Ocean State of Mind

Beach Day (pt. 2)

I quickly changed back into my dress and walked back out to where Gina was waiting for me. She was also holding a white lace cover up. "Trust me, you're gonna look hot. Ricky's not gonna know what he's missing!" She said. "Gina, for the love of god, we don't see each other that way! There's absolutely no chemistry there and if I'm trying to impress anyone, it's gonna be my boyfriend!" I exclaimed, annoyed. "Whatever you say, girl. Either way, I'm right." I shook my head and smiled before we made our way to the checkout. "C'mon, we gotta go or I'm gonna be late!" I said, taking her hand and dragging her to the front of the store.

I was about to pay when Gina smacked my hand away and handed the clerk her card. "Gina! What are you doing?!" I exclaimed! The suit wasn't exactly cheap and I know we don't make a ton of money. "What does it look like?" She responded, shrugging. "Consider this a gift." She added. I shook my head. "No. No way. I can't let you pay for that!" I conceded. She shook her head, stubbornly. "You can, and you will." She said, taking the bag from the clerk and handing it to me. "Let me pay you back!" I whined as we made our way back to the car. "Sorry Nini! But I had to! The only way I'll let you pay me back is by telling me what Ricky's reaction is!" She said as we got to her car. "Does it have to be that?" I asked. "Yes! Now hold on tight cuz we're almost late for your beach date" she said, quickly pulling out of the parking lot. "It's not a date!" I said. "Yeah, uh huh. Sure." I just decided on letting her wishful thinking go and joined in on the laughter as we drove back to the beach. Suddenly my phone buzzed and I looked down, seeing a text from Ej.

Hey, Doll.

I'm having another guys night so I won't be home till late. Don't wait up!

Love you!

I sighed in annoyance and closed my phone. This has become mine and Ej's new normal. He works long hours and we hardly see each other and if we do, most of the time it's just in passing. I should've known better than to think that things would change for us if we took the step and moved here. Now it just seems like we're pulling away from each other. "Earth to Nini!" Gina said, pulling me from my thoughts. "Huh? What'd you say?" I asked. She shrugged. "I didn't say anything but I wanna know where your heads at? You look like you're thinking hard about something." She said, softly as we pulled up to the parking lot. I was about to answer when I saw the clock in my peripheral. "Shit! I'm late! I'll-" I began, but Gina cut me off. "I know! Tell me about it later!" She called out. I smiled and walked over to Ricky's hut.

I opened the door and saw Ricky sitting at the counter playing with a guitar pic and he looked a little... disappointed? "Hey there, are you feeling better?" I asked. Ricky's face perked up and he smiled. "Oh thank god! I thought you forgot about me or something, and yeah I'm doing great!" He exclaimed. "I could never forget, even if I tried" I said. "Offense highly taken Sal-Robs." He said, throwing a hand over his heart, pretending to act hurt. "Oh, I'm sorry... did I make a dent in your huge ego? Oops my bad!" I said with laughter. Ricky just rolled his eyes but he had a smile on his face. "I'm going to change so I'll be out in a second. Go find a good beach spot?" I asked. "Yeah, you bet!" Ricky called out. I unlocked the changing room as I heard the screen door shut. I changed out of my dress and into my bikini, tying my cover wrap over my bottoms. I felt confident in the store, but suddenly, being on a beach with hundreds of people and a really cute guy (shut up, Nina) made me feel uncomfortable. Suddenly, I wanted a sinkhole to just swallow me up.

I spent the next few minutes pacing around Ricky's shack wondering what I was gonna do. I could've thrown a wetsuit on, but that wouldn't exactly be comfortable... or attractive. Eventually I just decided to suck it up. I felt sexy and confident at the store, so I should feel sexy and confident now. "Come on, Nini. It's just Ricky. Go out there and have fun." I told myself. I threw my cover wrap over my bottoms, set my bag on the counter and walked out. I looked around for Ricky and found him setting out some towels under the already opened umbrella. And he just so happened to be shirtless. I watched his back muscles move as he set down the towels. Stupid, attractive, curly headed surfers. Why me?!