The Missing Piece(Closed to Scuttle Buttin')

smiley8022

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The morning had been great. She hadn't had this much fun, in a while. To say she missed her best friend, was an understatement. She had known Ryan since her first year of high school at the measly age of 15, young and stupid. And here they were nine years later, at the age of 24 and ripening adults. But you were never too old to have fun, and that's just what they had been doing today.

From her sunbathing on her towel in the sand, to Ryan pouring water on her to get her to join him, to the pair jumping in the rushing tidal waves that beat their bodies with rushing salt water, they had had a blast. After spending hours play fighting in the water, drawing things in the sand, and just having a good time together, they finally relaxed on the beach, letting the sun soak up the water from their bodies as an older woman passed by and smiled down at the pair.

"Might I say, you two make a lovely couple."

"Oh, we're not-"

"Don't take him for granted now, I can tell he really loves you. I only wish I could go back in time and appreciate my husband the way you appreciate him."

With a tender smile, the woman walked away without giving Maya a chance to tell the women that she and Ryan were just friends. Best friends, but friends none the less. Nothing more. Slightly uneasy and wanting to perk up the situation, she gently pushed Ryan with a smile and stood up from her towel and looked down at her friend.

"Wanna go get some ice cream at the shack?" She asked him with a playful smile, one hand on her hip, her slightly damp hair hanging down her shoulders, her other hand running through her hair as she bent over and offered a hand to help her friend up from his position in the sand. "Come on, goof." She teased with a smile.

After getting him off the ground and making their way up to the shack, she ordered a cup full of blue shaved ice and as they made their way back down to the beach, she slowly ate her shaved ice, staying quiet for most of the time. By the time they reached the beach and their towels, Maya took a seat at the edge of the towel, letting the tidal waves wash up to meet her toes as she looked over at her best friend and wiped ice cream from the corner of his lips with a tender smile, blue dye covering her tongue, inner lips, and partially her teeth.
 
There were times he had to remember he actually was an adult when he was with her. Despite their age, despite the way their bodies had changed since they met, despite their diplomas and jobs and legally drunken nights, she still made him feel like a teenager, like nothing in the world mattered except what they were doing right then.

The beach trip was Maya's idea, and he was more than happy to jump at the chance to see her. It had been much too long since he'd spent any real time with her (although, let's face it, a day was much too long for him), and even if it hadn't been a fantastic reason to spend some time with her, he could use some relaxation.

The day had turned out great, the sun high and bright in the sky, the water warm and foamy as it rushed ashore. Time always passed at warp speeds when he was with her, almost like fate's cruel way of making sure he was never able to squeeze every wonderful drop possible out of each moment because they all rushed by so quickly, but he still wouldn't change any of it for all the world.

Well. He'd change one thing. But being close to her, making her laugh, the sneaky way he'd inhale the scent of her hair when they hugged, it was enough. No, not enough. Just much, much better than nothing. He was attracted to her when they met - though he was attracted to just about anything that dared to move at 15 - and while you don't notice the small changes of growth as they happen, looking back at old pictures it was amazing to see how much more beautiful she'd become. She was an astonishing woman to look at, in her every line and curve and flash of a smile, and it was all only helped by the fact that she was a person he loved to be around, too.

That's not to say things were without the occasional awkward moment, though. The woman that approached them as she passed by on the beach was not the first to think they were a couple, and sure, the way she would be quick to deny it would sting a little. But he was always quick to cover with a laugh and a self-deprecating joke, and it would help get past the hollow feeling deep in his stomach whenever the subject of them as a couple came up.

He could never admit it to her, the fear that she'd break off their friendship was just too immense, but he knew he wanted more. He knew when she laughed, and he knew when she cried, and he knew when she stood above him and asked about getting ice cream, and he saw the curve of her hip and the mess of her day-at-the-beach hair silhouetted against the sun behind her. When she reached out to him and helped him up from the sand, their hands together just felt right.

He released her hand once on his feet, though, and off they went. He bumped her on the way, almost making her swerve into a sandcastle someone had built and then left, and then laughed and ducked away when she came back towards him swatting. They walked back slower, their feet kicking sand as they did, her eating blue shaved ice, him red. He grinned at her as she wiped a bit from the corner of his mouth, then nodded his head towards her arm.

"You might want to worry about your own mess there," he said with a laugh, his eyes indicating the spot where melted blue ice had made it through the small hole in the bottom of the paper cone she held and was trailing down her arm towards her elbow. Before she could do anything about it, he tossed a small handful of sand at her arm, laughing at the way it stuck to the juice, leaving a trail of blue sand down her arm now.

"Nevermind, got it for you!" Another laugh, and he grinned at her as he crunched on another bite of red ice. "No need to thank me, of course."
 
When Ryan nodded to her arm, she let her head tilt downwards to look at the dripping blue puddle that was trailing down her arm. Smiling at the trail, she went to wipe it up, when she felt sand hitting her arm and sticking to the trail of sticky blue juice, blue sand coating her arm as her best friend grinned at her, munching down on his own shaved ice.

"I know you just did not do that!"

