wave after wave 🌊 [rini au]

spring ; 09

"Nate, can you pick an outfit for me?" Nini was folding the Roberts family laundry, as she facetimed her brother, who was on his honeymoon in Bali. "Why, got a date with Ricky tomorrow?" He teased, even though what her answer was. "Yes, I do, so please help me. I wanna look good," Nate laughed at his baby sister but nonetheless, put something together for her, a simple white crochet cover-up over a brown bikini set — after all, he'd been saving this outfit for her first date with Ricky since she'd met him.

Their first date was a week after the wedding, a week after their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend had begun. Nini sat on her porch waiting for Ricky to pick her up, in her hands was her handphone as she swiped the game of 2048. His car pulled into the lot in front of her house and she rose from her seat to approach him in the car.

"Hey you, where are we going today?" Nini leaned against the side of his car, his window rolled down to talk to her from the driver's seat. She leaned in to peck his lips, and he gladly complied. "Why don't you go get your board, and I'll fill you in later." Nini smiled and ran to the shed behind the house to grab her favourite board. They loaded her surfboard into the back seat and she slipped into the passenger seat next to him. "So, I figured that we hadn't gone swimming or surfing together yet, even though we keep saying that we love the ocean," Ricky explained as he drove further west, "We are going to spend our day at Kekaha, the forecast is best there today."

This day was one of the days that Nini was extremely grateful to Nate for helping her pick out even her bathing suit which complemented her dark hair and eyes. Seeing Nini in a bikini close up was riling him up, her skin looked really soft; her hair was up in a ponytail and her neckline was exposed, begging to be kissed. As she sat on the sand to apply her sunscreen, Ricky was waxing their boards; she really appreciated his thoughtfulness, while he was distracting himself from staring at her.

"Ready to get into the water?" Nini asked as she tugged her hair out of her ponytail, letting it fall loosely over her shoulders. "Why don't you go in first, I'll catch up with you," Ricky shooed her into the sea before organising their things neatly. He took his singlet off and sprayed some sunscreen on. Ricky knew this was the first time that Nini was going to see him shirtless and he was really curious about how she'd react; he knew his body was good, all the training to keep fit for his job was paying off. He walked towards her, she was sitting on her board in waist-deep water, "Hey waterbug, thanks for waiting up." She turned around, met with the view of his abs and bare chest. Nini was gaping slightly, she knew he was fit but damn, she had been missing out on this view for the past week. "Race you to catch the first wave," Ricky flopped onto his surfboard, the view of his chiseled abs disappearing before Nini's eyes. She paddled hard, a competitive spirit rising up in her chest. They stood up at the same time, surfing down the wave side by side.

After washing up with fresh water and drying off, the pair sat down in the shade of the giant umbrella Ricky brought to eat the lunch that Ricky had packed for them — guacamole, chips, spam sushi and sweet tea. They caught up with what they did since they last met and how Ricky had been coping with living apart from his family, who were still in Oahu. Nini suddenly stood up for a stretch, the effects of surfing and food coma were hitting her hard; she didn't want to fall asleep, she wanted to take in all of him. On the contrary to her thoughts, Ricky shifted to lie down on the blanket, patting the spot next to him, "Come lie down, Nins."

Nini took her spot next to Ricky, her eyes looking toward the sky. The weather was beautiful, the sky dotted with clouds so that the sun's glare was shielded and the sea breeze was gentle and cool. Her eyelids were droopy as she fought the sleep that wanted to take over. She didn't fight for long, "Ricky, I can't do this," she said with her eyes closed, "I think I might fall asleep."