His Return | Rini Au

𝕒 𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕖 𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕖

Ricky pulls up in his all black 911 Turbo S Porsche, parking it alongside of the road. Everyone on the sidewalk paused from their conversations, sneaking glances.

"way to make an entrance ricky.." He muttered to himself, rethinking his choice of vehicle and instantly regretting it. He takes in a deep breath before unbuckling his seat belt and stepping out of his car.

There were many people hanging outside of the cafe, waiting for the performance to start in a few minutes. A few of the girls sent flirtatious smiles as the men gawked at his vehicle. Ricky acknowledged a few of them with a simple head nod, but that was about it. Keeping his attention on what was ahead of him, he walked into the shop. An uproar of voices took him by surprise. He's never seen the cafe so packed.

"Ricky!" Ashlynn yells through the crowd, her hand motioning side to side for him to see her. He squirmed his way through the sea of people. Ash, Ej, Big Red, Gina, and another unfamiliar face were all waiting for him at their reserved table.

"Hey," Ricky projected over all the chattering around them. He looked a bit overwhelmed by the atmosphere of it all. Besides clubs and bars that he's normally used to in New York, he didn't expect a cafe to draw in a crowd with similar amount of people.

"Looking very casual, I like it." Ashlynn complimented at her childhood friend who's often seen in only suits and dress shirts. This time he had appeared in a plain white t-shirt, topped with a denim sherpa jacket, and stylish beige jogger-like pants with a plaid pattern.

"Mr. Bowen." Gina respectfully greeted in all seriousness.

"Please, call me Ricky." He permitted. You could see the relief on her face as her expression softened up.

"Hi, I''m Kourtney." Kourtney introduced herself as she smiled brightly.

"Kourtney. Nini's roommate right?" He shook her hand as a snort escaped out of her lips. She wasn't use to such formality.

"I'm Ricky, it's finally nice to meet you."

"like wise." Kourtney nodded firmly and proudly.

Ricky scanned the shop in hopes to find Nini. He looks over at the counter to see Seb and another worker making coffee and taking orders. Then gazing around to look out for any other workers that could be roaming around.

"You okay man?" Ej asked Ricky after noticing how distracted and antsy he was.

"Do you need a coffee?" Red asked, assuming it was a cafe worker that Ricky was trying to flag down.

"No, but have you seen—"

"alright, thank you everyone for coming! I see a few new faces tonight which is awesome!" Carlos cheered on as the bright lights beamed a spotlight on him. "please put your hands together for one of our finest local artists in Salt Lake City, who will be opening up for the Stereo Doves later tonight. Nina Salazar-Roberts!" He clapped his hands together excitedly as everyone in the room cheered.

Ricky immediately shoots his attention at Ej who had the widest grin on his face, his eye brows raising as if he knew all along. He continued to watch 2 men setting up a keyboard on the center stage. Shortly after comes along Nini who sat comfortably on the bar stool. The lights in the room had finally dimmed down, indicating Nini as the main focus. The atmosphere stood still and all you could hear were whispers here and there.

Ricky finally took his seat, making sure he wasn't blocking the view for her friends. The moment Nini parted her lips, her voice drew him in an instant. He could feel a smile beginning to creep up while continuing to watch in awe. Without even realizing it, Ricky had been studying every detail of her, from the way the corners of her lips curled up whenever she would sing certain words, her eyes closing shut whenever she reaches a high note, the way her fingers danced so gently and naturally on the keys while her body subtly rocks along with every emotion she sings out.