Longing Hearts [Rilaya]

nightlife

I scramble back into the dry part next to her as fast as I can.

"What was that for?! Peaceful. Yeah right." I say shaking off the water.

"It was to see your reaction and I was right, it was hilarious" she says and bursts out laughing.

I can't even pretend to be mad once I hear the sound of her laugh. I just stand there watching her illuminated by the dim lights of the city around us, letting my emotions get the best of me once again.

"Well I don't think you thought that through, you jerk, because now my shirt is all wet. I didn't bring another one and you're gonna have to deal with this" I joke and gesture to my soaked shirt. Thankfully my shorts didn't get too wet.

"Totally worth it to see your face" she giggles.

I glare at her and punch her arm lightly.

"Let's go inside we'll need sleep if we're going to have energy tomorrow. Oh and you need to get dry" she says standing and holding the door open to the room.

I shiver slightly as I walk in, feeling a blast from the air conditioning hit my shirt.

"Um here, you can wear my hoodie and sleep in that. Sorry by the way" she says and tosses me the one she wore this morning before the weather got too warm.

It's black with the word 'dream' surrounded by a colorful splatter paint pattern. I remember the day she bought it. It was in the back of this small store Farkle had wandered into. The three of us were walking around the city last November and he saw a jean jacket he liked in the window. He pulled us along into the store. Maya found the hoodie and insisted on buying it instantly, making me hold her beanie just so she could put it on right then and there. She couldn't stop smiling the rest of the day and even then I thought it was extremely cute. It quickly became one of her favorites that I'd see her wear constantly.

"Don't be, you were just messing around like always" I assure her suddenly remembering I'm in the middle of a conversation. She nods dismissively and I go into the bathroom to change, making sure to take everything with me this time. Don't need a repeat of my stupidity with the shower. I walk out into the room again. This is comfortable I see why she loves it so much.

"You look really good in hoodies, you should wear them more" she replies, looking me up and down.

She did not just check me out. No I'm just delusional. It's midnight, we're both tired, and I have an awful habit of reading into things too much.

"Only if they're yours, then maybe I'll consider it."

Wow what happened to trying to being secretive about everything.

She smiles softly, playing with her hands in her lap as I lay down next to her on her bed. I pull the covers over both of us and turn off the light switch next to the bed. When I turn back to face her I inhale sharply at how close her face is to mine. I can see her smile at me in the moonlight as she brushes a few damp locks of hair out of my face.

I almost died right then and there but manage to whisper "goodnight Maya."

And with a sudden surge of confidence I close the space between us, gently pressing my lips to her forehead. I could've sworn I saw a blush coloring her cheeks in the darkness.

"Goodnight Riley" she whispers back sleepily and shifts to face the window.

As much as I wish she didn't turn away I'm glad she did. Every part of me was screaming to truly kiss her right then. I need to learn to tone it down because hoping that the feelings are mutual is a one way trip to getting my heart broken. I'm no stranger to stories of how wrong this type of thing can go. There's so many reasons for me to keep my distance but then again so many possibilities if I don't.

After about a minute I can't stand it anymore. I slowly move closer to her so that I'm laying against against her back, placing my arm over her hip. I take a shaky breath and move her hair to the side resting my head in the crook of her neck. I squeeze my eyes shut and hope she doesn't notice how fast my heart is racing. I wait for her reaction praying she won't shake me off and move away. She just sighs quietly, seemingly content, and I'm taken aback by it.

I open my eyes slowly and ignore all the emotions swirling in my head. I focus on the fact that we're actually cuddling like this. I'm wide awake until I eventually I feel Maya drift off to sleep. I find myself wishing I had drank some coffee or something this morning because it's becoming harder to keep my eyes open. I want to stay awake. I want to remember every detail of her face in the moonlight, how soft her skin feels against mine. Stupid sleep ruining everything. But soon enough the long day takes its toll and I have to give in.

———

a/n: just a note that I was listening to Fast Car by Jonas Blue and Is There Somewhere by Halsey a lot while writing this and I feel like it's reflected slightly and they're both calming so I'm writing it in here. I actually like the mood of this chapter and it's from Riley's point of view as promised. It's snowing where I live right now and everything is just festive so I'm happy