three's company?
When Riley saw Maya’s name show up on her caller ID, she had never been more relieved in her life. The past day had been torture without being able to talk to Maya. She had been trying to distract herself by talking with Lucas in the dugout but it was no use. As cute and charming as he was, he wasn’t Maya. So after they talked on the phone, Riley swore to Maya that they were going to have a girls weekend. Because they both needed to be with each other to make up for the lost time. (One day without Maya was too much for Riley to bear, and no amount of cute boys could make up for it.) So, that weekend, she dragged Maya up to her apartment so that they could eat their weight in junk food, and binge watch The Red Planet Diaries.
“I miss just us time,” Riley said, with a pout. “I feel like we barely even see each other since we’ve been a couple.”
“It’s definitely changed things,” Maya said, with a nod of her head. Like the way I feel about you, the way I feel about my sexuality, the way I feel about everything.
“But no more! This weekend is all about you and me,” Riley said, with a smile. “No talking about school, lesbians, or Lucas Friar.”
“Can you handle the withdrawal?” Maya asked, her voice laced with disdain and something else Riley couldn’t pinpoint.
“Veeeery funny,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “But there’s nothing to talk about. I don’t think it’s going to go anywhere.”
“We could talk about that,” Maya suggested. As much as she hated Lucas Friar (like really really really hated), she didn’t want Riley to feel uncomfortable discussing her life with her. After all, they were best friends. Just best friends, Maya had to remind herself for the sixteenth time that day.
“Nope! I just want to spend the entire day with my best friend in the whole wide world and laugh at your stupid jokes,” Riley said, as she took out her phone and shut it all the way off.
“I didn’t even know your phone had an off setting.”
“That’s how serious I am, Peaches. The next two days are all about Riley and Maya.”
Riley and Maya managed to spend the majority of the weekend like they had planned. Eating ice cream, watching The Red Planet Diaries, making stupid jokes, painting each other’s nails, and not talking about Lucas Friar. They sat at the bay window, laughing, and spending time together like they used to. Before the entire ‘lesbian’ thing happened. Maya was content with this. Even though she liked holding Riley’s hand and having Riley kiss her cheek, she missed when it was just them and no one else.
“Do you want me to get some more ice cream?”
“No, if I eat more ice cream, I might die,” Maya groaned, she was seriously starting to regret eating an entire carton in one day.
“Okay, so now what do you want to do?”
Maya pondered a bit, but then a knock came on Riley’s bedroom door. Who could that be? Riley wondered. It couldn’t be my parents, they just barge in.
“Who is it?” Riley called out.
“Shawn.”
“Come in, Uncle Shawn!”
Shawn opened the door and sat in the middle of the two girls in the bay window. They both looked at Shawn, curiously.
“What’s going on?” Riley asked.
“I’m going to ask your mother to marry me.”
“Shawn, my mother’s already married to my fat - oh, you mean Maya’s mother.”
“Yes, Maya’s mother. Katy. You know, the one I’ve been dating?”
“Okay, you’re going to propose to her and?” Maya prompted.
“I just wanted to let you know and see where you stand with it.”
If Maya were being completely honest with herself, she wasn’t exactly sure where she stood with it. She cared about her mother, she cared about Shawn, but marriage? Her mother and father were married, and everyone knows how well that worked out. It was a lot. Her mother was also still giving her weird treatment ever since she came out. She wasn’t being outwardly homophobic but Maya could tell that she wasn’t thrilled that she was gay. (She wasn’t. Or was she? She wasn’t sure anymore.)
“I think it’s great!” Maya said, forcing a smile. “You love her, she loves you. Get married!”
“Are you sure? It’s a big thing and I want you to be one hundred percent okay with this, Maya,” Shawn insisted.
“I am, I want you two to be happy.”
“Okay, thanks, kid,” he replied, patting her shoulder. He got up and added, “I’m proposing tonight.”
“Good luck!” Riley and Maya chirped, as he left the room.
“Okay, Peaches, how do you really feel about it?”
“What do you mean? I said I was fine with it, I’m fine with it.”
“Maya, come on, I know you better than that.”
“I mean, it’s just...marriage is a big deal. It’s so...final, and legal. And I don’t want my mother to have to go through what she went through with my father again.”
“Shawn’s not your father, he’s not Kermit,” Riley declared, taking Maya’s hand into her own. “I think your mom and Shawn make each other really happy. And you and Shawn care about each other, so it’ll be like a big happy family.”
