typical | rilaya au

t w e l v e

Maya and I let go of each others' hands when we reentered into the dining room.

Both of our cheeks were still tinted pink and faces were flushed from the earlier events.

My heart warmed even more when I saw my mother setting the homemade cheesecake on the table.

"It looks delicious Mrs. Matthews." complimented Maya.

My Dad looked up at us and quickly glanced back and forth between Maya and I. "What's up with you guys?" He asked, referencing our blushes and newfound shyness.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you two were making out in Riley's room!" He joked, laughing at his own terrible humour which only caused me to wince ins response.

Immediately, Maya and I both tensed up and moved apart. "Nonono" I said.

"I'm just kidding Riley, I know you two aren't dykes." He laughed again.

This time, my Mom stepped in. "Cory, that's enough." She warned. "There's nothing wrong with being gay."

We spend the next 15 minutes eating cheesecake in complete silence.

~

I was putting away the dishes when Maya got a text from her Mom who was waiting to pick her up.

"My mom's outside in the car" Maya said causally as she picked up her stuff.

"Letmewalkyouout." I blurted out, a little too eagerly, gaining the attention of my other 3 family members.

The blonde giggled and nodded her head after hearing my outburst. "Sounds great."

I stopped what I was doing and followed Maya to the door.

It's crazy to think that 2 hours ago, when she entered I didn't even want to see her face. Now, I couldn't have enough of her.

When we finally exited the apartment, I closed the door gently behind me. With my back against the door, we smiled at each other innocently. Maya broke the silence first, "I'll talk to you later, okay?" she asked and leaned in to kiss my cheek.

I nodded contently and watched Maya enter her mother's car. She waved at me with a huge grin on her face through the window as they drove off.

~

I was sitting on my bed, my back resting on the headboard while reading a book when Auggie barged into my room.

"Auggie!" I yelled, shocked. "You're so disruptive!"

The little boy took two steps into my room and froze. His usual toothless grin was replaced with a serious look. He spoke with a certain maturity that I never expected from him.

"I know what you were doing." he said sternly.

I tilted my head to the side and let out a light chuckle expecting this to be another one of his games. "What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You and Maya." He said. "When I walked into your room for dessert, I saw you two."

I gulped and put my book down, wondering how much my brother actually understood. "Come here" I whispered, patting the space beside me.

He sat down obediently, with his legs dangling off the bed. "Why were you kissing another girl Riley?" He asked with innocence.

I paused to regain my thoughts and answered him as best as I could. "It's the same as me kissing a boy, love knows no gender." I smiled, patting him on the head.

He nodded understandingly and hopped off my bed onto the carpet. I watched Auggie leave as an warning alarm rang in my head.

"Wait!" I said desperately.

My brother turned to look at me; confused.

"Don't tell Mom and Dad." I paused. "Please."

Auggie nodded once again and smiled brightly. "It's our little secret Riley"

And with that, he left me alone with my thoughts.

~

Lucas texted me again and reminded me that I promised to reschedule our plans.

That boy is so desperate.

I agreed hesitantly- only after making him promise that this 'date' would only be as friends.

I was waiting in the living room for him to pick me up; he told me that
our destination would be a surprise.

The doorbell rang and I quickly went to open it; flattening my skirt as I stood up.

"Hey Lucas" I greeted friendlily.

He smiled back widely and grabbed my hand. "Come on! Fun is waiting."

I was tense at first, about to pull away from his grip. But I made it clear that we were nothing more than friends.

Friends can hold hands right?

~

I fiddled with the radio dial in the car, patiently waiting for Lucas to drive to wherever he was headed.

"Riley." he interrupted, gaining my attention.

"Yeah?"

"We're here." He noted proudly. I looked up to see we were in front of a rollerblading rink.

My mind began to wander to all of the terrible outcomes at the thought of my clumsy legs rollerskating for the first time. "I can't rollerskate Lucas." I said sadly.

He stayed silent as he exited the car and travelled to the other side to open the door for me. "That's okay. I'll teach you!"

~

I think my legs might permanently end up black and blue. I thought as I tumbled to the floor for the 12th time.

Lucas chuckled and skated over, he grabbed my hand and helped me up. "Just hold my hand." He instructed.

I nodded and gripped tightly as we rollerbladed around the rink without falling once. A new record!

I smiled to myself as I started to get the hang of it. Except with my luck, I spotted the last person I wanted to see right now.

Maya.

It's not that I didn't want to see her, because trust me I do. But I also don't want her to get any wrong ideas by seeing Lucas and I rollerblading together; hands intertwined.

I almost melted when I saw Maya bending over to talk to a little girl softly. I figured that must be the kid she babysits since she did tell me she was working tonight.

I didn't realize I was staring until Lucas elbowed my side. "What are you so mesmerized by?" He asked.

I swallowed and looked away from Maya. "Nothing." I mumbled. "I had fun tonight Lucas, but maybe we should go?"

He visibly pouted and replied. "What do you mean? We just got here."

"I know. it's just that-" I was cut off when a certain blonde approached us.

"Nice seeing you here Riles." There was a tint of jealously and bitterness in her voice that made me even more attracted to her.

"Hi peaches." I smiled, letting go of Lucas' hand. Which, in retrospect was a bad idea because I don't think she noticed that we were holding hands until I let go of his.

"What are you two up to?" She asked innocently. But anyone else that knew her better knew that she was trying to interpret the situation in front of her.

I didn't even get a chance to respond because Lucas rapidly replied. "We're on a date." He said emotionlessly.

I whipped my head around and hit his arm. "Lucas! I said we were just hanging out as friends!"

Maya didn't get to hear that explanation. She had already skated off.

I don't even bother saying anything to Lucas. Instead, I focused all of my energy on going after Maya.