Girl Meets Collection of Stories

Fireworks

Riley, Lucas, Maya, and Josh were sitting together on the roof of Riley's building to watch the 4th of July fireworks together. It was their last night in the in the city before Riley, Maya, Lucas, and Farkle took off to spend two months studying abroad in Paris for a pre-college program.

After taking French in high school their teacher told them about this study program. Many of their classmates applied for this program as well.

Amazingly all four of them were among the dozen or so students from their school that were accepted into the program.

All four friends savored this opportunity to spend two months together before they were separated for college. Riley and Lucas would be together at Columbia, but Maya was going to go to NYU with Josh and Farkle was going to Harvard on a full scholarship with Smackle.

Maya had mixed feelings about going. As amazing of an opportunity this proved to be, there was a gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach because it meant being apart from Josh for nearly two months. It was unfathomable for Maya.

Even though Josh and Maya had only been together for about 2 months, they hadn't even gone two consecutive days without seeing each other. Even before they got together it was rare if ever that they went more than week without getting to spend some time together.

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Maya sat between Josh's legs and leaned back against his chest, feeling his heartbeat. Josh wrapped his arms around her hugging her close. He was holding on tight, knowing he'd be letting her go in less than 24 hours. As they awaited the fireworks, they were both wishing the night would never end.

"What are you thinking about," Maya asked Josh, breaking the silence, as she gazed up at the few stars she could see in the city.

"You, mostly," Josh said softly as he breathed in the smell of her hair, before kissing the crown of her head, "How I'm going to miss you so much these next two months I can barely breathe."

"I keep trying to memorize everything about you, so when I miss you I can just close my eyes and see you, feel you," Maya confessed, kissing his forearms that were snug around her chest.

"When you miss me, think about it in French, and know you are missing from me too..." Josh trailed off, giving her the literal meaning of the French phrase.

"When you miss me just think about how amazing it will be to hold me in your arms the moment I get back," Maya countered, holding on to his arms for dear life.

"I can't wait," Josh said smiling a smile so big Maya could feel it against her head.

"Me too," Maya agreed. She rolled over in his arms so she was nearly on top of him, propping herself up. She ran her fingers through his hair, before sliding them down to his face, dropping her lips down onto his. They kissed deeply and passionately completely forgetting they weren't alone, not that Riley or Lucas noticed.

Josh pulled back from Maya for a moment, starring into her eyes as his mind wandered.

"What is it?" Maya snapped him back her question, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I just realized I'm kissing the person I'm going to love for the rest of my life," Josh answered smiling bashfully.

"The rest of your life, huh?" Maya teased him, lightly planting kisses on his lips, "That's good, cause I'm going to love you for the rest of mine."

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Riley rested her head on Lucas' chest, his arm around her shoulders, while their legs were tangled in front of them.

"Can you believe in 36 hours we'll be together in Paris?" Lucas wondered aloud as he slipped his fingers between hers as they waited on the fireworks to start.

"I can't even begin to explain how excited I am to spend two months with you in Paris," Riley replied, "But my heart aches for Maya because I know this is so hard for her, saying goodbye to Josh for so long."

"Yeah I don't think she realized it would be this hard when she applied for this program," Lucas observed as both of them felt concerned for Maya.

"To be fair, I don't think she expected to be with him right now, at least not as seriously as they are now," Riley countered, wondering Maya would even be going with them if she had known when they applied she'd be leaving behind so much.

"You're a good friend to her, Riley. She'll be okay," Lucas reassured Riley, pulling her closer to him with his arms, kissing the top of her head.

"I know," Riley agreed, looking up at him lovingly, though Lucas could still see some pain in her eyes. With his finger he lifter her chin closer to his face, before leaning down to kiss her tenderly, but affectionately. He loved the taste of the apple lip balm on her lips and she wore it just for him.

"Je t'aime, Riley," Lucas whispered to her, gazing intently into her eyes.

"I love you, too, Lucas," Riley replied, immediately understanding what he was saying.

"Even though the next two months will be amazing, I do kind of wish I could hold on to this moment forever," Lucas said as he looked at the city lights around him.

"It really is a perfect moment. Maya has Josh, and I have you," Riley smiles kissing him again, "I can't wait for the rest of our lives like this. Maya and I both having everything we've ever wanted. "

"That sounds pretty perfect to me," Lucas approved, lifting her hand that was laced between his own fingers, kissing the back of her palm.

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All of the sudden the first firework burst, echoing in their ears, making all of their hearts race faster than they already were. It was soon followed by more as the fireworks show they were anticipating continued on, the glow of the explosions radiated on their faces.

Maya rolled back over and held on to Josh tightly, never feeling safer than when he held her in his arms. Riley snuggled close to Lucas, as well, loving the feeling of his strong embrace.

As the booms and crashes continued, the two couples found themselves in the same and yet opposite places. One was about to embark on a two month adventure together; the other about to be an ocean apart for longer than they'd been in their relationship.

Riley knew she'd never want her time in Paris with Lucas to end, but Maya would be counting down the days until she'd be back in Josh's arms and tasting his kiss again.

Tomorrow they would face all of those emotions. Tonight it was just about spending time together, fireworks all around, both in the sky above them and in the kisses on their lips.