wave after wave 🌊 [rini au]

summer ; 10

Spring had turned to summer. Nini was finally graduating from high school, she was about to contribute to the unemployment rate in America. Her graduation ceremony was simple but joyous, the whole town was there to celebrate with the graduating class. Ricky made arrangements in his work schedule to make sure that he could be there for her. Nate mugged her when she came running to them in her oversized blue gown with Nic on facetime, Ricky just watched them as he stood behind her parents; her relationship with her brothers was something he coveted as an only child. He helped the family take a group photo, and couldn't help beam as her parents expressed how proud they were of her. Nini finally ran into his arms after her brothers had pointed out that he'd been waiting for her. "Ricky!" He spun her in a circle, before carefully placing her back on the ground, "Congratulations, Nina, you did so good." Ricky handed her the lone sunflower that he bought on the way to her school and gave her a kiss, which she deepened by tugging his head closer to hers. As they pulled away, she clasped his hands tightly, "You're joining my family for dinner tonight, right?" He nodded slowly, "Of course, Nina, I love your family."

The Roberts family were a home away from Ricky's home, even Mr and Mrs Roberts had taken a liking to him like a prodigal son. He was truly grateful for their hospitality to him, and for Nini, who'd fill him in on their inside jokes and invited him to dinners. Dinner that night was no different from the others, as Nini's dad whipped up a feast of her favourite foods, her mom made tiramisu for dessert. Ricky had a fun time getting to know Nini, as Nate and her parents took turns to tell stories of her when she was growing up. They recalled about when she first started surfing when she was seven, and how adorable it was to see her small body on a large board as she caught her first wave. Nate teased about her first crush on their neighbour, Keoke, who proposed when they were six; Nini blushed but reminded Nate that he'd almost beat him up, being the protective older brother he used to be. Ricky joked, saying he was thankful that Nate was a different person now, else he would have had a dent in his forehead already. The night deepened as banter and laughter filled the Roberts house.

Nini managed to get some time alone with Ricky, dragging him to the beach in front of their house as Nate and Emma were discussing with their parents about some business stuff. "I got something for you," Nini squeezed his hand that was interlaced with hers. Ricky's eyes widened, it was her graduation day, he was supposed to be the one to give her something, not the other way around. "What? Why?" He asked curiously, rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand. She pulled something shiny out of her shorts pocket, and showed him the gift. It was a dog tag engraved with the words Nina's lifeguard. He laughed at the engraved message and she pouted at his reaction. Ricky noticed that she was really quiet and turned to give a kiss and a thank you. Nini felt the need to justify her gift after his unexpected reaction, "Summer's here. And there's gonna be lots of hot and pretty mainland girls that will go to Poipu and-"

"Nina, I'm your lifeguard. I only have eyes for you okay," He leaned in to kiss her again, this time a deeper and longer kiss, as if to kiss her worries away. Her anxiety was cute to Ricky, but he knew her insecurities were valid; winter and summer were dangerous seasons where Hawaii hosted the most number of tourists from all over the world. "You know, I won't talk to any of them unnecessarily on duty, I have a job to do. I'll make an exception and talk to you if you come when I'm on duty, how's that?" Nini smiled, she was touched at his effort to reassure her. "I trust you, Ricky, I just don't trust the tourist girls. Girl's gotta stake her claim." Ricky laughed, getting to know Nini's possessive side was more than amusing.

"Come visit me at work tomorrow, I promise I'll do better than last time. I wanna show you off." Ricky suggested, but Nini shook her head. "You should focus on your job, babe." He squished her cheeks affectionately, "Then, can you come over for dinner after shift tomorrow?"

"Of course, if you let me cook, I will," Ricky raised an eyebrow, "If you won't burn my rental apartment then, sure." Even though he knew she wouldn't burn his kitchen down, he'd take any opportunity to poke fun at his girlfriend. Her pout was just too cute.

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Nini had planned to cook an easy and yummy grilled chicken with rice and salad. She'd gone with her mom to the market in town to get everything they needed and even marinated the chicken in advance. She had told Ricky that she'd meet him at his apartment, but grabbed an uber to Poipu to surprise him at the end of his shift instead. The moment she alighted the uber she headed to Nate's surf shop to borrow his fridge for her chicken and salad, then headed to the beach. Poipu was crowded as she had anticipated it to be, there was barely any space to sit and the water was teaming with children, teenagers and adults. She spotted Ricky standing outside his tower, looking at his watch; she laughed, knowing he probably couldn't wait for his shift to be over. There seemed to be a group of girls who were loitering around the stairs leading up to the lifeguard tower, Nini rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses. Girls. EJ was heading back to the tower and saw her walking over to the beach. "Nini!" He fist bumped her and gave her a side hug, and the girls' eyes narrowed as they watched the friendly exchange. EJ kindly escorted her up the stairs to the tower, her eyes were fixed on Ricky. Her gaze naturally was fixed on the silver metal piece around his neck, as it sparkled, reflecting the light from the sun. She finally caught Ricky's gaze. He was surprised but smiled at her presence and kissed her lightly.

"Aloha baby, I thought you said you weren't coming over today? And are you wearing my shirt?" Nini smiled cheekily, "I wanted to surprise you. And yes, I'm not ocean safety so of course, this is your shirt." He admired her small frame that was engulfed by his yellow ocean safety uniform. She had knotted the hem of the shirt so that it didn't cover her shorts, exposing her midriff. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her close to him. "Ricky, you're still not off for half an hour," Nini loved that he did a complete 180, showing her his effort to be better, but his job was still of utter importance. She rubbed his shoulder and retreated to chill out in the tower as he continued to watch the water.

The tide was coming in soon so EJ and some other lifeguards were telling people to come in toward the shore. Some guys were out surfing as the tide came in and one of them got hit by a wave and his leash got caught in the corals as he wiped out. Ricky ran out to the water and started paddling to the rescue, Red hot on his heels. Ricky managed to cut the leash, they got the guy back to the surface and the whole group of them back to shore. Nini welcomed him back to the tower with a towel in her hands, which he gladly took from her, and a kiss on his cheek. She could see the fatigue on his face, being in the sun for the whole day was no easy feat, "Ten more minutes to go, and we can go back to your apartment, crank up the a/c and cuddle!" Ricky's face brightened a little, as his eyes fixated toward the beach. The next moment, he saw EJ broke into a run toward the shoreline and sprinted down the tower steps. Nini was really proud of Ricky as she watched him from the lifeguard tower as he gave his best even in the last ten minutes of duty. As they carried the child back to shore, they let the visitors know that lifeguard hours were ending, and advised them to stay out of the water for the rest of the day. Ricky kept glancing back at the tower, at his girlfriend who was helping Red wash and keep their equipment; he would catch her looking at him sometimes and they'd give each other a big smile. She was folding up his laundry in the tower when he tucked his head in the crook of her neck, pressing a kiss to her jaw, "Let's go home, Nina."