She exclaimed with a giggle before taking her own blue snow cone and smashing it into his face, her body falling into his as she layed half over him, her hand rubbing the ice into his face as she screamed in surprise as his own snow cone came down on her bare back, the cold ice slashing against her skin as she laughed and simply enjoyed herself, rubbing her sandy arm on his own arm, wiping his mess on himself.

After a few minutes, Maya realized where she as she looked down into the glowing green eyes of her best friend and realized that their faces were mere inches apart, her chest pressed against his chest, her body laying mostly on top of his body. Slowly composing herself, she pulled her body away from Ryan's and sat up once more, looking out at the setting sun and the gentle tidal waves that lashed at her feet, her fingers running through the sand beneath her as she let out a long sigh.

"You ever wonder about fate, or destiny?" She asked softly, more to herself, but she knew that Ryan could hear her, and his answer made her curious.
 
His eyes went wide as she came at him with her snow cone, and he knew there was no way he could get out of the way in time. He took the remainder of the blue ice full in the face, and he did what was only natural and moved back, trying to get away from the cold ice in his face. All this had the unintended effect of her ending up halfway on top of him, and so he fought back the only way he could, the remainder of his shaved ice plopped promptly on her back.

They laughed together as both were now spotted with cold, wet, sticky ice, and he did his best to shake some of it out of his face. It was only a moment later that he realized just how they were, and he became hyper-aware of the swell of her breasts against his chest and the flat expanse of her stomach stretched out against him. He looked up into her eyes, and his grin slowly faded. If life was a movie, this would be the moment she realized how much she wanted to be with him, they would kiss, and the credits would role. Women would cry, the guys with them would roll their eyes. Nicholas Sparks would've written the book.

This wasn't a movie, and that fact was no more evident then when she apparently realized how they were suddenly laying and she sat up off of him. He stayed laying back in the warm sand for a moment, staring up at a cloudless and deep blue sky, and silently cursing whatever deity may exist up there. Finally, he ran a hand over his face, trying in vain to remove as much blue as he could. It stuck in the lightly colored stubble on his cheeks - the idea of shaving his face then dipping it in salty water was not remotely appealing to him - and he finally sat up. He could feel the sand in his messed hair, finally making his sandy blond truly sandy.

He watched her as her fingers traced random lines in the sand, and the silence that hung between them felt like a heavy curtain, awkward and suffocating. He was happy when she broke it, although a bit thrown off guard by the question.

"Fate? Huh..." he paused, looking down at his feet stretched out before him, his legs long and a big part of why he was a couple inches past six feet tall. "Not really, I guess. I think people tend to make their own fate, you know? I mean, yeah, things beyond your control can happen to you, but it's what you do with the situation you're in that really matters, you know?"

His brow furrowed as he looked at her again, and he moved to sit closer to her. His shoulders were broad, his arms long like his legs - he was flat-out lanky in his youth, but now that he'd bloomed into adulthood he appreciated his long limbs and the toned runner's body they helped him maintain - and he wrapped one arm easily around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him.

"Why do you ask? What's going on with you, Ya-ya?"

Yeah, it was a pet name, and one she'd never let him use in front of anyone else, but it hadn't started out that way. Instead, it was something he teased her with when the movie Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood came out, a movie he both never saw and had no intention of ever seeing, but it made her red and made him laugh, so he kept it up. Eventually, it evolved into a term of affection, and she seemed less embarrassed by it.
 
Maya kept her eyes low, watching each wave that lapped at her feet, the shells washing up on the beach, each one with its own intricate design that made her smile. She had always enjoyed certain seashells, reminding her that there was always an escape from your worries, just listen to the ocean and it will listen to you.

"Yeah I guess." She sighed softly. "But it's not always like that, Ryan. Sometimes people can make the situation matter, but sometimes it's just out of their hand. Like relationships, they never go the way we want them to, and there's nothing we can do about it, except get over the fact that fate and destiny have their own plans, and they will always trump ours."

Letting out a soft sigh, she had planned on shaking his arm from her shoulder but when he called her his pet name, Ya-ya, she felt a little piece of her heart melt. She used to hate that name, namely because he would tease the living hell out of her by calling her that name repeatedly, in front of everybody. And then they would tease her. It just didn't make things easy for her.

And then she only allowed him to call her that name in private, it eventually grew on her. He sounded as if he really cared when he used that name for her, as if he were really listening to her, as if he really wanted to spend his time with her, and not just looking at her or using her for anything. Which is why the name meant so much to her now, but she would never let that secret spill.

Letting her head fall onto his chest, she let out another sigh and looked up into his eyes for a brief moment before looking back to the descending waves, her breath coming out slow and deep.

"I just don't know what I'm doing anymore." She admitted softly, gazing at the sun that was disappearing beneath the waves slowly. "It seems as if everything I do, is wrong. Well, not wrong, but well, just not right." She paused, biting her lip.

"Have you ever stopped and thought for one single moment, that what if there was something major missing from your life?" She looked up at him with deep eyes. "That's how I feel at this moment in time, Ry. I don't know what it is, or who, or if I need to change myself, but I do know that there's a void in my life, that I need to fill." She looked down at her hands.

