wave after wave 🌊 [rini au]

summer ; 11

Ricky plopped into the passenger seat of his car, since Nini had volunteered to drive, reclined his chair and blasted the air-conditioner. Even when he was training as a junior lifeguard, summer crowds at the beach were the absolute worst and the constant harassment from visitors made the job so much harder. Girls who tried to chat him up were bothersome but to some extent, entertaining, when he was still single; now that he was spoken for, it was all the more bothersome and disturbing. Three more months to go. He was really grateful that Nini had shown up, she was his support than she would ever know. She couldn't drive with only one hand on the steering wheel like he could, so he rested his hand on her thigh and squeezed it to show her his gratitude.

A half an hour drive later, Nini pulled into the parking lot in front of Ricky's rental apartment. She shook her curly-haired boyfriend awake, he had fallen asleep quicker than he wanted to, showing Nini that he was really really tired. Ricky unlocked the door and bolted for the shower as Nini settled into the kitchen to cook up dinner. She tied her hair up in a loose bun and unknot her shirt for comfort sake as she scoped his kitchen, pulling out the things she would need. Ricky showered really quickly and soon emerged from the bathroom in his jersey shorts and towel hanging from his neck. His hair was still slightly wet when he buried his face into her neck again, kissing her exposed neckline and she stood in front of the stove grilling the chicken. She could feel him smiling into her neck and turned around to tease him, "Why so happy, Ricky?"

"Sometimes, I feel like I've known you my entire life, Nina. Like, how you showed up at my work today, and how you knew everything that I needed, you can see through me; Nina, you understand me so well. Even now, seeing you here cooking in my kitchen feel so familiar and so much like home." Nini's heart felt warm as Ricky opened up to her, she was so happy that she was able to make him feel loved in an island that he was new to. However, in the time they had spent together, Nini realised that she would boldly talk about her family and her siblings like her second nature, but Ricky would shy away from the topic of his family, other than his dad.

"Do you miss home, Ricky?"

A silence fell upon them, sans the sound of chicken being grilled and the clicking of cutlery as Nini set the table. If Nini didn't know any better, she would tell you that you could cut the tension in the kitchen with a knife. But she knew Ricky, and she knew that he was genuinely thinking about what he was feeling at that moment. Prior to this, she could confidently tell you that Ricky actually hadn't thought much of his family, other than his dad. He was busy adjusting to life in Kauai and she had kept him rather occupied as well.

"I miss Oahu and my family," He finally spoke as he sunk into the chair at the dining table. Nini brought his plate over to him, settled it in front of him before she sat in his lap and enveloped him in a hug. "I haven't called home yet you know? I've only been texting my dad updates weekly. I've been telling myself that I'm too busy to call them but now that I think about it, I think I'm just scared to call them." Nini's fingers brushed through his hair when he opened up to her.

"Nins, let's talk about this later ok? Maybe we should eat first, I'm starving." Nini let out a small chuckle at how nothing would get in between Ricky and food, not even the topic of missing home. They spent dinner talking about their day; Ricky told her how EJ had been enjoying the attention from the tourist girls and how the senior lifeguards were constantly teasing him about it. Nini told him about how Nate and Emma were giving her a month to rest from school before they'd make her work for their business full time. Nini also mentioned some things that she wanted to do before she started working, one of those things was to go to Oahu. She'd been before but now that she was with Ricky, she wanted to see his island from his perspective, as well as meet his family.

Speaking of family, the couple finally finished up their dinner and headed out to the docks to catch the sunset. The sky was an orange hue that evening as the sun lowered into the horizon. Ricky was looking out into the horizon, lost in thought as Nini leaned into his side, her head resting on his shoulder. "Thinking about your family?" Nini asked carefully. "You know when you said that your relatives could be really scary sometimes, I've never told you that the Bowen clan is exactly the same; they might even be worse. I'd never mentioned this before but all the Bowen boys were lifeguards in their lifetimes. My grandfather upheld his father's legacy and so, his sons did his. My older cousins set an example for my generation and it looked fun, especially when girls flocked them during the summer and they'd take their pick each day." Nini looked at him incredulously, skating her head in disapproval. "But, obviously, I didn't live up to that legacy when I got cut off from the junior lifeguard programme. My mom was really upset because it happened when she was at the Big Island for a business meeting, and she took that anger out on my dad. My house had never been the same since then, they'd been quarrelling at any chance they had. So, when the chance to move away came, I was more than eager to get away from the mess of my family."

"I'm really sorry, Ricky. I didn't know..." She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his shoulder. He smiled at her, of course she wouldn't know if he'd never told her. "I miss my dad, and I miss my grandad. They were the only ones who were supportive of my move here," Nini noticed Ricky's voice softened when he mentioned his grandfather and she rubbed his cheek comfortingly. "You should call your grandad, I bet he misses you too."

"I want you to meet him, he's gonna like you," Ricky pinched her cheek. Nini blushed at the thought of meeting his family, even though it might be on Facetime. It felt sort of special since it was a rather private part of his life and a big deal — considering he wanted her to meet the positive influences in his life. "I'd love to meet them, one day."

Nini wanted to make the heavy atmosphere go away, but her brain just didn't load fast enough. They sat in silence, comfortable but slightly awkward, not knowing what to say next. Both of them were deep in thought, but Ricky broke the silence first, "Do you want children someday?" Nini shifted to sit between his legs as she pulled his arms around her waist, "Of course I do, someday. What about you?"

"I'd want three. Hopefully, the first one will be a boy so that he can take care of his younger siblings, like Nate takes care of you and Nic. And if the youngest were a girl, she could be daddy's little girl, just like you are," He kissed her cheek lightly. Nini smiled a little, her family was nowhere near perfect but she was always grateful that her brothers had her back and her parents still loved each other, "Well, if I could have three, I'd love three too."

"Seems like we'd make a cute family next time," Ricky teased her; although when he really gave it some thought, he could imagine Nini being there for the rest of his life. She elbowed his stomach, and he winced slightly at the impact. She couldn't believe he said that, but she'd be lying if it didn't cross her mind at least before. They sat at the docks and continued to talk till it was late, Nini cutting their conversation short so that Ricky could get sleep for the next day of work.

"Stay over tonight?" He held her hand tenderly, his forehead connected to hers as they broke apart from a kiss. Nini laughed quietly, her breath grazing his lips, "My brothers are going to kill you if you don't bring me home tonight, babe." Ricky smirked at her use of the endearment, understanding her concerns, "No, they said they won't," He taunted. She noticed a glint in his eyes, and finally understood, "You did not!"

"Of course I did, Nins, else I'd really get killed." He had asked for her brothers' permission, again. Nini's heart swelled once again at his sensibility and she pulled him closer for a kiss.

"Let's go home, Nina."