A Billion Stars

Chapter 14

The next day, as I waited for Ricky to come over, I felt my anxiety rising. Was he going to mention the kiss? We barely talked about it afterwards and there was no guarantee that he actually liked me. The kiss could've just stemmed from high emotion and close proximity to each other. Regardless, I'd find out soon and when I hear a knock at my door my heart starts to pound again.

"You ready?" Ricky asks me with a bright smile as I open the door. I nod, giving him a smile back and turn away to grab my purse, giving myself a chance to breathe in deeply. Before I can turn back around though, I feel his gentle hand on my back and I flip my head so that our eyes meet. "You're okay right?" He asks quietly as if it's a secret between the two of us. I nod and bite my lip. "If you're referring to my meltdown..." He laughs and shakes his head, his thumb moving gently across my back as I try to hold back my shiver. "It was a crazy night. Emotions were high." He says carefully and his eyes search mine, gauging me for my reaction. "Uh yeah, really crazy." I say quietly and his eyes flit back and forth, trying to read me. I feel his thumb move against me again and then he smiles a little. "So you ready?" He asks again and I snap out of it, nodding. "Oh yeah." I say with a little laugh and he leads us outside.

As we walk to the pier, we make pleasant conversation but all I can focus on is Ricky's swinging hand that keeps brushing against mine. I squeeze one of my fists, trying to contain the urge to just grab his damn hand but he beats me to it, enclosing my hand in his as we reach the gate of the pier. "It's really busy so it's best that we stay together." He explains, but his voice is low and his face is slightly flushed as we wait in line. Is that really all his gesture meant? One squeeze of his hand though tells me that it means a whole lot more. "How'd everything go last night?" I ask, referring to when he left to head and see his friend. Ricky smiles widely at me. "Great, things are really coming together for the showcase. By the way, you should come!" He points out and I laugh, my face heating a little. "It's three months out, how do you know you'll still want me around-" Ricky cuts me off before I can even finish my thought. "I'll still want you around. Plus maybe you'll perform that day too, you know, when you get into the school you'll be paired with someone for your fall showcase. Could be me." He points out with a shrug of his shoulders. I shake my head, my heart pounding at how incredible it'd be but mostly unlikely at the same time. "I haven't even gotten into the school, let alone talked to the universe about pairing us up for a showcase together." I laugh lightly and he smiles. "First of all, you're going to get in. No doubt. Second of all, the universe has it covered." He says softly with a squeeze of my hand. "Now let's go and get those creative juices flowing so you can write your song and go to school with me." He says, his smile lopsided and boyish. "Fine let's go." I say with a laugh and before I know it he's pulling me onto the pier.