My One & Only

Ch 37: Let it Be

Listen y'all will probably be cussing me out till the end of the book, except Riley since she likes drama, enjoy!

**************************************************

Three months seemed to come and go, and August welcomed them with open arms. Senior year felt surreal to everyone since it sprung up on them; they just hoped it'd be a good final year of schooling.

It's also been three months since Lynne's passing, and Ricky's been doing okay. He managed to get through finals fine and spent the summer working at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts in Reno to keep himself busy. Reginald was nice enough to give him a job there, which Ricky was thankful for since it'd help with his career.

Ricky only informed his dad, the Quinn's, and Nini about what he received in the will and what Lynne said in the note. He only told the Quinn's since they contributed to his college funding and informed them to use any money they had saved for him on Nini instead. He'd tell Lily one day, but it didn't seem important that she knew. He continued to see Lily during the summer a lot since she didn't live far away, and he didn't have anyone else to spend the summer with.

Nini had gone home for the summer like she always did and got a temporary job at a diner she and Ricky like in Park City. She was happy to see her childhood friends and her family again, but Ricky's absence was definitely felt. She facetimed him almost every single day to catch up and to check up on how he was holding up. She knew he wasn't entirely over Lynne's passing yet, and she was debating on leaving the city since she was aware he was staying in Reno.

He encouraged her to go back to Salt Lake and that he'd be fine. She was still hesitant, but she left and promised she'd drive back if he needed her. It was weird to not see the other during the summer; they haven't experienced that since the 8th grade when she went to basketball camp.

Unbeknownst to Nini, Ricky was not telling her the full truth. He was more upset than what he was leading on about his mother, but he refused to hold Nini back for comfort. He'd feel awful if he was the reason she stayed behind, especially since Lily was good at moral support.

Speaking of the devil, Lily and Ricky have gotten closer over the summer. With Nini gone, he had plenty of spare time when he was off work to hang out with her. They went on an assortment of dates and visited Incline Village often to see her father. Reginald treated them both to many nice excursions and kept his promise of sending Ricky to New York for a show. Lincoln was showing a Broadway production of Hadestown, and Ricky was more than happy to attend. He considered reaching out to his mother's family while he was there, but he decided against it since he wanted to make sure he enjoyed his time there.

He wanted to tell Nini everything he's been doing with Lily, but it felt wrong to. He knows they don't exactly see eye to eye, so talking about her seemed like a bad idea. He only told her what was necessary, but he never told her about any of the dates they went on. He already felt bad for withholding that from her, but he felt worse about the bigger news he failed to tell her.

Lily and Ricky were an item now.

Lily had asked to make it official two weeks before the semester started. He didn't say yes immediately since he needed time. After careful consideration and the shattering realization that life was far too short, he said yes. He forced down any "what if's" or doubts when he agreed since that was the main mistake he made with Nini.

Now that Nini was back in town, he knew he had to come clean, but he wasn't sure how. He figured he'd ease into it sometime during the first week. Ricky was in the main theater of his school, waiting for Nini to walk through the doors. Instead, he sees his girlfriend barging through the doors.