Longing Hearts [Rilaya]

how you get the girl

Riley's POV

I pull away from Maya breathlessly, smiling softly as I lean my forehead against hers.

Her eyes flutter open slowly, a bright and unfamiliar gleam swirling within the blue irises.

"Please tell me this isn't a dream" she whispers, her eyes widening.

"It's real peaches, you're not dreaming" I reassure her happily.

She pauses and reaches for my hand to pull me over to her bed.

So I cross my legs and sit across from her, waiting patiently for her to say something. I keep a hold of her hand as she takes a breath and stares at me.

"Okay so you like me? This is real? It's not one sided?" she asks with pure shock written over all her features.

"Yes I do, I have for a while" I reply timidly.

Her eyes dart around the room; left, right, anywhere but at me.

I know this is overwhelming to process for her. Quite frankly I don't know how I'm not hyperventilating right now. I think the wave of happiness that washed over me after finding the courage to kiss her properly has somehow instilled some sense of calmness.

She runs a hand through her hair tentatively and glances down at the bedsheets. If I didn't know her better I'd think she was having second thoughts about all of this but I can see the curve of the faint smile she's awful at concealing. I lift her chin up gently and she moves closer to me.

"It's always been hard to resist kissing you when you do that know" she laughs.

"Yeah it wasn't intentional, I never really realized how flirty it can seem" I tell her truthfully.

The awkward tension between us starts to fade a bit, much to my relief.

"I owe you an explanation Riles. I don't really know how to say all this, you know I'm bad with words. I'm sorry for racing out after, you know, kissing you because I regretted doing so more than anything. I was just scared because I only realized how truly non platonic my love for you was back around the field trip. I didn't think there was ever a possibility that you'd feel the same way and the last thing I wanted was for everything to change. I was worried you'd stop wanting to be close and affectionate with me and I couldn't bear to think about a reality like that. The more I think about us over the years, the more I can see that my feelings started blurring the lines between friendship and falling for you ages ago. I've always assumed that everything between us has been the same as we were seven. Back when falling asleep in your bed every time I slept over had no meaning and was innocent or normal because we were young. That is, until I caught myself fighting so hard to resist kissing you a bunch of times and being spiteful towards Lucas out of unidentified jealousy. Apparently I'm just really blind and now I'm rambling as usual" she finishes with a sigh.

I squeeze her hand gently.

"I meant what I said when I said it's always been you, since the day we met there's been a bond between us that's stronger than anything I've ever experienced. I didn't understand until much later that the fluttery feeling that spread throughout my body whenever I heard you tap on the bay window was love. I spent most of my life thinking I needed a strong handsome boy like Lucas by my side to find true happiness but the only person who's ever made me feel like that has been right in front of me the whole time. There's reasons why him and I don't work Maya, he's a good guy but I've never felt a genuine spark between us. We've always said we'd be forever but I really do intend to spend my whole life with you. You'll always be my extraordinary relationship, and I know that's a lot to say but I can't imagine myself with anyone else" I say as I finally allow myself to admit what I've been holding in for months.