Truth or Dare

Truth or Dare Part 3

Maya sat quietly for moment, letting Riley's words sink in. Before she had a chance to respond, there was a light knock on Riley's bedroom door. The girls turned their torsos in unison to find Josh peeking his head through the door.

"Hey, Riles, I– oh, hey, Maya. Didn't know you were here. You staying the night?" He asked, noticing her bag near the end of Riley's bed.

"Yes...I am." Maya nodded confidently. She could do this. She would just treat Josh like a friend, a platonic-unintimidating-yet really attractive friend that she didn't have feelings for whatsoever... like Lucas.

"Cool." Josh answered with a grin. "So, I was thinking of ordering a pizza. You guys hungry?"

"Starving." Riley answered as she rubbed her stomach for emphasis. "Mom and dad left money on the dining room table for us to order in."

Just then, Auggie shoved himself between the doorframe and Josh, carrying a brightly colored, square box in his hands.

"Can we play a board game?" He asked, excitedly.

"Sure, little man, just let me order some pizza first." Josh said, ruffling his nephew's hair.

"Yay!" He exclaimed as he did a little jump for joy. "Riley, Maya, you guys have to play too!"

The girls looked at each other and shrugged before Maya replied. "Sure, Augs, why not?

Auggie did a little happy dance, then ran to the living room to set up the game as his older playmates followed suit.
*******
Fifteen minutes later, the pizza was ordered and the kids were seated around the coffee table in the living room, working on their third round of Hi Ho! Cherry-O. Auggie and Riley sat next to each other on the long side of the table, while Maya took the seat at the end of the table by Riley and Josh the opposite end near Auggie.

"Three! Boo-yah!" Josh yelled, tossing the last three cherries into his basket as he won the game for the third time in a row.
"Cheater!" Maya fired back as she smacked her hands against the tabletop, completely annoyed.

"Yeah, cheater!" Auggie repeated, while Riley just shook her head at how ridiculous they were all being over a children's game.

"It's a game of chance. You spin a spinner. How could I possibly cheat?" He retorted, crossing his arms and cocking his head at Maya.

"I don't know, maybe you used some kind of magnet... or maybe you just charmed it with your smile." Maya finished sarcastically with a roll of her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest as she did so, matching his movement.

"You think I have a charming smile?" Josh smirked, unable to resist teasing her.

"I didn't say that." Maya defended herself as her cheeks began to flush. Technically, she didn't, but she did think it and even dreamed about it a time or two...or twelve.

"But you implied it." He asserted, giving her one of his boyish grins

There were a lot of things that Maya liked about Josh, the list went on forever, but his smile definitely made the top five. It was cute and sweet just like him. However, she would never admit that out loud to his face. It would be too embarrassing and wouldn't exactly help the platonic relationship she was trying to build with him. So, instead, she classily replied, "Eat a cherry, Joshua!" and flung a cherry game piece at his head.

It was a kid-friendly phrase, but definitely meant something not-so-kid-friendly, so Riley decided she better jump in and break it up.

"Okay! I think it's time we play a different game." Riley interjected, clapping her hands together to gain everyone's attention.

"How about you pick, Maya." Riley offered, hoping to placate her friend.

"Gladly." She smiled mischievously, knowing exactly what game to pick. Running to Riley's room real quick, Maya came back seconds later, holding Disney Trivia. Maya knew it was perfect because not only was it a game Auggie could play with them, but it was a game she was beast at.

"Ooh! The Disney game!" Auggie cheered.

"Bring it on!" Josh stated confidently, then helped the rest of them clean up the previous game and set-up the new one.