Work Text:
maya runs her finger around the mouth of her glass slowly.
her lips are pursed, dark lipstick smudging around the edges. blue eyes narrow into sharp daggers. she points them directly at lucas, at his arm draped casually over riley’s shoulders.
he whispers into her ear, pointing his other hand at some of the cards in her hand. maya tries to cool the jealousy. she tries to write it off as him just explaining the rules of the game to her, like any good friend would do. but he moves closer to her, and he says something that makes her laugh.
maya knows she shouldn’t feel this way. riley and lucas aren’t a thing, haven’t been since their sophomore year of high school. and yet she still notices the way riley looks at lucas. it’s the same way she looked at him that very first day, when maya pointed him out on the subway.
and then maya’s feelings for lucas resurfaced, just as infatuated but ten times as violent. it wasn’t all at once. it happened slowly, in the quiet moments. the times where it was just the two of them in her kitchen when riley was in the shower. the moments where they were the only ones left awake on movie nights, blue eyes holding green in the light of the credits rolling on screen. the few times lucas stopped by her studio with a hot coffee and a muffin, just because he was ‘in the area.’
so she does feel this way. because riley still loves lucas, so lucas will never pursue maya the way that she wants him to. instead, their relationship has become quiet kisses and secret glances when no one is looking. it’s maya sneaking lucas in and out of her bedroom while riley is still asleep in the room next to her. and it’s maya wishing she could have lucas the way she wants him, unashamed and uninhibited. open and in love and proud of it.
her envy manifests in an angry fire, simmering low in her stomach. lucas stokes the embers, hand stroking riley’s shoulder where it rests so easily. like it belongs. maya grips the neck of her martini glass tight and shoots one pointed boot out. it connects with lucas’ shin, and he jerks in his seat before looking straight at her.
maya remains steady. the epitome of grace as she takes one long pull from her glass. but her eyes cut through lucas, fire flickering a little brighter in her gaze.
he holds it, intense. maya feels stuck somewhere between him undressing her in his head and him dissecting her emotions. it’s unnerving, and her little smirk falters behind her glass. it’s nearly imperceptible, but that doesn’t stop lucas. he’s always had a way of knowing her.
“lucas,” riley puts a gentle hand on his arm. it’s innocent, oh so unintentional, and that’s why it kills maya so much. “are you okay?”
lucas blinks, finally breaking their unspoken stare off. he drops his arm from around riley’s shoulders, fanning out the cards in his hands. “yeah, i’m fine. i think my foot just fell asleep.” under the table, he knocks his shoe with maya’s.
“well, it’s your turn, so can you hurry up?” zay taps the side of his cards impatiently against the table.
lucas shoots him a cold glare, draws a card, then lays all but one card down. he smiles at zay kindly as he discards it. “i’m out.”
“oh, you asshole! i had two aces i was trying to play,” isadora waves the offending cards around in the air. for someone who it always pretty low toned and chill, isadora gets pretty heated when it comes to game nights.
maya relaxes against the back of the booth. her ankle hooks around lucas’, and when he looks at her, it’s soft and affectionate. the fire swells, warming her heart with gentle heat.
“let’s switch games,” farkle suggests. he’s soothing over isadora’s back, trying to get her anger to subside.
“i’m going to get another drink,” maya stands up. she adjusts the bottom of her dress, short and black and fitted. “anyone else need anything?”
“another whiskey,” lucas shakes his empty glass. it’s a little arrogant, but she just rolls her eyes.
“can you just get me orange juice?” riley smiles. her eyes are a little glassy, and her expressions are a little slowed by alcohol.
“sure thing, honey,” maya nods. she turns and saunters away from their little, round corner booth. it’s the same little bar they’d been coming to for three years, twice a month without fail. the bartender knows her name, and they make small talk while he makes their drinks.
it’s polite. he asks her about her art, which the bar had displayed a few pieces of over the years. currently, one of her favorites hangs off to one side. it’s of a fire, sparks lifting into a night sky. as they go up the long canvas, they mix in with the stars. she’s telling him of a current piece she’s working on that she’d be willing to put in here when a hand settles low on her back.
“you need any help?” lucas dips his head to look at her. his eyes are green and sparkly in the lighting. maya blinks. something about the hand that was on riley now touching her strikes a match.
“no, i’m okay. just waiting for our drinks.” maya drums her fingers on the countertop. she waits for lucas to drop his hand or move away, but he doesn’t. “you can go back now.”
“i thought you might want help carrying them.”
maya scoffs. “it’s just three drinks.”
his eyes flick between the bartender and their booth. “why are you acting like this?”
“like what?” maya takes hers and riley’s drinks. lucas snatches his up, amber almost splashing out the sides of the glass.
“like you’re jealous,” lucas says it plainly. maya stiffens, but she keeps walking back to their friends. “you know you’re the one i want.”
