wave after wave 🌊 [rini au]

fall ; 20

There was a pregnant silence between the couple as they ate the dinner that Nini had brought from the cafe. The girl was sipping on her ice tea as she watched Ricky toss his greens around the box with a fork, and there she decided that she'd given him enough time and space to think, it was time he told her what he was going to do. But, before she could reach her hand across the table to stop her boyfriend from playing with his food, the phone next to him lit up and began to vibrate loudly, the sound and motion shaking the table slightly. Ricky double clicked the volume button again, ignoring the call.

Nini stood up and walked over to the boy, she wrapped her arms around his torso and pressed her cheek against him, "You should've answered that." It seemed like he didn't have a choice as the phone rang again, this time the caller ID was different from that of earlier in the afternoon. Ricky's thumb swiped across the screen, picking up the call, and was met with his father's face. "Wow, Rick, didn't expect you to get a girl there so quickly." The couple's eyes widened as they realised that Nini's cheek was still pressed against his, and she quickly backed away, creating some distance between them. "Dad, let's not have this conversation right now. What did you call for?" The exasperation in the younger Bowen's voice and face was evident. He looked behind him at Nini, reaching out a hand to her, which she took hesitantly, letting him hold her for comfort. "You know, you should bring her along for the Gramps' anniversary celebration, even though your mom would deadass make you rent your own place now."

"Dad," Ricky deadpanned. "Son, I'm not kidding, you really should bring her, I think Grandad would love to meet her. And, it's his celebration after all." Mr Bowen smiled, "I'd like to meet her."

The curly-haired boy gave his father a look, which he ignored as he continued to speak, "Ah, look at me talking about your girlfriend like she's not here. Hey, I'm Ricky's dad, and you are?" Nini scrambled from her perch on the table into the camera frame, greeting her boyfriend's father, "Hi Mr Bowen, my name is Nina Roberts, it's nice to meet you."

"Look, both of you, it would be the greatest gift to Grandad if you both show up. And, Ricky, you can't expect me to see this girl and not meet her in person." The girl squeezed Ricky's shoulder, silently telling him that she didn't mind going. He rejected the idea immediately, "Dad, she's not going, I can't afford it. I can't pay for our plane tickets, accommodation and gift; at least not with the salary I'm getting and the rent that I'm paying for my apartment right now."

"Look, what if I pay half of it? I swear I won't tell your mom or Grandma. I'll fork out Nina's share so that we can all meet her; or I can pay your half, and you can pay hers, whichever makes you more comfortable."

Ricky knew he couldn't persuade his dad otherwise, "Fine, but only if she's okay with it." That said, he gave her a look, as if to say please say no. Unfortunately, she did the exact opposite, "Thank you, Mr Bowen. I promise I'll be there." Nina waved at the phone, as Ricky's dad said goodbye and ended the call. Ricky slammed his phone down on to the table and stood up in a hast, cupping the small girl's cheeks with both his hands, "Why did you say yes?" She couldn't read his eyes, she'd seen annoyance, reluctance, disappointment and even fear in his brown eyes before; this was the first time that she'd seen this type of emotion. Nini was scared that he was unhappy with her and muttered a "sorry", but he wasn't having it. "Nina, I don't want a sorry, I want an answer, why did you say yes?" His hands grasped her shoulders, and shook her a little, like he was demanding an answer.

Tears welled up in her eyes when she felt the anger in his tone, she had made a mistake, deciding to do something he was uncomfortable with, and now there was no way to undo this mistake. Ricky saw his girlfriend's eyes glisten with tears and released his hands from her shoulders, arms wrapping around her small figure, "Babe, I'm not angry at you, I'm sorry that you thought I was angry at you." She let out a sob despite her relief, still shaken up by the unfamiliarity of his reaction. "Your dad just seemed so eager and excited, and you've said before that your dad and grandad are your favourite people. I was thinking it wouldn't be a bad thing to finally meet them and go to Oahu." Tears were still streaming down her face, but he wiped every tear that fell. "They are my favourite people, I'm glad you want to meet them too." The curly-haired boy nudged her nose with his, leaning in further to kiss her lips.