"I just need to find out what it is." She told him quietly.
 
He hugged her to him a little tighter as she talked, and now it was becoming clear why she'd wanted this day at the beach. She had things on her mind and needed a day of relaxation herself. But, as was always the case with them, the truth came out eventually.

He was silent as she spoke, knowing she needed to get her words out and interrupting her wouldn't help. She always let him know when she was finished, and that was when he'd do his best to help her out. He didn't think he always succeeded in telling her what she needed to hear, he wasn't psychic after all, but as it was when he needed to talk to her, just getting it out to someone that he knew really cared helped all the same.

His gaze was on her face the whole time she spoke, whether she was looking at him or not, and his brows rose when she asked if he about something missing from his life. When she fell silent finally, looking down at her hands, he shifted his gaze out to the rolling waves in front of them and took a moment to collect his thoughts.

Looking back to her, he reached out with the hand not on her shoulder and hooked a finger under her chin, lifting her face up to his. His eyes locked on hers, and he spoke quietly, his voice only a little above the waves that crashed on shore.

"I think everyone has a piece missing from them," he said, then grinned slightly, "Even you, Ya-ya. And some people do fine without that piece, and other people really need it. But everyone has a little person-shaped hole in their heart somewhere," he said, and smiled, pausing, considering his next words. Of course, he meant the hole in the heart was a small one, not that the person filling it would be little. How else could that possibly be taken? Without clarification seeming necessary, he continued.

"Someday, I know you'll have the person to fill in that last piece. I've known you for a long time now, and I think I can safely say I know you better than anyone else. I can tell you, without a shred of doubt, that whoever that person is will be the most lucky in the world. How could they be anything but?"

He smiled at her, and his finger dropped from under chin, his hand going back to sifting grains of sand between his fingers, but his eyes remained on her, watching.
 
He really was the perfect listener. He didn't budge in when she took her time to breathe, he didn't try to force her to look at him, when she was calling upon the waves, and he actually cared about what she was saying, not just nodding his head like an idiot and pretending to listen. She had put up with enough in the past to recognize it easily, but Ryan was the exact opposite. He always had been.

After she had finished speaking and a low hum of silence had settled in the air around the two, she shivered gently as his hand crept along her skin and raised her chin until her caramel mixed with yellow intricate designed orbs were caught by the seriousness in his own glowing green orbs.

Maya listened to him intently, taking in each and every inch of advice he was giving her about the missing piece from their lives. She couldn't help but to feel a shiver run up her spine as he said a little person-shaped hole was in her heart, waiting to be filled. She couldn't help but to smile at his logic, knowing that it was partially true.

A soft blush arose on her cheeks as he deemed her missing person the most lucky in the world, his finger dropping from her chin as she felt the light breeze blowing her hair, a lock reaching her face. Tucking the lock of hair behind her ear, Maya looked up at her best friend with a twinkle in her eye and a smile on her full lips.

"You always know just what to say, that will make me feel better." She told him softly with a wide grin, her eyes fixed on his. "But what about you, what about your missing piece. Have you found her yet?" She asked softly, curiously.
 
Even in the fading light, he could see a little blush rise in her cheeks as he spoke. Hell, he'd looked at her so much, and committed so much of her to his memory, that he thought he could detect a difference in her in almost totally darkness. Still, it made him wonder if he'd revealed too much, and he found himself fighting hard not to reach up and tuck the stray lock of hair behind her ear. Touching her was always an electric experience, and in the many years they'd spent together they'd touched each other plenty, but something about that seemed somehow... different. No generally something a friend did.

He was somewhat relieved when she reached up and tucked it back herself, and held her gaze, smiling when she said he knew how to make her feel better. It wasn't in the way he hoped, sure, but for Ryan, and in this moment, it was plenty good enough.

He chuckled quietly when she asked if he'd found his missing piece, and turned his gaze back out to the water, his shoulders rolling in a slight shrug. "I... maybe? I don't know. Sometimes I think so, sometimes I think I'm just being an idiot. But hey," he turned his eyes back to her, smiling once again, "This isn't about me, quit trying to change the subject." He grinned and nudged her with his side.

He shifted his arm slightly across her shoulders, and his forearm came into contact with the melted red juice that now practically covered her back, and he laughed aloud. "We must look like a mess right now! Here..." he kept his arm around her and turned, slipping his other under her legs and lifting her easily as he stood, "Let's get you washed off!" And with a broad grin, he took a few steps into the water, prepared to throw her in.
 
Maya tilted her head up, watching her best friend as his eyes turned to the rushing waves of the water before them, his shoulders shrugging as she arched a brow out of curiosity. She didn't know why, but she felt a slight stinging sensation as he admitted to maybe finding his missing piece, which made Maya wonder who it was. Did she know her? Why hadn't Ryan mentioned this before?

As his green eyes connected with her own darker eyes, she couldn't help but to return the smile he was flashing her, nudging him back as a small laugh left her lips. "I wasn't changing the subject, I was curious! Can you blame a girl?"

