wave after wave 🌊 [rini au]

summer ; 15

Nic Roberts was back in town for a week before he would take off for his next destination in the World Surf League championship; Nini was extra happy to have her brother back, she was even more thankful that his arrival was a quiet one. He had learnt his lesson from his second world tour to not post about returning home until he was back on tour, else he wouldn't have been on his island home.

The Roberts siblings had planned a bowling night at the only bowling alley in Kauai, down at the East shore in Lihue; they used to go there a lot when Nate and Nic were in high school, but their visits became a lot less frequent when Nic qualified for league.

Sarah had put on the WSL jersey Nic had given her, boasting that her boyfriend was a WSL surfer. Nini, on the other hand, had convinced her brother to wear a cap so that he wouldn't get noticed by tourists; though that effort went down the drain when they saw Sarah decked in his jersey when they met her at Lihue. Thankfully, no one really took notice as his cap cast a shadow over his face in the dimly-lit bowling alley, Nini could breathe a sigh of relief.

"This place is nothing like the ones in Oahu, huh?" Emma asked Ricky, who was standing with her a distance behind the group of siblings and Sarah; the boy was surveying the area cautiously, she wouldn't blame him — the only bowling alley was not the most well-maintained place in Kauai. Ricky shook his head and laughed, "Well, it sure isn't, but I kind of like it." The blonde haired girl simply rolled her eyes at him, "You mean, you like it because Nini likes it..." He shrugged in response, she wasn't entirely wrong anyway; but, in defense, it was cosy and not crowded. Nate walked over to them and slung his arm around his wife's shoulder, "So, Ricky, are you good at bowling?" The curly-haired boy could only smile, "I try to be."

Turns out, Ricky was on par with Nate and Nic, they were getting strikes and spares. Emma and Sarah were not too far off either, with a rare gutter ball. Nini was just, as proven in every game night, not the best at games; although it was clear from her first bowl that she couldn't care less about winning. Ricky had doubled over laughing at her bowling posture, as she stood feet wide apart to throw the ball with two hands. Nini felt cheeky when she saw the amusement she'd brought Ricky and with each time she walked up to their lane, she changed up her throwing technique, earning fits of laughter from the group. In her most recent attempt, she stood back facing the lane, feet wide open and proceeded to throw the ball between her legs. Some crazy luck she had, Nini managed to hit nine pins, more than she had on any other turn she took. She squealed excitedly and jumped into Ricky's arms excitedly. "Nina Roberts, you cheeky girl." Nic found the sight of the couple really cute and whipped out his phone to take a photo of them as Ricky kissed his sister's cheek, earning blushes from them when they separated.

"I'm going to get some cheese fries, you want anything?" Nini stood up to head to the snack bar, and offered to get Ricky something. He, in turn, offered to go with her, taking her hand and kissing the back of her palm. When they were much closer to the snack bar, away from the lanes, Nini wrapped her arms around Ricky's neck and tipped-toed to kiss him on the lips. His thumbs rubbed the sides of her hips, as he smiled in amusement. He pulled away after a short while and studied her pouty face in more amusement, "Nina, you're really really cheeky." She crinkled her nose in response, "In my defense, I really want cheese fries. But, I really wanted to kiss you too. I just didn't want to hear about it from my brothers." Her lips pressed into a thin line as she justified her actions. Ricky leaned in to kiss her again, " Nina Roberts, you are something else."

He waited for her over at the drink dispenser as she purchased the cheese fries. As he observed his girlfriend, he realised for the first time that night that her smile was a little short of reaching her eyes and her gaze uneasy as she spoke to the cashier guy. Nini put on her brave face as she walked back to where Ricky was standing, offering to feed him a fry drenched in cheese sauce. He let her pop the fry into his mouth but his eyes were brimming with concern at her changed demeanor. "Let's head back?" She attempted to sweep it under the carpet, turning to walk back to the group. Ricky figured that he would get it out of her later.

