Ocean State of Mind

Competitions

Back in Nini Panini's POV
______________________________

I woke up this morning with yet another smile on my face. I'll admit, I definitely wasn't excited when Ej brought up moving here because of his promotion. I don't like change and I was comfortable in Salt Lake, but for some reason, I was starting to feel more and more at home here.

I began to get up to get ready for work when I felt Ej's strong arm pull me back down. "Why don't you just stay here? We could cuddle, and do... other things." He whispered as he began to plant kisses down my neck. I sighed, but it wasn't out of pleasure... more out of (and I really hate to say this)- annoyance? I love Ej, I do,  and we still have a good time but I'm just not feeling it as much.

Wait, what am I saying!? I should be loving this!

I shook my head and lightly pushed him away. "As much as I would love to do this babe, I can't. I have to go to work. Ricky's also competing today." I said, getting up. I heard Ej groan and I turned around to face him. "What?" I asked with my hands on my hips. "You're always going on and on about Ricky. Ricky this, Ricky that! It's beginning to get on my nerves, Nini!" Ej said, getting up also. Who the hell does he think he is?! He's getting mad at me for making and having new friends?! It took all of me to bite my tongue and keep calm before things took a turn for the worst.

I cleared my throat and shook my head. "Ej... Let me tell you two facts. One: That I love you, and two: that Ricky and I are just friends!" I said, even though for some reason it pained me to say those words. "I know. Oh wait! My friend Ryan is competing in that surfing thing! I'll be there too, we can finally do something together!" Ej said happily. I laughed "Oh yay! Well, I've gotta head out, but what time will you be at the competition?" I asked as I walked into the bathroom and got changed. "Around two." I heard him call back from the closet. I walked out, grabbed my keys and bag, and gave Ej a quick kiss. "I'll see you at two! Love you!" I called out as I walked down the hall. "Love you too!" I heard him call out as I shut the door behind me.

I drove down the street looking over at the ocean every now and again, and I saw people were already starting to gather on the beach. It still surprises me how much of an impact surfing has here. It's 8am and the competition doesn't start for another two hours! I pulled into the parking lot and walked into the very crowded cafe. As I was setting my bag under the counter, Lynne scurried over to me with a notepad, "Oh thank god you're here, Nini! I appreciate you taking care of my son yesterday, but now I need you to get to work! There's a lot more people here today since the competition is this afternoon!" She told me, handing me the notepad. "It wasn't a problem, Lynne. I'm sure Ricky would've done the same, and I'll get right to it!" I said. I walked up to greet some people and find them a seat, all while waving to Gina who was running all over the place. There was a group of girls sitting in the back corner, and I swear... each time I walked past them or stopped near them to wait a table, they would say something along the lines of: "I can't wait to see Ricky, he's soo hot!" Or, "I've got the perfect bikini to wear, maybe he'll notice me" Ugh! I wanted to "accidentally" spill their water on them or their food. Not because I'm jealous... not at all!

I was waiting on some food when Gina walked over to me, nudging my shoulders with hers. "So, are you coming to Ricky's competition?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows. I rolled my eyes lightly and chuckled, "Of course!" I said as if it was the simplest answer in the world. "I figured you'd be there since you know... you're always drooling over him." The curly haired laughed. "No! I'm not! God, where in the world would you get that kind of idea from?" I asked looking at Gina who had a smile on her face. " Oh, I don't know... I have these things that all human beings have. They're called eyes, honey." She said, which caused me to roll my eyes. Suddenly the door chimed and Lily walked in wearing a pair of extremely short white shorts and a mint bikini top that left little to the imagination. As much as I hated to admit it, Lily was flawless, and admittedly her body was stunning, so it wasn't hard to see why Ricky found her attractive. Plus, she's so nice. She was the seemingly perfect, all-American girl, and I hated her because of it.