A Little Time to Get to You

thanksgiving (part 2)

I had hardly moved from Ricky's lap all evening, but about halfway through the third High School Musical that we were watching, Ricky taps on my leg and gestures for me to move.

"Just running to the bathroom." He mumbles in my ear and I nod, sinking back into the now-empty chair as I watched him lean down and talk to Ashlyn, probably attempting to figure out where the restroom was.

When he disappears, my mind begins to flood with all of the overwhelming feelings that were going on within me.

I love him so much and while I told him that I wouldn't say it to him until he was ready to say it back, I still wanted to scream it from the rooftops.

I bring my hand up to cover my smile as I think about the times that Ricky would be hesitant to kiss me as we got back into our relationship. His worry about not being able to tell me that he loved me always overpowered his want to just get lost in me, and many a times would he tell me that he was worried he wasn't enough. That maybe I deserved someone who could tell me how they feel. But I knew exactly how Ricky felt, and no matter what, I loved him more than he could ever know.

A couple more minutes pass and I continue to get lost in my thoughts of Ricky, but I start to become more aware of the fact that he was taking a particularly long time to come back from the bathroom.

Getting up quietly, I slip out of the living room, everyone too distracted by the movie to notice me anyway. I realize I have no clue where I'm going, but I'm glad to see Ricky leaning against a counter in the kitchen, his eyes trained down on his phone.

"Hey you" I greet and Ricky's head whips up, surprise evident on his face. "Oh... hi" he smiles and I see right through it. It doesn't quite meet his eyes and he looks a little shaken. "You okay hon?" I ask, making my way over to him and wrapping a hand around his bicep. He trains his gaze on where my hand meets his arm and I rub my thumb gently against the fabric of his sweatshirt, waiting for him to speak.

"I called my mom." He says and I raise my eyebrows in shock. "When?" I ask and he looks down. "Just now. She um, she didn't pick up." He says and right as I'm about to attempt to comfort him, he speaks again. "Some guy did. Told me she was in the shower." He laughs dryly but it sounds like he's choking.

"I think he's the reason she left Salt Lake so quickly. I wondered why she'd fly back to Chicago so suddenly, the divorce papers haven't even been drawn up. But um, yeah that's why." He chokes out and I frown, encircling his arm with both of mine, resting my head on his shoulder. "What can I do?" I ask and he clears his throat.

"Nothing. I rather just forget about this and not ruin the evening." He says quietly and I stand on my tippy toes, pressing a kiss to his cheek. His eyes flutter closed so I run my fingernails over his jaw before turning his face so that I could press my lips to his. "We can leave if you want. I know staring at a screen with people you're trying to pretend around isn't exactly the prime way to forget about something." I say and he chuckles, pulling away and shaking his head. He untangles our arms and wraps me in a tight embrace. I rest my chin on his chest, looking up at him. "Nah, plus we haven't even played any games or anything. I don't want to miss the good stuff and I don't want you to either." He says and I smile, giving him a small nod. "Whatever you say hon." I muse gently, resting my cheek on his chest and swaying our bodies gently. "Thank you Nins." He presses a kiss to the top of my head. "I love..."

"There you guys are! The movie just ended so we're gonna start playing a game that Carlos apparently made. It's gonna be great, come on!" Big Red interrupts, motioning for us to join them back in the living room.

I giggle and intertwine mine and Ricky's fingers together, pulling on his hand gently and leading us back towards all of our friends.