Maya shivered lightly as she felt Ryan's arm wrapping more tightly around her back, the sticky juice of the snow cone having smeared into his arm while doing so, a laugh leaving both of their mouths as she nodded her head in agreement and then gasped softly as he slipped his free arm beneath her legs and lifted her from the sand, a hopeless look in her eyes as she tightened her grip around his neck.

"Ryan, no! I'll get eat by a shark, and you'll loose your best friend, and it will be all your fault!" She taunted, trying to get him to put her back down.

Seeing no other way out of this, she tightened her grip around his neck and held onto him for dear life just as he went to throw her, causing the couple to submerge into the ocean's depth, her legs slipping from his hands and wrapping around his waist as she felt him surge up, air invading her lungs as she gasped for breath and then splashed water in his face with a laugh.

"Revenge is so sweet." She teased him, not quite taking in the fact that her arms were around his neck and her legs were around his waist as he held her in the water.
 
Right as he went to toss her he felt her grip tighten around his neck, and both of them were sent below the swirling water, his eyes squeezing closed at the last minute. His legs flailed for a minute, trying to gain his footing in the sandy bottom, and he felt her body pivot and her legs, smooth and strong, snake around his waist.

Getting his feet back under him, he pushed them both above the surface of the water, their chests coming together as they both inhaled deeply, and he grinned at her so incredibly close to him, almost stuck to him like a starfish.

"You think so, huh?" he asked, brows raising. With a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, he jumped forward a little, tossing them both back under water. The water was a little deeper with the way he'd jumped forward, and it was a little harder to lift them both out of the water. Without even realizing it, his hands slid under her, curving to the firm shape under her bikini bottoms, and he broke the surface of the water again, grinning at her still.

"I can do this all day, you know. I haven't even run yet today, I've got energy for days!"

He acted like he was about to throw them both under the water, then stopped, laughing as she gripped him tighter and prepared to hold her breath. The movement made him shift his hands on her a little, and it was that moment he realized where he was holding her, and again became hyper-aware of her body pressed against his, of every inch of her bare skin that touched his.

His grin faded slowly, and in a moment he was just standing nearly waist-deep in the ocean, his hands unmoving on her, face inches from hers, and he swallowed hard, his eyes locked onto hers.

"I, uh..." he started, then his voice trailed off, and he closed his mouth, wholly unsure of anything he could possibly say at this moment.
 
Maya giggled and nodded her head at his question, arching her brows to mock him before she caught the mischievous glint in his eye, his arms tightening around her frame as he dove into the water once more, a scream leaving her lips as the water hit her body, closing her mouth just in time as she felt his hands sliding down her body, gripping her tighter as he broke the water's surface once more, her mouth gasping for breath as she playfully smacked his chest.

"That's so not fair! You clearly have the advantage here!" She grinned. "Energy for days? I hope not!"

She teased before she felt his hands tighten on her once more, about to throw her underwater, which made her arms tighten around his neck, her legs tightening around his hips as she gasped and then glared as she realized he'd been teasing her.

Maya's chest was rising and falling rapidly, her breath short and labored, her face flushed as she looked up to see that the smile had been wiped from Ryan's face, nervousness taking hold as he tried to speak to her, but somehow couldn't find the words. Looking around the water surrounding her, Maya realized that his hands were firmly placed on her plump ass, gripping her flesh as he supported her weight, her body slightly heating as she fidgeted slightly, also coming to terms with what was happening here.

"You what, Ryan?" She asked softly, curious to what he could possibly mount to say at a time like this.

Subconsciously without even realizing what she was doing, Maya's fingers began to run up the expanse of the back of his neck, her fingers playing with the hair on the back of his head, her eyes gazing into his as she tried to muster up what was happening, what he was doing to her. Where had this come from, how had it even began?
 
"I..." he started again, trailed off again, and then fell silent again, looking at her still. She was so close, he could smell the salty air mixing with the scent that was somehow just her, and even after all the time they'd spent in the water, the cool breeze still mingled the inviting scent of her hair in with it all. It was nearly intoxicating.

But even still, none of it compared to feeling her so close. They'd hugged plenty through the years, they'd even fallen asleep in the same bed on occasion, when one of them had a bad night or just felt lonely, and more than once he'd spent a mostly-sleepless night with her head on his chest, watching as she slept and trying to will time to move slower. This was still somehow different. He could feel her hips shift ever so slightly against his hands, with her so close he could feel every small move her body made, and it made him feel slightly light-headed.

A wave would pass by them every few moments, not yet curling to break on the shore yet, and with the water rising as it did they would float up a bit, then his feet would sink back into the sand under them.

"I, uh... we should... I mean..." he fumbled his words a bit, then fell silent again, his eyes dancing back and forth from one deep, dark pool of her gaze to the other, and he realized he had no concept of how long they'd been like this, how long he'd been aware of the closeness of her body, the firm curve of her ass in his big hands, or the way she left him without words, probably without even realizing it.

So many things he wanted to say. I'm sorry I grabbed you like this. I've wanted to feel you like this forever. I lov- he cut off the last thought, not allowing it to even fully form in his mind, and he realized as she searched his face for an answer that he'd fallen completely silent, the birds and the crashing waves and the deafening thud of his heart the only sounds in his ears, and he shivered slightly at her touch on on his back, at her fingers playing in his hair, and he did the only thing he thought he possibly could in that moment.

