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Since the moment Riley saw the look on her best friend's face before Lucas got on the bull, she knew nothing would work out like she planned. Since the moment she kissed Lucas on the cheek and told him he was her brother she knew this would never be the same. Since the moment she felt a surge of happiness when she found out that no, Lucas didn't kiss Maya she knew that this wasn't how it was supposed to go.
Riley was trying her best. She was trying her best and she knew that she couldn't look at them together and be happy, and she didn't know why. It was always her instinct to make everyone else happy before she focused on herself, like a mom waiting for her kids to get seconds before she even dared to take a bite.
Riley and Lucas had kissed. Riley was sitting on his lap and he had his arms almost draped around her back but not quite, and his face felt warm in her hands and his body felt safe against hers. She liked it, it was nice, and she liked Lucas.
One night, on some Saturday night when Maya was spending the night like she always does on Saturdays, they were watching a movie. They were watching some romance movie that Riley had picked out.
"This one has a happy ending," she said, with a smile on her face.
"You like happy endings, don't you, Sunshine?" Maya asked.
"I do."
Riley grabbed a blanket from the cabinet and turned all the lights off. Throughout the movie, Riley and Maya gravitated towards each other, ending up with Riley's head on Maya's chest and Maya laying down, playing with Riley's hair. This was the position they ended up in most movie nights.
When the movie was over, Maya shifted, about to get up, but Riley stopped her. She grabbed her hand and pulled her back down, without a word.
"Okay," Maya whispered. They lay like this for maybe thirty minutes, not moving or speaking at all.
"I think it's getting kinda late, maybe we should head to bed," Maya suggested.
"Okay," Riley said. She got up and took Maya's hand, pulling her towards her room.
"I don't want to go to sleep just yet," Riley said, putting her iPod into the dock. She puts on a playlist with slow songs.
They lay on Riley's bed, facing each other, holding hands. Everything is calm. Riley can hear soft music coming from her speakers, and she can see only Maya.
They lay in silence and Riley just stares. She stares at Maya and Maya stares at her, and then, Maya kisses her.
Maya kisses her, and it's soft, and Maya is so warm, and it's quiet and peaceful, and Maya's hand comes up to her face and when her fingertips graze Riley's jaw she wants to sob with fondness. She melts in Maya's grip and they just keep kissing. Riley feels as if they're never going to stop kissing and she's okay with that. When Maya pulls away, she falls asleep quickly, holding Riley in her grasp.
For Riley, things just got even more complicated.
Riley liked Lucas. Riley liked Lucas. Riley liked Lucas.
Riley didn't like Maya. How could she? Maya was her best friend. Nothing could ever happen between them. Nothing. She'd said it before, and she'll say it again. Maya was her sister.
They never talked about the kiss. They had an unspoken agreement that it didn't really happen. They never kissed. They both liked Lucas.
They just didn't know who Lucas liked.
Riley found herself sat in the bay window with Lucas, not even to the dismay of her father.
"Lucas."
"Riley."
"I like you, Lucas."
"I like you, too."
"Then what's the problem?"
There was a long silence. Riley didn't think he would ever respond.
"I like Maya, too. Is that even possible? Can you like two people at one time?"
More silence.
"I like her, too."
Bay window again. Contestant number two.
"Maya, we have to talk about it."
"Talk about what? What are we talking about? There's nothing to talk about."
"You know exactly what I mean. "
"Yeah."
Riley turned towards her friend with tears and desperation in her eyes.
"Do you like Lucas?" She asked.
"Yes."
"Then why did you kiss me?"
"Because I like you, too?" Maya spoke. It read as a question, as if she was unsure of why.
"When did this get so complicated?"
"I don't know, Sunshine. I don't know."
Riley was done. She was through with going back and forth with these two. She wasn't exactly sure what she was doing, but it felt right, and she didn't see a problem with it, so she just, went with it.
Riley, Maya, and Lucas were sitting in a circle on Riley's floor. Riley took Lucas' hand, then Maya's. Maya took Lucas', too.
"What's going on?" Lucas asked.
"I don't really know. What I do know, though, is that I like you. And Maya. And Maya likes you and me, and you like Maya and me. And we're all holding hands and it feels nice," a tear slipped from her eye. "And I'm tired of being confused all the time."
"You would think this would feel weird, but, I like this. Yeah, this-this is nice."
Maya looked at the both of their awaiting faces.
"Yeah, okay."
Since the moment a triangle of cheek kisses was shared in the dead of night between Riley and her people, she knew that this was the plan all along.