye contact in the mirror as Maya stretched. "I used to," Andrew answered.
Maya stopped her stretching and turned to face him. "Used to? You're like the same age as Josh. Why'd you stop?"
Andrew shrugged his shoulders as he took off his coat and sat down against the wall. "I grew up. Wasn't the most logical decision so I quit. It wasn't going to pay the bills. No offense of course."
Maya shrugged her shoulders. "None taken." She walked over and sat down next to him on the wall. "I get it. Sometimes I wonder if pursuing dance was the right option. Don't get me wrong I love it, I just wish that the way I chose to pursue it didn't involve thousands of people needing to know everything about my life." The brown-eyed man next to her nodded in agreeance. "But I also don't know what I'd do without it. It quite literally gave me everything I hold close to me today. So, I'm grateful."
"Josh is a very lucky man, Maya."
Maya smiled softly. "Thanks." She swiftly stood up and placed her hands on her hips. She thought deeply for a moment before extending her arm to Andrew. "Come on." He looked up at her confused. "You're going to help me workshop today. Normally Josh would but he isn't here and you said you dance so, you're going to help me today."
Andrew grabbed Maya's hand and shook his head. "I don't know Maya. I don't think this is such a good idea. I literally haven't danced in years. I probably should just-"
By this time Maya was already dragging him to the middle of the room. "All I am hearing is excuses." They stood in the middle of the floor. "And I mean this in the nicest way possible, but shut up. Just take off your shoes and dance with me."
Maya's slender body showed no signs of a bump. She was so early on in her pregnancy that no one could tell. Except for Riley of course, who searched her for any signs of a bump every time she saw her. She cued the music and it immediately poured into the space. The tempo was slow and steady, so she let the music guide her body. Nervous, Andrew followed her lead. He guided his hand up her back and allowed her to fall into his arms as she used the strength in her body to propel herself upwards.
They moved in an unexpected beautiful rhythm. Reacting to the other's every move. It created a very elegant push and pull that filled the space. Andrew lifted Maya and she wrapped herself around his body and used all the control her body could muster to snake herself down his body without throwing too much of her weight to the ground.
As the song ended, the pair stood in front of each other, their chests rising with each heavy breath they took. Maya's blue eyes met Andrew's brown and they shared a smile. "Used to dance my ass," Maya laughed as she playfully pushed his shoulder.
Andrew held his hands up in defense. "Now I never said I was bad. You just assumed I was."
Maya rolled her eyes and took a sip of her water. "Whatever." She pushed her long hair out of her face and took another look at Andrew. "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."
And indeed it would be, but at what point would this newly found friendship blur the lines of another? At what point would insecurity and fear start to get in the way?
A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed! What do you think of Andrew so far? What about Josh being away? What do you think about anything? Ha! I love hearing your thoughts.