“what game did you pick?” maya changes the subject, sliding easily back into the booth. she passes riley her orange juice across the table, who perks up.
“thanks, peaches!” she beams like the sun. lucas sits at the booth’s other end, next to riley.
“king’s cup,” zay chimes. he finishes shuffling the deck of cards and places it in the center. then he pushes lucas’ old whiskey glass next to it. “normal rules, except for four. table slap instead.”
maya nods, taking the liberty of drawing the first card. “seven.” she raises her hand up quick, everyone following her lead. riley, last, sips her juice. maya puts the card on top of the empty glass.
they go around the circle like that for a while. when farkle, next to maya, draws an ace, she glares at him as he slowly chugs his beer. her martini is empty by the time he puts the bottle down.
“great, i’ll be back.” maya pushes up from the table. “keep going, i’ll just take the penalties if i have to.”
this time, she gets two martinis and a hard cider. she orders another round for everyone else, too. the bartender gives her the drinks on a tray.
she carries them carefully back to their table, passing them out just as isadora asks riley a question. must’ve been a queen drawn. “what’s the last lie you’ve told one of us?”
riley chews on her lip, a guilty tell. her eyes turn to farkle. “that i read your research paper on belgium 1831 that you published.”
farkle gapes at her. riley hides her face in her hands. she peeks through her fingers. “maya, have you ever dated someone in secret?”
maya purses her lips. she cuts her gaze to lucas briefly. “yes.” he looks down at his knuckles.
riley sits upright, gasping. “it was josh, wasn’t it? i knew you still had a thing for him!”
“you’ve already asked your question, riley. it’s maya’s turn,” farkle redirects.
maya looks straight to zay. “weirdest place you fucked?” she smirks as riley protests how crude she said it.
“easy. the back of lucas’ pickup truck.” he juts his thumb in lucas’ direction.
he groans, and maya cackles. “i really tried to forgot that. i sold that thing right after you gave me the keys back.”
“hey, you should’ve expected it when i asked to take veronica out in it,” zay says with a shrug of his shoulders. “but hey, while we’re talking, who’s your best sex?”
lucas grows quiet, and riley, next to him, blushes. it’s no secret they slept together once - a drunken hookup in the middle of their college years. but lucas has slept with several people. and lately, maya’s been the one sharing a bed with him. and between the two of them, it was no secret that their chemistry in bed was off the charts.
he slowly reaches for his whiskey, and zay instantly complains. “aw, come on, man! don’t be a prude.”
“it’s my choice, babineaux.” lucas fixes him with a stern expression.
“you scared, cowboy?” maya leans forward. her lips curl into a devilish grin, fully ill intentioned. his green eyes darken. “it’s not a hard question. who out there fucks you best?”
“maya.” he grits his teeth. it’s meant as a warning, and it looks like that to their friends. to her, though, it’s an answer. she’s rather pleased with herself even as lucas takes a sip of his whiskey.
“you two are such instigators," riley chides her and zay as she draws a card. “ooh! rhyming! a purple cat takes a bath.”
maya, affectionately, rolls her eyes. always the purple cats.
“maya should be careful before she feels my wrath,” lucas spits her way.
her frustration-fueled fire flares. “and lucas should tread carefully down this path.” they exchange heated glares.
“i’m a genius when it comes to math,” farkle brags. by the way his leg shakes against maya’s, she knows he’s trying to dissolve the tension.
isadora drinks, because bath is a stupid word to have to rhyme with. riley knows this, had done it intentionally, and cheers that she stumped someone.
lucas draws an eight. he makes maya his drinking buddy. then he starts drinking intentionally. she keeps up with him for a while, but she quickly goes through her martinis and starts taking smaller sips from her cider.
the game ends once farkle has to drink the kings cup. it’s a weird mix of whiskey, orange juice, vodka tonic, and cider. he makes a disgusted noise once he finishes it, but maya’s just relieved the game is over.
“well, this was fun.” maya stands, collecting her purse. “i’m going to close out my tab. ready, riles?”
“mhm!” the brunette nods. she’s got a sleepy smile on her face, and when lucas lets her out, she instantly clings to maya’s arm. “ so ready. i’m really tired.”
“i know, honey.” she pats her hand, leading her over to the bar. riley follows her because they always follow each other because they’re riley-and-maya, est. 2008. she closes both of their tabs, taking riley’s receipt so she can venmo her in the morning when she’s sobered up.
they say quick goodbyes, and then maya’s dragging riley out to their uber. she’d take the subway normally, but she’s a bit too inebriated to manage their safety on public transit and get them home.
she barely gets up to their apartment and makes sure riley gets to bed before her phone is buzzing. she groans, deep and annoyed, trading contacts for glasses before reading it.
i’m outside. i want to talk.
she wants to tell him no. she wants to tell him to fuck off, let her sleep. she’s barely had time to take her boots off, still in her dress. she’s tired to the bone. but she shoves her feet into her bunny slippers and climbs onto her fire escape.
there, lucas stands. hands shoved into denim jacket, breathing heavy from the climb. his eyes graze over her, and he snorts when he sees her feet. “nice slippers.”