Eyes falling closed as he passed through the vanishingly small distance between them, his lips sought out hers...
 
Maya arched a brow, looking at him as she tried to figure out what he was trying to muster the courage to say. She could see the hesitation in his face, feel the uneasiness in his body language, the desire in his eyes. But there was something else there, something she just quite couldn't place. What was really going on here?

Her mind was reeling with so many different possibilities, a new image each minute passing with silence. She could feel his body bouncing up with each wave that passed them in the water, rising with the current of the wave and then returning to the sandy surface beneath their bodies.

It reminded her of all the summers consisting of trips to Kings Island, the amusement park. When not riding roller-coasters and screaming at the top of their lungs, they had spent countless hours in the wave pool in the water park, their bodies bouncing with the waves and returning to the pool's bottom. She imagined the sand would feel better to bounce back to, like Ryan currently was.

Maya's fingers continued to trace up and down the back of his neck, gently teasing his hair with her nimble fingers as he muttered a few words, partially stuttering, his eyes locked on her own, as if looking back and forth to decipher something from her face.

"We should what, Ryan?" She asked quietly, almost a whisper.

Feeling his shivering body beneath hers, she realized that he must be cold and that they would make their way back to the beach, but that wasn't it. There was the desire in his eyes once more, where was that coming from? And what for? Swallowing the tightness in her throat, she watched her best friend's eyes fall closed and then his face was closing in incredibly close to hers.

Shuddering in his arms, she tightened her body around his, her lips slightly quivering as he was close enough to where she could feel the warmth of his breath on his face, on her lips. She had always wanted to do this, to just see what it felt like to kiss him, but she didn't know why.

"Ryan-" She breathed before his lips closed on hers and she felt her body perk up, her back tightening up before a shiver racked her back, her arms tightening around his neck as she pressed her lips back to his before a blinding light filled her eyes and she heard someone yelling, causing her to jump back from Ryan's face, her eyes scanning the beach.

"Hey, you guys can't be here after dark! This beach closes at dusk, now come on, get out of the water!" An officer yelled at the two.

Holding a hand in front of her eyes, she tried to look past the blinding light of his spotlight and then looked back to Ryan. Speechless, she climbed off of his body, leaving the warm embrace of her best friend before making her way back to the beach. She silently wrapped a towel around her drenched form before grabbing her things and nodding for Ryan to follow her to her car.

"I'm so sorry officer, we hadn't known, otherwise-"

"Save it. It's fine. Sometimes young love can blind you to everything else that's happening in the world. But don't let me catch you two down here again at this time."

Nodding her head, Maya quickly put her things in the back seat of her car and waited until Ryan joined her in the passenger side before starting her car and pulling out of the beach. It was already 10:30pm, where had the day gone? And what had they just done?
 
It was utter, sheer heaven. About two seconds of it. He felt her body tense as he moved closer, heard her name on his lips, but when he felt her make no move to pull away he closed the last breath of distance between them, and he discovered her full lips were about the softest thing he'd ever felt in his life. The contrasts in her body were amazing, toned legs around his waist, the firm shape of her ass in his hands still, the gentle tease of her fingers, and now the softness of her lips... it was dizzying.

Suddenly he was surrounded by a light, bright enough that he could sense the change even through closed eyelids, and for a delirious moment he wondered if he was going to be told to talk into the light. Would it really be that shocking if he'd dropped dead right then? Hardly. Instead, a yelling voice jolted him out of his moment of bliss, and he nearly fell back into the water with her at the startle. Pivoting, he tried to look for the source of the voice and instead only found blinding light. Quickly, though, he realized he looked like he was basically groping her with the way he held her, and shifted his hands swiftly to her thighs.

Lowering her to his feet, instantly missing the feel of her against him, he followed her out of the water, and mumbled an apology to the officer, who did much the same as the lady earlier and virtually every other person that didn't know them and mistook them for a couple. Although, to be fair to him, they were just kissing, he had to see where his hands were on his body... he couldn't blame the guy for that one.

He snatched his things up off the sand and followed her to the car in silence, his eyes watching the way the sand stuck to her wet feet as they walked. His mind raced, unsure if he'd just made the biggest mistake of his life, taken the best risk of his life, or if by some crazy random happenstance she would laugh it off and they'd go on like nothing happened. It would be infinitely better than losing her entirely, but there was still some part of him that dreaded that outcome the most. He like a real moment, different from any other, had started between them there, and for her to pass it off would... suck. Hardcore.

Wrapping his towel around his waist so he didn't get her seat wet, he tossed his shirt and shoes into the backseat and slid into passenger seat next to her. He couldn't believe the clock when he saw it, but it was still the least of the surprises his mind was dealing with. Her body against his, the kiss, the interruption... it was just one surprise after the other in quick succession, and his head spun with all of it.

He glanced to her in the driver's seat, the wind blowing in through his open window and ruffling his hair as they drove out of the parking lot, and he spoke, a little unsure of exactly what he should say.

