wave after wave 🌊 [rini au]

fall ; 27

Ricky stood up to follow Nini in the opposite direction of where Hailey and Ben were standing, she was walking ahead of him but then stood her ground, waiting for him to catch up to her. The couple then walked side by side in silence, arms swinging by the side of their bodies. Ricky didn't know what to say to his girlfriend, he didn't know if she was angry that she caught him staring at Hailey. He decided to adhere to a simple principle of when in doubt, don't speak so you don't say anything stupid, silently interlacing his fingers with hers.

She turned to look at him upon their holding of hands, deciding that she would be the one to speak first, "So, what was on your mind when you saw the two of them?" Ricky was rarely distracted when it came to Nini singing, he would always remind her how enraptured he was by her voice. When she'd realised that something else had his attention while she was singing earlier, it would be a lie to say that her heart sank a little, especially when she saw what stole his attention. Lucky for him, she was actually more concerned about his look of distress than being jealous of Hailey and Ben. Nini squeezed his hand, feeling his hesitation to answer her question, "I'm just worried that you're stressed." Upon realisation that she was just concerned for him, Ricky began to pour out his unhappiness about the blonde lifeguard's lack of professionalism and later opened up about his feelings toward Ben. "I can't believe I'm upset over something I used to consider girl drama." She wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her head into his side, "It's normal to be disappointed in your friend, especially if he's close to someone who hurt you. I'd tease you and say it's girl drama, but it really isn't, Ricky. You're only human and it's normal to feel disappointed or betrayed, even." He kissed the top of her head, arm around her shoulder pulling her closer to him. They lingered in each other's presence for a while, as they looked out into the ocean then into each others' eyes. Nini's grip around Ricky's waist loosened and she wriggled out of his grasp, "Catch me if you can, Richard." She ran away with a cheeky grin, and Ricky's lips curled up into a smile. Trust his girlfriend to have impeccable timing to drop the most cringe-worthy romance movie line and the use of his birth name, in order to cheer him up. They had compiled a list of the most puke-inducing romantic lines that couples have said to each other on screen and they liked to dig it up to make the other laugh or recoil in disgust. Ricky ran after her and effortlessly caught up, running ahead of her to block her body from advancing further. She snuggled into his embrace and was enjoying their proximity until he whispered in her ear, "I don't not love you." Nini immediately pulled away and smacked his chest hard, punishing him for the obnoxious double negative, "Ew." She still let him pull her by the chin, melting into the kiss; what could she say, she didn't not love him either.

After they pulled away, Ricky dragged her back in the direction of the group, the smile on his face falling when he saw that their spots on the beach mat were filled by two familiar people. Nini kissed his cheek, turning his attention back to her, "It's going to be fine. Don't let them ruin our last day here." He squeezed her hand lightly, "What am I going to do without you?"

Nini sat between Ricky's legs, back leaning against his chest when they got back; Seb and Carlos kindly made space for them. They requested another song from Nini, this time their couple anthem, Edge of Glory; Ricky dropped some harmonies along with her, earning hollers from Seb, despite the fact that he was recording the entire thing on his phone — Carlos shushed him, saying later on that he had spoilt the sound quality. Seb argued back that the shush sound got recorded as well, so he was equally as bad. Everyone laughed at them, Nini burying her head in her hands when they, including Hailey, complimented her voice once again. They were in the middle of a decent conversation; although Ricky withheld talking to the two uninvited guests, Nini was bright and welcoming to them, sharing some stories of facts she discovered about her boyfriend, asking Ben to verify some facts. "He burps so much when we drink gassy drinks, I literally can't." Ricky pressed his cheek against her temple, retorting to maintain his suave image, "I don't even drink gassy drinks, Roberts." There was literally no image to uphold in front of the people whom he'd lost all inhibitions with at least once.