maya does see riley, two days later that is.
shes with three boys and another girl, tossing a frisbee back and forth between the five of them. the brunettes wearing the yellow bikini maya had seen the few days previous, barefoot and running back and forth to catch the disk.
maya sets up her beach chair, stripping her own shorts and shirt off so she can lie out with her red bathing suit on (she finally remembered to wear it).
she pushes the sunglasses onto her nose, relaxing underneath the sun.
it's not that she's necessarily waiting for riley to notice her; she definitely isnt. that would be childish and weird and maya is a mature teenager.
however, that doesnt mean a secret smile doesnt form on her lips when she hears riley call her name and jog over to her chair.
"maya! hey, i havent seen you in a while," she greets, the rest of her friends trailing behind her.
maya pushes her shades up to her hair.
"its been two days, riles. dont think that counts as a while," the blonde retorts.
the brunette just shrugs, motioning to her friends.
"this is lucas, zay, farkle, and isadora, but everyone just calls her smackle," she introduces, gesturing to each of them.
lucas, who maya remembers as rileys ex, is a fit, tan, blonde boy with abs and a nice smile. zay is a darker skinned boy with puppy dog eyes and maya immediately knows shes going to like him. then there's farkle, who has the strangest features but it works well for him. he's kind of skinny, with brown hair and pretty blue eyes, but he looks fit despite his thin body. smackle is very pretty, a pair of glasses on her nose and dark hair falling to her shoulders. she's kind of small, and tan like riley.
"you're all locals i assume?"
the group nods, smiling and maya likes that they're so friendly.
"guys, this is maya. she's the one i was telling you about," riley announces, setting her hand on maya's shoulder.
"oh! this is the hot blonde you-" lucas slaps his hand over farkle's mouth before he can continue, while riley shoots him a warning look.
"i mean, this is the totally ugly blonde you ran into," farkle corrects once lucas removes his hand.
maya laughs, raising her eyebrows.
"should i be offended or flattered?"
riley just shakes her head, cheeks tinted pink, but maya wonders if it's just from the sun.
"anyways," zay starts, clearly sensing the awkwardness, "we were just going to get some smoothies and snacks. wanna come?" he asks.
maya nods, noting that riley waits a few moments before taking her hand off the blonde's shoulder and beginning to walk up the beach.
---
they're sat on a comfortable couch, still in their swim wear but not really caring. they're each nursing their own smoothies, which they got for free since riley's mom also owns the place.
"so, maya, where are you from?" smackle asks, and maya notices the more formal way of speaking she has than the rest.
"new york," she answers, taking a sip of her banana smoothie.
"im inferring that you're going back this August?" smackle hums, and maya nods, unsure if it was a question or a statement.
"so that means it would be absolutely awful if you dated someone, right? since you're leaving?" farkle questions, sending a knowing look to riley.
"i mean, yeah, i guess. long distance relationships never work, so there wouldn't be much of a point for dating someone, you know?" maya agrees, twirling her straw.
everyone seems to go a little silent at that, farkle and smackle giving riley more looks, and lucas and zay simply sipping their drinks awkwardly.
"we're having a bonfire tonight," riley speaks, her regular smile framing her mouth, "you should definitely come. you could stay over at my place, smackle usually does but she has a date with farkle after, so."
"riley," farkle starts but lucas and zay give him looks that seem to shut him up.
"yeah, that sounds great. where's the bonfire going to be at?"
"we'll all meet you at your hotel, yeah? just meet us outside of it," lucas assures.
the blonde nods, standing up.
"i should go get ready and let my mom know. bye, riles. bye, guys."