"I'm... sorry, if that was... if I misread that." He grinned slightly, a bit sheepishly, humor his ever-present defense mechanism, "You know me, I'm terrible at reading those signs. Don't drown me, kiss me.. they're so similar." He laughed, nervously, and then fell suddenly silent, his gaze shifting to the road ahead of them.
 
She could feel the almost numbing sensation on her lips from where they had pressed against Ryan's, hear his stuttering words mere moments before he kissed her, still feel the tingling sensation of his fingers gripping her ass. It was all still fresh on her body, as if he had marked her with his body.

Maya could feel the wind blowing through the passenger side window and onto her face. For a moment, she felt free. Free of worry, of desire, of forbidden passion. She felt like she always had, like Maya. Like Maya and Ryan, best friends together on a journey.

She could hear his words, hear the humorless laugh as he looked at the roam among them, her fingers tight on the driving wheel. She bit her lip slightly before glancing over at him before looking back at the road.

"Just, just give me a minute, okay?" She asked him softly, allowing her mind to wander aimlessly, her eyes fixated on the road as she rolled her own window down and took in a deep breath, the wind causing her hair to blow gently in the wind, the smell of her strawberry shampoo still lingering throughout the air, despite the salt water that had drifted on her limbs throughout the day. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Maya let out a long, slow breath and relaxed her fingers on the wheel as she pulled onto her street.

"Are you still staying the night?" She asked softly, a smile playing at the edges of her lips. "You know, the only reason I let you sleep in my bed before, was because I thought you were gay." She teased him with a serious face and voice, totally convincing.

Parking the car in her garage, she turned to look at his face and couldn't hold back laughing at what she saw. He totally fell for it. Nudging his shoulder playfully, she rolled her eyes and unbuckled her seat belt. "I'm kidding. Jeez, relax." She teased with a smirk. "Let's just keep things the way they've always been for now, see what happens. I can't live without my best friend." She told him seriously, but a smile on her face none the less.

Getting out of the car, Maya walked around to his side and opened his car door and waited until he got out to give him a hug and then while pulling back, she placed a kiss on his cheek. "Best friends till death, no matter what." She told him softly, the pact they had made nine years ago. Opening the back door, she bent over and reached for her bag and clothes, forgetting that she was wearing a bikini and it was riding pretty tight to her flesh as she reached for her bags.

Finally getting her things and his, she unlocked the door and walked inside. Maya placed their things down on the couch before she looked at him and let out a soft breath.

"I'm going to get a shower." She told him softly. "You can use the other bathroom to get a shower, or get something to eat." Clasping her hands together, she paused for a moment before walking around the corner. "You've been here enough to know your way around." She told him with a smile before disappearing down the hall, into the bathroom, and into the shower.
 
He nodded as she asked for a minute, remaining silent, and hung his arm out the window, bending and straightening his fingers as his hand bounced up and down on the current of air while they drove. Needing to escape from his own head a bit, he picked up the iPod hooked to her stereo and scrolled through until he found Nick Drake's Pink Moon, and he let the gentle guitar wash over them, filling the spaces left by their silence. He tilted his head a little, looking at the dark, clear sky above them, and smiled when he found bright Venus in the sky next to nearly-full moon. He always found the stars somehow comforting, reminding him that his problems were small and insignificant to the cosmos. He kissed a pretty girl, and somewhere, somewhen, a star exploded. There were worse fates than giving the pretty girl a moment to figure out what the hell just happened between them.

He turned his attention back to her when she asked if he was still staying the night, and opened his mouth to reply with something along the lines of There is nothing else in the world I want more than that right now. Or maybe something along the lines of a simple Yes, if you still want me to. Probably a better choice, considering. She interrupted him before he had the chance, though, and his eyes went wide, mouth falling open as she told him she only let him sleep in her bed because she thought he was gay. Was she serious? If so, then it's no wonder he so badly misread the signs that led to what happened back in the water. And how much more of their relationship was based on her thinking he was gay? How long had she thought he was gay?! He was looking at her still, unable to even formulate a response, when they pulled into her garage, and she laughed what he was sure was a shocked expression on her face, his shoulders relaxing as she nudged him and told him she was kidding. Thank god.

He nodded in agreement with her suggestion, returning her smile, and by the time he turned the iPod off and had his seatbelt off she was on his side of the car and opening his door.

"Aw, what a gentlemen!" he said with a grin, getting out and hugging her tight when she slipped her arms around him. He nodded again, repeating to her, "No matter what," and then pressed his cheek into her kiss, smiling as he noted that the softness of her lips had not been an illusion of the moment.

As she stepped away he turned to close his door and turning back around he was met with her round ass bent over in bikini bottoms that seemed to be getting tighter against her skin as the night wore on, and he couldn't help but to stare a little, caught off guard as he was upon suddenly being met with the sight. He snapped his eyes away quickly when she backed away from the backseat with their stuff in her hands, and he closed the car door for her as she headed into the house.

Following her, he couldn't help another glance down, watching the hypnotizing way her hips swayed as she walked into the house ahead of him, but he was careful not to stare this time. He nodded when she said she was going for a shower, chuckling quiet as she mentioned that he'd been there enough to know his way around. Few things were more true than that.