Maya took a deep breath. Riley is right. Riley is always right. “You’re right. I just...also, my mom and I aren’t in a very good place right now. With the whole lesbian thing. She’s acting like she’s okay with it, but I know she’s not. She’s a great actress but I can see through it.”
“She’ll come around, I promise.”
“Maybe we should just marry each other, she would love that,” Maya snickered, trying to cover up the fact that she actually wanted it to happen.
“Who cares what she thinks? I’m your family,” Riley squeezed Maya’s hand and gave her a reassuring look.
“I know,” she whispered. “And I’m so lucky.”
Riley smiled at Maya, and she swore that Riley’s smile could cure cancer.
“You wanna talk about Lucas, don’t you?”
“Yes, but - ”
“Talk.”
“Okay, I feel like we’ve been really close to kissing but he’s never done it. I think it’s because he’s not attracted to me.”
“That’s not possible,” Maya said, rolling her eyes. How anyone could not be attracted to Riley was beyond her.
“Then why else would he not kiss me? There have been so many times when it seems like we’re about to kiss and then he either just pulls away or says he has to go. It doesn’t make any sense. Zero sense! Nada!”
They spent the rest of the night talking until Maya had to go home. When Riley was taking out the trash, she accidentally bumped into someone. And that someone was Lucas Friar.
“Um, is there a reason you’re standing outside my apartment?”
“I tried texting you, like all weekend,” Lucas explained.
“You did? Oh, my phone was off,” Riley replied.
“I just wanted to explain something,” he started.
“Please don’t, Lucas.”
“The reason I pulled away is…”
“Because you’re not attracted to me! I get it! You’re Lucas Friar. You could have anyone you wanted in the entire school. So um, go hook up with whoever you want, don’t try to make it work with some lesbian you’re not even into.”
“Riley…”
“It’s fine!” Riley insisted, trying not to show any emotion, but failing on every level.
“You’ve got it all wrong. Of course I’m attracted to you. The problem isn’t you, it’s Maya.”
“Maya? Why would...oh, right, my girlfriend.”
"Look, maybe you two are okay with this sneaking around thing, but I'm not. I tried to be, but it's just not who I am."
“I get it,” Riley nodded.
“I wish there was a way we could make this work but I just don’t think we can.”
“We could have a throuple date?” Riley offered, her voice wavering ever so slightly.
“A throuple date? Like a couple with three people?”
“Yeah,” she nodded, praying that he would accept. “That way I can be with you and Maya, and you don’t have to feel guilty.”
“I’ll think about it. I have to go home. Goodnight, Riley.”
“Night, Lucas.”
The next day after school, Riley proposes the idea to Maya who now has a horrified expression on her face. A throuple date? What the hell? She furrows her eyebrows, trying to think what would make Riley think this is even a remotely good idea. If they have a throuple date or become a throuple, there are things that are bound to happen, namely Lucas finding out that they’re faking it. Maya would probably also snap at him. (She was finally at a place where she could admit that she was jealous, no matter how much she wished that she weren’t.) And she would have to spend an entire date, watching Riley and Lucas stare into each other’s eyes and giggle at each other and hold each other’s hand, and God, just the thought of it made Maya sick.
“No, Riley, I will not go on a fucking throuple date with you and Lucas! Why would you even suggest that?”
“Well, he didn’t pull away because he wasn’t attracted to me,” the small smile that was on Riley’s lips made Maya’s stomach churn. “He pulled away because he felt guilty about sneaking around behind your back. Turns out he’s actually really into me.”
Maya rolled her eyes. She couldn’t believe Riley. Actually, right now, because of the way she had been acting lately, she could believe Riley. Because Riley was so obsessed with Lucas Friar that she would do anything, including offering up something as ridiculous as a throuple date.
“I know! I know, it’s crazy. I heard what he said and I just…”
“Suggested ménage à trois?!” Riley had no idea what that meant but she was guessing it had something to do with the number three.
“Well, don’t worry, I’m going to tell him no,” Riley affirmed. “I mean, we couldn’t. We wouldn’t. You wouldn’t. Would you?”
“No! I will not have a throuple date with you and Lucas!” Maya exclaimed, echoing her earlier statement.
Later that afternoon, Maya went over to Zay’s house (again). (She had been making quite a habit of it recently.) They were sitting on the couch, watching Project Runway. Zay was watching because he enjoyed it, Maya only agreed to watching because she enjoyed making fun of the contestants. But after a contestant did something particularly heinous to a dress and Maya didn’t say a word, Zay knew something was up.
