Ethereal Love

The Conversation

"Mom! Please, stop! Nothing was going on, we were just sleeping!" Nini defended herself. She was currently stood facing her in the kitchen while Ricky sat awkwardly on a stool at the breakfast bar, bright red and biting his lip. Dana's face was a similar color, but more out of anger than embarrassment.

"Nina Isabel Salazar-Roberts, don't you dare tell me to stop! I come home from work and go to check on my seventeen year old daughter, only to find her curled up with some boy in bed! I have every right to be angry!" She shouted in response. Nini sighed, shaking her head.

"I promise we were just sleeping, Momma. Honestly!"

"Somehow I find it difficult to take your word for it, Nina." She spat, shooting another scathing glance towards the curly headed boy at the counter.

"Oh, come on mom! I know I've lied to you a lot in the past, but I thought we'd agreed that I've changed! I'm a different person since camp!" she protested. She sighed, rubbing her face angrily.

"I know, Nini, and I want to believe you. It's just... I know you're growing up. I've accepted that. But as a single mother, sometimes I find it difficult to judge what's acceptable and what's not. And... I don't trust teenage boys." Nini rolled her eyes.

"Look, mom, you have to believe me. Yes, Ricky is my boyfriend. Yes, we're serious. Yes, we've had sex. But that is not what we were doing when you came in, and-"

"You've what?!" She yelled, eyes wide and face even redder as she glared at Ricky murderously. Nini sighed. She had hoped that if she slipped that in there, like it was nothing, she wouldn't notice it.

Well, okay. She'd hoped she wouldn't react too badly. She's her mother though, so of course she noticed.

"Mom, stop! It's as much my fault as it is his! Don't you dare go all psycho on him!" she shouted, placing her hands on Dana's shoulders to calm her. Ricky looked like he'd give anything for the ground to swallow him whole right then.

"I'm a big girl now, mom. I can make my own decisions and my own mistakes. I'm smart, and so is Ricky. I love him. Shouldn't that be all that matters?"

"No, Nini, it shouldn't. You're seventeen! And I damn well hope that he is, too, or I'm definitely getting my taser." Nini nodded quickly, reassuring her.

"Actually, it just so happens that we share a birthday. So we're the exact same age. Look, mom, I know this is difficult for you, but honestly? I always figured you thought I was having sex for a long time." She frowned. She rubbed her neck sheepishly.

"Well... I never believed it truly. But yes, honestly, sometimes you gave the impression that you were a little promiscuous." He admitted. She rolled her eyes.

"Mom, nobody says 'promiscuous' anymore." she cringed, "But anyway, see, if you thought that already and didn't lose your cool, why should you know?"

"Because now I know for sure! And I caught you in bed with the damn culprit!" She shouted. She laughed.

"Mom, Ricky isn't the 'culprit'. It was definitely a mutual decision. He's not taking advantage of me, and I don't feel pressured in any way. Okay?" she looked so mature in that moment that it brought a tear to Dana's eye. She sighed, still not happy with the development, but nodded in defeat.

"Alright. As long as you're happy. But please...God, please don't ever let me catch you." She shuddered at the thought and so did Nini. Ricky just went even redder and let out an embarrassed cough, just to remind them that he was still there and break the awkward silence.

"So... I think you should get going young man. Wouldn't want your parents to worry about you." She addressed Ricky civilly, but Nini could tell she still felt very hostile towards her boyfriend. Nini sighed, grabbing Ricky's hand once he'd jumped down from the stool he was perched on.

"Yeah, um... thanks Mrs. Salazar-Roberts. See you." He mumbled, smiling and squeezing Nini's hand to let her know he was okay. She smiled back, and Dana couldn't help but notice that, as much as she disliked the idea of her only daughter getting serious with a boy, she did look much happier than she'd seen her for a long time, and she could tell from the way the boy smiled that he wasn't messing around with Nini, for which she was grateful.

Nini walked Ricky to his car and then wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"I think she handled that well." She said into his shirt, smiling with relief. He laughed, nodding in agreement.

"I can't believe you just came out and told her, Neens. At first, I actually kinda thought it was a mistake. I honestly thought she was going to stab me. I've never been so afraid for my life." He shuddered at the memory of Dana's face. Nini laughed.

"Yeah, I wasn't too surprised by her reaction to be honest. But she seems okay with it now. Although when she told us not to let her catch us... ugh. That's such a put-off." She looked a bit grossed out and he laughed.

"Don't worry. We won't. It's not like we're having sex all the time. We've only done it, what, five times?" he nudged her. She laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I suppose. I just feel like... she knows now. So if she ever comes home and we're, like, hanging out watching a movie, she's just going to be thinking 'have they had sex today?', which is rather awkward." She furrowed her brow.

"I doubt that, Neens. She'll probably just try to forget about it, to be honest." He shrugged. She laughed.

"Good point. Man, sometimes I really wish my momma C was still here." She sighed.

"Why? So you can gossip about how good I am in bed?" he joked.

"Honestly? Yeah. It'd be kinda nice to have someone I could talk to like that. I mean, it's not like I can talk to Kourtney about it, and the only other friend I have that I'd discuss these things with is Gina." She sighed. He looked puzzled.

"Then why don't you talk to Gina?" he asked. She looked sad.

"Well, it's hardly something I want to discuss over the phone, Ricky."

"Why would you need to talk over the phone? You could see her face to face."

"What?" Nini looked up at him, shocked. He laughed, realization dawning.

"Oh, you didn't know? Gina lives here in Salt Lake! She actually goes to West High. Her house is, like, twenty minutes away." He told her. Nini stared up at him, shocked, for a long time.

Then she punched him in the stomach.
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I didn't like this chapter 🤷🏻‍♀️