He watched her until she disappeared around the corner, then went to the fridge, opening it and grabbing a bottle of water. Screwing off the cap, he downed it in four gulps, feeling the cold all the way down to his stomach. He leaned over the sink then, looking out the window behind it, and drew in a deep breath, exhaling slowly. What. The. Fuck., he thought, trying to make sense of the way things had just changed between them. Best friends, til death, no matter what. But... was there a "what"? And was it more than a mistake he'd made in the heat of a moment? He had no answers.

Shaking his head, trying to clear it, he grabbed a towel from the linen closet and headed for the other bathroom, a hot shower sounding like a great idea. Upon entering the bathroom, he realized none of his stuff was in this one, since he'd used the other when he showered that morning, and he'd wanted to shave before heading to bed. Pondering for a moment, he gave a shrug and figured, What the hell, in for a penny in for a pound! It wouldn't be the first time he'd grabbed something from the bathroom while she was in the shower. No matter what, remember, he reminded himself.

Padding down the hall in bare feet, he rapped on the door as he opened it, the steam already filling the room and fogging up the small mirror. "Hey Ya-ya," he said, his tone light, "Would you mind handing my razor for in there? I wanted to shave before heading to bed and forgot I'd stuck it in there this morning."
 
Running her hands through her hair, Maya let out a deep breath, allowing the hot water calm her nerves, take her stress away, relax her tense body. Maybe she could convince Ryan into doing massages for one another, returning the favor as well. That sounded nice right about now. She was so caught up in what she was doing, in relaxing against the steaming water, that she hadn't heard the knock on the door, nor his request about the razor, making her yell in surprise and for her to fall in the tub.

"Shit!" She muttered to herself as she picked herself up from the slippery surface, rubbing her knee as she wrapped the shower curtain around her body, forgetting that she had gotten the curtain exchanged to a new white one and when wet, see through. The cloth soaked to her wet chest, the outline of her nipples and breasts pressing against the fabric, as well as a thin line that began to fade through to show her upper stomach, the image growing every few moments that water allowed.

"You scared the hell out of me, Ryan. Jeez." With a sigh, she found his razor on the shower's edge and picked it up, handing it out for him. "Here, is this it?" She asked, clearly unaware of what the shower curtain was showing him.
 
"Shit!" he called out as he heard her fall, and he stepped more fully into the bathroom, hesitating to make sure she was okay before he just burst into the shower to check on her. "Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you, I thought you heard me knock." She seemed okay as she picked herself up and pulled the shower curtain around her body, and he started to come forward to take the outstretched razor when he saw what was happening with the shower curtain and paused. He had expected to walk in, grab his razor, and head back to the other shower, something that would take only a moment. Now, he'd managed to make her fall, and then was confronted with even more of her bare skin than he saw today as the curtain slowly revealed more and more of her to him. Her breasts were obvious almost right away, her pink nipples drawing his eyes without him even realizing it was happening at first, and he allowed himself only a short moment to let his eyes linger before pulling them back up to meet her face, wet and lined with her hair sticking to her.

Somehow, it actually managed to break the tension, and he grinned, nodding his head towards the shower curtain, his brow arching a little at her, "You know, you could give a guy some ideas showing yourself off like that."
 
Maya arched a brow as she saw Ryan's eyes trailing the shower curtain. She held one arm up, acting as if she were showcasing the shower curtain as a fashion, a cheesy smile on her lips as she laughed softly before his eyes connected with her own, and she could see that desire reflecting once more inside of his deep green orbs.

She started to ask him why, but then she heard his comment, his brow arched high as he nodded toward the shower. She let her eyes drop from his face, to the shower curtain that had been 'covering' her body. It had been soaked from the shower and had become see through, her breasts and nipples clearly visible. Jumping back from the shower curtain, Maya gasped in shock before looking up at him.

"You know if I wasn't naked, I'd come out there-" She trailed off glaring at him, her lips lifting at the corners slightly as a smile approached her lips. "Now stop perving and go take your own shower. I'm sure I gave you plenty of ideas." She teased.
 
She clearly didn't realize right away that he could so clearly see her naked body through the curtain, and the way she pretended to model it only drew his eyes back down to her body for a moment. How on earth had this night spiraled so quickly out of control? he wondered as, with considerably more effort involved, he dragged his eyes back up to her face once again.

He couldn't help it, and he laughed when she jumped back, bending and picking up the razor she dropped outside of the shower as he did. He grinned at her threat, shaking his head at her, "If you weren't naked, I'd come in there after you and show you what's what." With a laugh, he stuck out his tongue at her. "Me perving? You're the one that was showing off! Imagine if I walked in here naked and then accused you of being the pervy one!"

He turned as if to leave, muttering under his breath in fake frustration, "The nerve of some people." He paused just inside the doorway as an idea occurred to him, and with no time to give it a second thought he turned and crossed the couple steps to the small sink, twisting the knob for hot water all the way open, robbing her of her hot water and turning her shower quickly cold. In the short moment before he knew it would hit her, he couldn't hold it in, and he burst out with laughter.