“What’s up, sugar?”
“What do you mean?”
“This guy does that and you don’t even roll your eyes? Talk to me.” Zay paused the TV and looked at Maya, expectantly.
“Well, Riley and Lucas like each other, right?”
“Right.”
“But Lucas has been holding back, like not even kissing her, because he feels guilty. About you know, me and Riley.”
“Classic Lucas,” Zay commented, with a nod. “As his best friend, I can say that he’s like a moral compass.”
A moral compass that has a thing for a taken lesbian just because she’s taken and a lesbian, Maya thought bitterly to herself.
“And Riley suggested a throuple date.”
“A throuple date? Like all y’all going together on a date, together? Like some Sister Wives shit?”
Maya nodded, grimacing at the thought of going on a date with Lucas Friar.
“So I obviously told her that I wasn’t do it, I mean, so many things could go wrong. I could snap at Lucas because I’m jealous, I could admit that I was jealous, he could figure out that we were faking it, and on top of that, I would have to watch them together the entire time,” Maya rambled.
“Calm down, Maya. You’re going on that throuple date,” he demanded.
“Okay, I understand Riley losing it, but you?”
“Maya, sweetie, this is like a bicurious bat signal,” he explained. “Riley wants you to go on a date with you.”
“And Lucas,” she pointed out.
“One does not suggest a throuple date with their best friend all willy-nilly. She’s got to be into you, subconsciously or whatever.”
“Don’t get my hopes up,” Maya warned. (Hope is for suckers, she learned that a long time ago.) “You could be wrong.”
“Or I could be right,” Zay retorted. “You never know until you try.”
What Zay had said had been running through Maya’s mind all night. Should she do it? Did Riley really like her? Was this more than just a ploy to get closer to Lucas? What did any of this mean? She couldn’t make sense of anything that was happening. She knew that she had to talk to Riley but it was too late in the night for her to go over to the Matthews’ apartment so she settled for calling Riley.
“Peaches? What’s up?” Riley asked, picking up the phone with a yawn.
“Oh, did I wake you?”
“No, I’m just tired, you know - I had so much homework to do after you left,” Riley explained. “Where were you?”
“Zay’s. We were watching Project Runway. He likes it. I like to make fun of it.”
“Sounds like you. Anyway, why are you calling? Is something wrong?”
“I think we should do it, the throuple.”
“Really? Peaches, you’d do that for me?!”
“I’d do anything for you.”
“You’re sure about this?”
“If you’re sure about it.”
“Oh my god, I love you! You’re the best! I promise it won’t be weird at all.”
“Yeah, I, uh...I think it being weird is kind of inevitable.”
“Yay!!! I’m so excited, Peaches!! I’m going on a date with Lucas Friar and my best friend! Okay, I gotta go, I love you!”
“Love you too, Riles,” Maya muttered into the phone before hanging up to text Zay that she was going through with the throuple date.
That morning, Riley and Maya walked into the school, with their arms linked as usual. They were set out to find Lucas to tell him that they wanted to go on a date with him. Both of them at the same time. The concept was still a little weird to Maya, but she was trying to be okay with it. Because of what Zay said, that this could mean that Riley likes her, and if she was lucky, she would get to kiss and hold Riley’s hand during the date. It was obvious that they were doing this for completely different reasons and they were both selfish reasons. After a few minutes of scoping out the array of students, they finally found Lucas, loitering by the school doors. They made a beeline towards him.
“Um, hi,” Lucas said, confusion crossing his face.
“Hey. Let’s have a throuple date,” Maya said, her bluntness surprising both Riley and Lucas.
“Really?” Lucas raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Riley, I thought you were joking about that. I mean, I’ve heard of people offering them but never following through with it.”
“Our people don’t joke about these kinds of things,” Maya said, lying through her teeth.
“Are you guys sure?” Lucas asked.
“I mean, we’re sure, if you’re sure,” Riley said, hoping that he would say yes.
“I’m totally sure. Should I like...bring anything?”
“Just you and your charming self,” Riley said, in a flirtatious manner that made Maya sick to her stomach with the all too familiar burn.
“So what time?” Maya asked, wanting to just get this damn thing over with. The more she spent time with Riley and Lucas practically eye humping.
“Oh, we’re doing this now? Um, how’s Friday?” he offered.
“Great, Friday it is!” Riley said, eagerness lacing her voice because she was going to go on a date with Lucas Friar (and Maya but she was more excited about the Lucas part).