“the boots hurt my feet,” maya replies. she leans forward against the railing. he’s quiet for a moment, just watching her. her slipper digs into the gaps of the landing. “you wanted to talk, huck. get to talking.”
“you don’t have to be jealous, you know,” lucas rests his palms against the rail.
“i wasn’t jealous.” she’s quick to defend herself.
“sure. and you weren’t flirting with the bartender to get back at me.”
maya’s jaw drops, anger slowly writing itself across her face. “i wasn’t flirting with him. we’re friendly, lucas. he was asking me about my work. that’s it. oh my God, you are unbelievable.”
lucas’ jaw clenches.
“and if you wanna be all touchy with riley, go ahead! it’s not like we’re exclusive or anything. you’ve made that pretty clear. it’s hard to be jealous when i can’t even compete,” maya huffs, arms crossed, metal cold on her skin.
“so you are jealous.” his lips twitch.
“of course i am!” maya shouts, exasperated. “yeah, i’m jealous. who wouldn’t be? you’re still head over heels for your ex, but you’re crawling into my bed almost every night. i am in love with you, lucas, and you can’t even want me back.”
“damnit, maya, you know it’s not like that,” lucas says, voice low. “you know i’m over her. i don’t love her, maya.”
“does she know that?” maya counters. lucas looks away from her, guilty. “it didn’t look like that from the note on your fridge. does she know that you fucked me on the counter right next to it?”
“maya-”
“why am i even here? am i just a placeholder until you both decide to try again? to give it a shot even though you both know you’re not compatible, that the timing is never right for you two? when will you want me like that?” maya’s voice cracks. it’s pleading, begging, and maya has never felt more vulnerable.
lucas surges forward, gripping her jaw tightly. he turns her face enough to kiss her, and despite herself, maya relaxes into his touch. she opens her mouth when he licks the seam of her lips, and lets him guide her back to the brick wall with a hand on her hip. his fingers are strong there, bruisingly so.
“it’s you that i want, maya. it’s you i think about,” he mutters. his words come between sloppy kisses, tongue swiping along her teeth. “it’s you that keeps me up at night.” he bites her lip, and she gasps. “it’s you that drives me crazy.”
maya scrabbles for some control of the situation, scratching along his jaw with her nails. it’s a bit rough, and he winces but takes it. her voice is hoarse and full of want. “and who fucks you the best?”
“you, maya.” low, gravelly. wrecked. she loves him like this. so willing to please, so malleable.
she meets his eyes through her lashes. it drives him crazy, she knows it. “good boy.”
“shit, maya,” his fingers flex on her hip. “i fuckin’ need you.”
“what’re you waiting for, cowboy?” she runs her fingers through his short hair. “you’ve got me right here.”
she threads their hands together, and she leads him through her window. the fire in her is a fickle thing. it blazes, now, hot with need, burning through her. it sets her nerves alight, aware of everywhere lucas touches her skin at any given point.
she moves her hair for him to unzip her dress. maya gasps as lucas sucks at her neck, hands slowly sliding her dress down her body. his hands are warm where the air is cold, the contrast making her shiver.
she turns, pushing the jacket from his shoulders. once it hits the ground, he pulls his shirt over his head. maya backs herself onto the bed, lucas following her. her legs open to make room for him to kneel, and he leans over her to kiss her.
“you’re the girl for me,” lucas murmurs. his breath is warm on her lips, and she breathes the air he expels. her heart leaps. for the first time, their intimacy doesn’t feel underlined with bitterness. it feels hopeful, beautiful. like the unlocking of her soul. “you’re it, maya.”
she doesn’t speak, just pulls him into a searing kiss. his hands are fire on her skin. they light a path across her body, leaving her bare and so fucking hot . everywhere their bodies meet, the place they connect and the spots his hands rest as they rock together, it’s all just fuel.
and maya burns.
the fire only extinguishes when she’s spent, limbs limp on the bed. the warmth is replaced with cold, her ceiling fan drying the sheen of sweat on her pale skin. her heart still pounds in her chest, and she wonders if lucas can feel it.
his forehead rests between her collarbones. she feels his pants fanning across her chest, hot against sweat-cooled skin. she scratches her nails gently at the base of his skull, trying to piece her world back together.
“i’ll talk to riley,” he murmurs. lips press into the hollow of her chest. “i’ll lay it all out. i’m serious, maya. it’s you. i won’t let anything get in the way of that again.”
she pulls him up into a slow, soft kiss. it’s half to cover her blush, but it doesn’t hide the dopey grin on her face when she moves away. her eyes shine, and mirth is all over her words. “took you long enough.”