The rest of the night, Nini spaced out in the direction of the racks where the bowling balls were stored, giving a pass on a few games in the name of "enjoying her cheese fries". She wasn't fooling anyone though, the snack was largely untouched as she got lost in her thoughts. Her bubble burst when Ricky enveloped her in a back hug. "You doing okay, Nins? You've been a little spacey," He kissed her hair lightly. Her eyes were wide and apologetic when she turned to face him, it was clear to him that she didn't know how to put her thoughts into words. The brown-eyed boy stroked her cheek with his thumb, in an effort to express his concern for her. "We'll talk about this later?" Ricky didn't want to force her into talking about anything she wasn't comfortable with. Nini found it in herself to shake her head, disagreeing with him, going over to the whatever-the-machine-that-spits-the-bowling-balls-back-to-you-is-called, tapping Nic on the shoulder. "Nic, we're going to head to the photo booth. Help me tell Nate and the rest if they ask," Nini pulled her boyfriend over to the kiosk near the entrance and pushed him to sit down, standing in between his legs, opposite him in the small space. Ricky reached up to comb his fingers through her hair as she took a deep breath before speaking.

"So, remember when Nate told you about my crush on my neighbour Keoke, and that he proposed to me when we were six? I actually asked him out after homecoming, but he rejected me saying that I was so perfect and he was not good enough for me; it was a whole load of bullcrap. He promised me that he would work hard to be good enough, and he would be back for me when he was. Apparently, the standard of good enough was Nic Roberts, another whole load of bullcrap; Keoke left for Oahu and began training for the WSL Qualifiers, the last I heard he was doing pretty well. And, his brother, the cashier guy, just told me he was back to win me over." Nini looked at Ricky, she didn't know how to better tell this story — as much as they had been talking and getting to know each other, for some reason, they never mentioned their past relationships; this was the beginning of many conversations. An unidentifiable emotion flashed in Ricky's eyes as he stared at her silently, there was no telling what was going on in his mind. "Ricky, say something please." Nini was so afraid that she messed up this special relationship they had.

He held her hand softly, thumb brushing over the ring on her index finger, "So, what happens now?" Nini swallowed hard hesitantly, with no answer to Ricky's question. "Nina, I don't know what you want me to say. Do you want me to tell you that I want you to stay with me, or do you want me to let you go so that you can live out your childhood love romance?" It was her turn to remain silent as she contemplated their relationship, and Ricky's heart rate started accelerating as he became more and more uneasy at what they might become when they left the bowling alley today.

"What should I say, Nina?"

Nini opened her mouth to respond and closed it, losing the words that she had for him. The past three months in this relationship with Ricky was beyond amazing, their six month friendship had brought her so much happiness — her brothers would argue that the last time she'd smiled so bright was when her mom and dad first let her start surfing. His kisses blew her mind away, and the way he treated her was like no other person. But, the boy from her childhood was now in front of her; she'd thought of this moment more times than she could count. Tears welled up in her eyes in her distress and she started shaking a little.

Her hesitation was killing Ricky and the air in the booth was starting to feel more and more suffocating as their bodies were still in close proximity. His chin was lowered and eyes closed as he thought of her long brown hair splayed out on his picnic blanket when she took a nap on the beach during their first date. Those were the times they were rather carefree, it felt like them against the world. He didn't even know if he loved her yet — he really admired her, he was immensely attracted to her, he wanted the best for her, she made him want to be a better person — but he hadn't said the L word yet. His heart ached at the thought that she might no longer be his, and Ricky began to realise that the reality that their relationship might end that night was a reality he was not ready to accept.

"Nina, you know, I think I might love you." He heard her breath hitch in her throat, knowing that he had caught her off-guard. The tears in her eyes rolled down her face, and in that moment her mind was blank except for the fact that she felt bad for crying, when she was the one causing Ricky pain.

"I'm not sure what is going to happen after we walk out from this booth. Just know that, I truly want the best for you, okay? Whether or not it includes me or not," He reached over to kiss her cheek and Ricky could taste her tears. Their tears mixed as Nini pressed her cheek against his for a short while, until he stood up and walked out of the booth.