Ethereal Love

Two Pieces (pt. 2)

She approached him slowly, cautiously. She knew what she wanted, and she knew he wanted it too. But she was nervous, afraid. It had been one thing at the camp, when she was almost-drunk and he was a little tipsy and she was away from home and everything was great. But right at that moment, they were both stone-cold sober and back home in SLC, and everything in her life was fucked up. Yet she wanted this boy, this totally gorgeous curly-haired nerd, more than she'd ever wanted anything in her life.

She breathed out shakily as she took one final step forward, raising her shaking hands to rest on his chest. He gulped, not sure what to do. He desperately wanted to kiss her, more than anything else in the world, but he didn't want to rush things and scare her off. Not again.

But then her lips were on his, tentative at first. His hands moved to her hips and then her back. She moaned at the trail of heat his hands left and slid her hands down his stomach and then back up to rest on his shoulders, making him shiver. As the kiss got more heated, Ricky's hands moved lower down, picking her up so she wrapped her legs around his waist, and his tongue slipped into her mouth. She followed suit, tasting coffee and chocolate and peppermint. They pulled away to breathe and she nibbled his bottom lip, making him groan. They were both so lost in each other that they were caught off guard and knocked completely off their feet by a wave. She squealed as Ricky  fell, pulling Nini with him. They were underwater for a few seconds before they both came up, gasping for air. They looked at each other, Nini's long brown hair plastered to her face and neck and Ricky's curls unfortunately straightened, and laughed loudly. Their laughter soon dissolved, however, into more kisses, and they slowly made their way back to the dock before collapsing onto the ground, lying next to each other, kissing as the waves slammed against it.

They both pulled away after a few minutes and Ricky sat up, looking out at the lake. Nini felt a shift in the mood but couldn't put her finger on what it was. She sat up, kneeling behind him and wrapping her arms around his bare torso. She kissed the back of his neck and rested her head on his shoulder, breathing softly onto the bare skin of his shoulder. Her eyes drifted closed, not with tiredness, but calmness.

"So, what was it you were going to tell me earlier? I think my head is pretty clear now...you were right, I feel much better. Although it has less to do with the lake and more to do with you."

"I'm glad you feel better."

"Thanks, so am I. Now, answer my question." She said sternly. He sighed, wriggling around so that he was facing her. She smiled and sat back, covertly checking out his toned stomach as she waited for him to speak. She loved how he looked without a shirt on... the broad shoulders, muscular arms, toned stomach, and that oh-so-sexy 'Nini' tattoo on his ribs... she gasped, falling backwards onto the dock , shaking her head.

"Y-you... you have a tattoo. Of my name. That-that wasn't there before." She stammered, eyes glued to the black ink on his skin. He sighed, rubbing his face.

"Yeah, uh... I can explain. See, Nini... I've liked you for a long time. I originally only noticed you because we shared a birthday, and then of course the bitchiness, but then you started to look pretty, and then you were getting popular and I just... I felt drawn to you. I can't really explain it. I thought, I don't know, maybe I had a chance with you, but I never had the courage to talk to you. And then I got the braces and the glasses and I remember, the first birthday after I got them, we walked up to the front of the classroom and I smiled at you and you just...you frowned, like you had no idea who I was and why I was smiling at you, and then you just ignored me. And that... that broke my heart. So I decided I hated you, right then. I decided that it would be better to hate you than to have a crush on you and know that you'll never like me back. And honestly? You made it quite easy. In fact, I think for a while I actually believed I did hate you. And then you showed up and camp, and I knew straight away; the feelings were stronger than ever." Nini stared, open-mouthed, as he poured his heart out.

"You liked me... all this time, you liked me? And I was just a first-class bitch." She muttered, mostly to herself.

"Yeah. Not gonna lie, you were. But then, at camp, you were different. I hadn't seen you like that, not for a long time. And you treated me different... you'd been bitchy to me before, but then you took it to a whole new level, and I didn't know why."

"It was because... because you were attractive. I mean, you always were, but the glasses and the braces made it easy to call you a geek and hate you. If I can stick a label on someone, it's much easier to deal with my feelings. But then you went and got hot. Like, really hot, and suddenly, you weren't a geek... you were a Hottie. Capital H. And I didn't know how to deal with that."

"So you pushed me away even more..."

"Until that night."

"Yeah. Until that night." They both trailed off and stayed in silence for a while, before Nini spoke again.

"So... why the tattoo?"

"Because after we had sex, I realized that you really are the girl I imagined you to be. You just hid behind a façade all these years. And I liked you even more. Maybe I... maybe I even fell in love with you. All I know is that I've never felt like this before, and the tattoo was the result of one too many shots at a party I went to after I got home from camp." Nini couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"Oh. So... the tattoo was a mistake?"

"No. I was drunk when I got it, but it wasn't a mistake. I don't regret it, not at all."

"Oh." She smiled, relieved.

"So... how do you feel?"

"About what?"

"About what I just told you."

"Oh right. I don't know, Ricky. I mean, I know I don't hate you, obviously." He snorted, getting to his feet, suddenly angry.

"Is that all you can say? I just confessed that I'm in love with you, and all you can say is that you don't hate me?" he snarled.

"No! I mean...ugh, I DON'T KNOW, Ricky. All I know is that I've never been so attracted to a guy before. And when we were kissing earlier...I felt like everything would be alright. And all I dream about, all I think about, is that night. And honestly? I want it to happen again. I want you, Ricky. I want to go on dates with you, and kiss you, and have sex with you... I want all that. But I can't... I've pretended to be someone I'm not for so long, I can't just stop being Nini Salazar-Roberts, East High's resident Queen Bitch. If we were together...it would have to stay a secret. At least for now. If that's not enough for you, then... I guess we're stuck." She looked down, hoping to God that it would be enough for him. He was silent for a while, and Nini thought for a second that he had left, but then she felt his arm around her shoulder and his lips on her forehead.

"Okay, Nini. Okay." He murmured into her skin, and she smiled.

She didn't know how she felt, or how she would feel in a few days, or how she would feel in a year. But one thing was for sure; she wanted Ricky Bowen, and he wanted her, and maybe, just maybe, that was enough. For now, at least.
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Thoughts?