“See you there,” Maya said.
That afternoon Maya and Riley were sitting at the bay window with awkward silence in between them. Maya couldn't stop thinking about how she was going to survive a date with the girl she was in love with and the boy who said girl was in love with. (Maya was honestly not sure if Riley loved Lucas. She hoped she didn't.)
It was Riley who finally broke the silence by saying, “I’m going to go change into the outfit that I think would be great for the date.”
“Okay.” (Was she going to change in front of Maya? God, she hoped not. She didn’t think she could handle that.)
Thankfully, Riley went into her walk in closet to pick out her outfit and change. Maya let out a quiet sigh of relief but then her breath got shaky when she saw Riley come out of the closet. (Maya wasn’t sure if that pun was intended or not.) Riley was wearing a sequin purple dress and black gladiator sandals, and Maya felt like her breath was taken away. She always found Riley beautiful (no matter what she was wearing) but this was on a whole new level. Her heart couldn’t stop beating out of chest, she was sure it was going to burst.
“Okay, this just got very real,” Maya commented, after she regained her breath.
“I know this like, every kind of awkward,” Riley started. (That was an understatement.) “And if you want to back out…”
“I don’t want to back out,” Maya said, quickly. “Unless you want me to back out.”
(Please don’t want me to back out, please don’t want me to back out, please don’t want me to back out).
“Of course not. There’s no one I’d rather do this with,” Riley replied, smiling at Maya.
“Really?” Maya’s voice shook, like she thought her hands would if she were to move them. And her damn heart started beating faster again.
“Yeah, and besides we’re both so good at faking it.”
“Too good,” Maya chuckles, nervousness dropping off her lips.
“Well you can never be too good,” Riley pointed out. “Which is why I think we should rehearse.”
“Rehearse?”
No, no, no. This seems like a recipe for disaster and disappointment. This is not good. Fuck. Shit.
“Yeah, we want to be believable, we want Lucas to think we're an actual couple.”
Maya swallowed, trying to gulp down all of her feelings. Trying not to look like she was absolutely heartbroken at the fact that Riley had used the term actual. Because it was a painful reminder that they weren't and that they'd never be.
“Okay, whatever you want.”
“So,” Riley started, folding her hands. “I think I’ll probably be sitting next to you and across from Lucas.”
“That’s good three way feng shui,” Maya quipped, with a small chuckling.
“Don’t laugh, Peaches!” Riley lightly scolded. “We need to be convincing.”
I don’t know how to be more convincing, I already feel like I’m falling head over heels in love with you. Everyone else can see it. Why can’t you?
“So, we’ll walk into the date holding hands,” she starts and grabs Maya’s hand with a light squeeze. Maya tries not to think about how well their hands fit together and how she wouldn’t mind holding it for the rest of her life.
Riley turned to face Maya, their hands still intertwined, and Maya couldn’t help but let out a shaky breath when she was looking at her girlfriend best friend. Riley let go of Maya’s hand and softly brushed some hair out the blonde girl’s face. Something she had done many times before but this time Maya swore there was a certain kind of intimacy in it. Riley leaned in and took a deep breath through her nose.
“You smell yummy,” she said.
“I do?” Maya’s voice was laced with hope.
“Egg salad?”
“Oh, my mom brought me a sandwich from the bakery for lunch,” she explained with a nervous chuckle.
Riley smiled and let out a chuckle as well.
“I guess there’s nothing left to do but…”
“Kiss?” Riley suggested.
I was going to go with sit down and eat but your suggestion is a lot better.
Riley leaned in until their faces were almost touching, and Maya’s heart was beating out of her chest. She then covered Maya’s lips with her hand, and proceeded to kiss the hand. Maya raised her eyebrows in surprise. I can’t believe I thought we were actually going to kiss.
“I can’t believe I’m going to go on my first date!” Riley squealed. “I wish you could be there.”
“Won’t I be there? Isn’t that the whole point?”
“Well yeah, at first, and then you’ll just make up some excuse and get out of there,” Riley explained.
I will? I can’t believe I thought we were actually going to go on a date.
“An excuse?”
“Like...something coming up with your mom or…” Riley furrowed her eyebrows when she looked at Maya’s confused expression. “Maya, you didn’t actually think I was asking you—”
“No!” Maya replied, a little too quickly. “I was just thinking, that maybe I could get food poisoning from the egg salad I had for lunch.”
“Good thinking, you’re so smart, Peaches,” Riley replied. “We should probably go through this again.”
Oh boy.