A light || Ricky and Nini

Chapter 80

Nini POV

When we get to the restaurant I see Ricky start to breathe a little heavier. His nerves were picking up and I could tell right away. Before stepping through the door, i pull Ricky so that both of his hands are in mine and his body is close to me. "Breathe." I remind him and he nods, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "I've got you" I say quietly. "No matter what happens, no matter what you feel or when you feel it, say the word and we can go." I promise and he nods, leaning forward to kiss my lips tenderly. He lingers just a little bit against me, prompting me to bring my lips back against his for another kiss. When we pull away I lead us inside. We're not early, and we tell the people at the front that we are part of a reservation. They nod and they tell us that Lynne's party is already congregating at the "special celebration table" for big groups and Ricky raises his eyebrows. "Lead the way" he tells the employee, but I couldn't help but wonder if I detected a little bit of sarcasm.

When we get to the table, everyone was occupied in conversation except for Lynne and Todd. Ricky fidgets uncomfortably, grasping my hand and waving awkwardly to the people in the group that have noticed us. Lynne jumps up from the table, wrapping Ricky in a tight hug that he was unprepared for, and I was given an affectionate smile. When she sits back down, Ricky scoots into the booth side of the table and pulled my hand so that I'd sit directly next to him. "Ricky, Nini, we're so glad you guys could make it today! It's a beautiful day! Lots to celebrate, all with family." Todd says with an annoying amount of enthusiasm. He reaches forward to shake both mine and Ricky's hand. In response to Todd, Ricky nods tightly, trying to smile and leaning into my side just a little more. I draw shapes on Ricky's thigh, making sure that he's okay and he breathes deeply, drawing shapes over my hand. I turn my head to look at him and he smiles softly, warming my heart. We look away when we hear loud laughter from the table. We look to see Lynne giggling excitedly with a teenage boy next to her. I don't have to look to see the confused expression on Ricky's face, Lynne looks like she's known this kid all her life. I myself don't want to ask for introductions, partly because I can guess who it is, but Todd beats me to that, following our glances. "Oh that's Jason! My son!" Todd says with more enthusiasm, gesturing to the boy deep in conversation with Ricky's mom. At the mention of his name, Jason stops his conversation with Lynne and smiles at his dad. "What?" He then notices us, maybe for the first time, and smiles. "Oh hi. You're Lynne's son? Ricky?" Jason asks and Ricky nods again, gripping my hand tightly under the table as the kid tries to talk to us. "And who are you?" He asks looking at me, his smile growing a bit more. I swallow hard. I've gotten that look from a few too many guys and I'm praying that I'm misreading it on this boy. "We're not related, right?" Jason asks when I don't answer right away. I shake my head politely. "I'm Ricky's girlfriend." Jason looks between us and lifts his chin a little bit. "Ah" is all he says, but his eyes linger on me a little too long and Ricky's grip tightens on my hand.

I couldn't have imagined dinner being as awkward as it was. Ricky was silent for most of it, contributing to conversations with tight smiles and nods. Todd and Lynne wouldn't shut up about their love and the stories of their relationship, and Jason wouldn't stop staring at me, taking much too many notes on the neckline of my dress and what moves to make to get me to look at him. The entire brunch just felt like a disaster and there were a few times I was thinking about getting Ricky out of there. When family members asked to hear about Lynne knowing Todd was the "right guy for her" I saw a tear fall from Ricky's face, onto the table. It wasn't obvious for others, but I saw and I held onto Ricky's leg. His hand grazed mine and he drew circles on it, his little code to tell me that he was okay. I knew that he wasn't okay. He just didn't want to make a scene. When Todd told the group that he's so happy Lynne has created an entire family for him, I felt Ricky's leg tremble under my touch and I looked at him, pleading for him to tell us to go. He didn't though. Not even when Jason made a comment regarding being torn about wishing he was related to an attractive girl so that he'd get good genes, or wishing the girl wasn't related to him so that "things wouldn't be weird." I knew he was talking about me and so did Ricky, but he only put his head down, gripping my thigh and eventually turning to kiss my cheek slowly. I felt Ricky's fingertips continue to draw little shapes on my thigh and the movements held me back from taking Ricky and storming out of the restaurant. It angered me, sitting at this table with a bunch of people who know Lynne's BIOLOGICAL son from her very recent marriage is sitting right here. They talk as if he's not on the other side of the table, and it makes me want to scream (or possibly cry) for Ricky. Ricky however, is staying calm and holding onto me for dear life, telling me through gestures that as long as he's holding onto me, he's okay. What finally drives Ricky to leaving the table was when Lynne promised the group she'd make this marriage last. A few dishes clang together, some family members finally putting together Ricky's existence and Lynne's comment, and we get various glances from across the table. "Excuse me" Ricky whispers, getting up and scurrying from the table. Fear, concern and sadness shoot through me and I get up, quickly following Ricky. I know the entire table watched us leave, but all I could think about was getting to my strong boy before he broke by himself.