Despite the arousal, somewhat awkward though it was, that he felt from the sight of her body, it felt good to be laughing and playful with her again. So much tension from one little kiss.
 
"You'd come in here and show me what's what?" She taunted with mock horror on her face. "I am shaking in terror." She mocked sarcastically with a bright smile. "But that's a complete different situation!" She exclaimed with a small laugh. "I'm already here naked, I was here first, and you came in and started making accusations about me giving you images. So you my friend, are the perv." She teased with a grin.

Maya rolled her eyes as he started to depart the bathroom, muttering under his breath. Just wait until she got out of here. She was almost done matter of fact. Maybe she could surprise him? Just as the image crossed her mind, she felt stinging ice cold water shooting down on her body, making her joints lock up as she shreiked in surprise, frantically waving her hands as she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her body as she thought of something last minute and pretended to trip, landing on the pink fuzzy rug on the tiled floor of the bathroom, holding her leg as she pretended to be hurt. She was a pretty damn good actor, and almost always tricked Ryan, like she would now.

"Ow, ow shit!" She cried out, holding her leg as her wet hair plastered among her face and chest. "I think I sprained my ankle." She whimpered.
 
His eyes went wide, his face a mask of shock as she seemed to fall out of the shower, and he he spun the handle on the faucet, turning the water off before crouching on the plush rug she laid on.

"Oh my god! Fuck! I'm so sorry!"

He froze a bit, unsure what to do, and he reached out to lightly touch the leg she was holding, sure the signs of swelling would start showing up soon. How had they so quickly gone from these toned legs wrapped around his waist in the water to a practical joke gone awry and causing her to sprain her ankle? This night just continued to take insane twists!

"Here, uh.. fuck.." he shook his head, unsure if he should leave her here and go get ice, or try to help her up, or just wait until she told him what she wanted to do...

Finally, he just acted, the weight of his guilt spurring him into action. Slipping his arms around her much as he had on the beach, he lifted her from the rug, his eyes on her face the entire time.

"God, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean... here, let me get you on your bed and I'll go grab you some ice," he said, carrying her out of the bathroom.
 
A victorious grin crosses Maya's lips as he runs to shut both the faucet and shower off. She quickly wipes the smirk away as he seems to flop down on the rug beside her, watching her face as he apologized, making her just want to laugh in his face. She was going to milk this for all it was worth for a while, then she'd tell him the truth. She's done stuff like this before and he can never tell.

Maya whimpered softly as he apologized once more, looking around as if conflicted on what he should do first. She knew he was afraid to touch her, or go get ice for her, which was even more perfect. When he slipped his arms around her and picked her up from the carpet, Maya milked it even worse as she jutted her bottom lip out and with a soft gasp, let another whimper leave her pouty lips.

Looking up to his face, Maya nodded her head with puppy dog eyes. "Okay." She whispered in a sad voice, watching him as he carried her to her bed, he towel loosening slightly as a heavy amount of cleavage began to form while he layed her on her bed, propping her injured foot up with a fluffy pillow before almost running from the room to get her some ice.

"Like taking candy from a baby." She thought to herself with a smirk.
 
His eyes flicker down for a moment as her towel shifts, revealing a bit of cleavage and drawing his attention with the movement, and looking only makes him feel worse. It is possible for a great day to spiral any more out of control than this one has? At this point, he wouldn't be shocked if he set her on fire before the night ended.

His heart was thumping, adrenaline had been sent through his veins, and he had to force himself to be gentle as he tenderly lifted her leg and slid a pillow under it to prop it up. He knew it was good to elevate it to keep it from swelling too badly... which, at least, it didn't seem to be doing yet. Maybe that was a sign that she hadn't hurt it too badly, just twisted and not really strained. Still, she definitely needed ice.

"Okay, okay.. one second, I'll be right back."

He turned to leave the room, stopping for only a moment to look back to her, his brow creased with worry, "I'm so sorry, Ya-ya," he said then disappeared through the door, muttering under his breath as he did, "Fucking moron, how the hell do you sprain her ankle?"

He went to the kitchen and grabbed a zip-lock bag, then opened the freezer and shoveled a couple handfuls of ice into it. Pressing the air out, he sealed it up, then grabbed a hand towel and made his way back to the bedroom, wrapping the ice around the towel as he did.

"Okay, I've got ice!" he said as he came walking back in.
 
As Ryan turned back to give her a sympathetic look, apologizing to her, she almost felt guilty. Almost being the operative word. Biting her lip, she waited until he left to jump out of the bed. She quickly pulled on a matching set of neon green lingerie and then covered her body with a pair of short black shorts and a neon green tank top.

Maya looked around the room as she tapped her foot on the lush carpet of her floor. What should she do? Hearing footsteps in the hallway, she quickly hid behind the door and waited for him to come into the room. As he came in, yelling about having the ice, she waited until he looked at the empty bed and then jumped on his back, her legs wrapping around his waist from behind, as well as her arms around his neck.

"Ice for what, silly?" She teased with a giggle. "I'm perfectly fine."
 
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