"ricky bowen," the girl in front of me says in the exact same tone she used years ago in my old apartment when we were getting ready for carlos's quinceañero. a grin creeps up my face at the memory. "are you taking me out on a date?"
nini leans against the doorframe of her apartment with her arms crossed together. she's wearing a simple fit that clearly shows she's outgrown her high school fashion sense - and not gonna lie, it's perfect on her.
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i take a deep breath as i think of a response, and suddenly the words tumble out without me knowing. "do you want this to be a date?"
her eyes dart down then go back up. "i think you do. there's still some skater boy here and there but overall this is a lot more effort than just throwing on a hoodie."
i look down at my clothes and wonder if i am wearing anything special. i'm guessing she's just used to me wearing hoodies or jackets 24/7.
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i let out a chuckle. "we haven't hung out since we first saw each other again, i wanted to have some fun!"
"mhm. not too much fun though?"
i feel a flush of red creep up on my face but i ignore it. it's easier to ignore than my hammering heart right now anyway.
i really don't know why i'm feeling like this. whatever's happening right now is probably because i'm nervous, that's all. the plan i came up with after all is... unconventional, to put it lightly. especially for two childhood friends who went from lovers to exes to lovers again to once again exes to strangers and now friends.
yeah, that's definitely why my heart is beating faster than it's supposed to. totally not because of the way she swung the door open earlier and smiled at me. totally not because of the way she assumed i came by to ask her out. totally not because of the way she's smirking at me right now. totally not because of the way she's staring at me, waiting for me to break the silence.
totally not.
my plan is just nerve wrecking, okay?
she lightly laughs at my struggle to come up with a response and she turns around, gesturing me forward. "you know technically, we hung out at arthur brown's party."
