Until the End of Summer (Rini Through the Years)

7. (Pov. Ricky)

I didn't want Nini to leave without telling her the truth. She deserved the truth. She deserved to know the reason for the video had nothing to do with my dad. She deserved to know the truth before I deserved to know how she felt about me.

Kourtney, Big Red, and Nini came over to my house to watch the final product of the tutorial. Nini was the last one left after everyone else had gone home. I stood in the front doorway and Nini was right in front of me, her pretty brown eyes staring right into mine.

"So I need to tell you something and I understand if you hate me after." I said.

"Ricky I could never hate you."

"The video was fake." I blurted out. That came out wrong.

"I'm pretty sure it wasn't fake Ricky. We used real equipment, and a real camera, the people in it were real..."

I shook my head. "No, I mean the reason for the video was fake."

"It wasn't for your dad?"

"Of course it wasn't for my dad." I admitted, realizing how dumb this all was. " He wishes he knew how so that, when he was a kid, he could've skateboarded like I do now. But if my dad even attempted to try, he would probably hurt himself more than I did when I sprained my ankle." I tried to read her reaction. I could tell she was just confused. That's better than being mad right?

"You lied?" Oh no.

"Yes I did. But it was for the right reason."

"Okay then. What was the reason?"

We stood in silence for a few seconds. The words I wanted to say weren't coming out of my mouth, which made me wonder if I should even say them at all. I took a deep breath.

"I think I might like you." I started slowly. "I mean I do-I do like you. A lot actually."

"Ricky..." She said slowly.

I continued. "That's why I wanted to make the video. When you said you wanted to audition for our school's next musical, I got scared. Scared that I wouldn't be able to spend time with you as much after school anymore. So I guess making the video meant I could spend time with you and also see how you reacted around me. I just wanted to know if you liked me back. I know it all sounds really selfish though. I'm really really sorry." I waited for her to say something.

She looked down at the ground and began to aimlessly play around with a pebble using her foot. "Ricky, um..."

"What is it?"

She was hesitant. "Remember the night of Homecoming, in freshman year, when you were walking me home and asked if anyone had asked me to the dance?"

"Yeah."

"And I told you someone did, but that I told them no because I was waiting for a particular person to ask me instead, even though they never did?"

"Yeah." I said, still a little hurt from the conversation we had that night. "And I asked you who the particular boy was, and you said I didn't know him."

She nodded. "I haven't been completely honest with you either."

I was so confused. "What do you mean?"

Her eyes flicked up to mine and she shyly pushed some hair behind her ear. "Ricky, the particular someone was you. I wanted you to ask me, and so when you didn't, I just decided to go with friends."

"Wait, are...are you serious?"

"Yeah...I guess I could say I've had the biggest crush on you for forever. I'm just scared because we're best friends, and if we started dating and something bad happened in our..." She trailed off.

"Yeah I know. I'm scared about that to." There was a small pause. "But I mean, we haven't always been very fond of each other, and look at where we are now."

She bit her lip and stepped closer to me. Then she quickly rose up to her tiptoes and softly kissed my cheek. Her cheeks were blushing and I could say the same for mine.

"What was that for?" I asked, in a daze.

"That was an apology for not being truthful to you all of these years."

Before I could say anything else, she rose up again, gently wrapped her arms around my neck, and met her lips to mine.

I didn't know exactly what I was feeling during the long seconds of complete pleasure, but I did know that what was happening was enough to make me forget everything else going on in the world around me.

She lowered her heels back to the ground but still held my gaze.

"And what was that for?" I asked again, giving a half smile.

"That was me telling you that I really really like you, and if you ever considered asking me to, I don't know...be your girlfriend, I would probably say yes."

I already knew the next words that would come out of my mouth. "Nini Salazar-Robert's," I began slowly. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

"I would love to Ricky." She smiled grinned and pulled me in for a tight hug. That was it.

"Oh and you were right." Said Nini.

"About?"

"You were right about the younger me. I did boss you around, a lot."

She began laughing and I joined her, our arms still enclosed around each other.

Nini Salazar-Roberts was my girlfriend and it was a relief to know that I didn't just have until the end of summer to spend with her.