A Billion Stars

Chapter 51

"Hey, Ricky?" Ricky looks over at me and gives me a small nod of encouragement. "What's up?" I smile and look at the ocean from our place on the sand and then I look back to him. "Could you go in the water with me?" Ricky laughs brightly, throwing his head back in amusement. "Sure" he laughs and he gets up, taking his shirt off with one maneuver. I feel like my mouth drops, though I'm sure it's just my lips parting and I take in a shuddering breath as I look at him. "Uh, uh cool." I say, getting up and untying the top of my coverup. I've seen Ricky shirtless a number of times but for some reason he kept having the same intense affect on me and I know he notices by the way he bites his lip and looks down to avoid showing me his smile. When I slip my coverup dress off though, it's as though we've traded places and his calm look becomes tense. His eyes are blown out just a little and he's not shy about raking his eyes up and down my exposed body. "Let's go, yeah?" I ask hesitantly before taking the lead and walking towards the water. Ricky jogs to catch up with me and I nearly jump when I feel his hand touch press against the small of my back.

Ricky and I dodge waves for what feels like hours, and only when the water seems to rise do we get sucked into another moment that we can't quite control. "Ricky!" I squeal when a wave almost comes over my head. He laughs, swimming over to me. "I think it's almost high tide." He says and I nod, though the goes over my head again. "Shit." Ricky says, wrapping his hands around my torso and lifting me up. I laugh nervously and loop my legs around his waist involuntarily. "Times like these I totally wish I was taller." Ricky smiles but quirks an eyebrow. "This moment in particular?" His hands rub across my back and move to rest underneath my thighs to hold me up. I tighten my legs around his waist in response and breathe out. "Well, maybe this is okay." My voice shakes a little as we continue to tread the water together, and he gives me a curious smile. "You sure?" I nod and as a wave crashes around, his fingers dig into my thighs a bit more. "Well I mean you don't have much of a choice." He says leaning towards me with a bright laugh, as if it's a secret between us. I smile back and run my fingertips across his forehead before slipping them through his wet hair. We keep floating like this, my body tightly against his as he helps me tread the water and he splashes me lightly every now and then, getting me to laugh and throw my head back in amusement. "You guys make such an adorable couple." We hear and Ricky turns us to face an older woman, swimming with her young child. I stutter and feel Ricky's thumb rubbing against the skin of my leg. "Thanks but she carries all the looks in this relationship." He jokes with her and the woman smiles as I press a kiss to his forehead. "Shut up." I say and he laughs, giving the woman one more grateful smile before pulling us closer to the shore. "If the tide gets any higher you might go under." He says and I laugh. "You'd never let that happen." I tell him and he grins, nodding. "Damn right I wouldn't, but better safe than sorry." I brush his hair back and think for a second. "Where can I take you tonight that will make up for-" He shakes his head. "For running? Because I don't blame you and you being in my arms right now is all I could ever want from you. Second, you don't know LA like I do so I'm taking you out." I laugh and press a kiss to his cheek. "Yeah well I'm not going anywhere this time. But if you insist on taking me out tonight you have to let me take you out next week." He laughs and gives me his bright smile. "No yeah I think that's a perfect idea." He whispers before pressing his own lips to my jaw. "Your midwest dialect is coming out again." I say with a laugh, dragging my fingertips over the corner of his mouth. He grins and shakes his head. "Whatever, you totally love it." I bite my lip and look down, before meeting his eyes again and nodding. "Yeah." I whisper and his eyes sparkle just a little bit.

When Ricky and I get out of the water, he keeps an arm around my waist as we walk up to the area where I left all of my stuff. "I forgot towels." I almost slap my forehead and Ricky winces as he looks around. "Fuck, I did too, but that's okay it's warm so we'll dry off quickly." I nod and sigh before turning and looking around. I acknowledge the fact that we can't sit on the sand without getting it stuck to us and I shrug, deciding to turn my brain off again. "You know your body heat might make me dry off quicker." Ricky looks shocked by my bold statement but he recovers quickly with a curious smile. "Is that so? Let's try it out then." He opens his arms to me and I step in gratefully, holding him tightly and just loving the feeling of my cheek against his bare chest.