wave after wave 🌊 [rini au]

firsts of many more ; 40

"Good morning, Nina," Ricky greeted as his wife stretched out on the bed, her eyes were still closed but she shot an air kiss in the direction of his voice. The curly haired guy whipped out his phone to take a photo of Nini and she let out a whine, "Don't you dare set that as your wallpaper." He locked his phone, sliding it back into his surf shorts pocket and inched closer to the bed to kiss Nini. "Of course not, I'm not about to show anyone what you look like after waking up from a hot night of sex," Ricky earned a slap to his stomach, but he didn't care, his hands wandering up and down her unclothed body. It had been slightly more than a month since they had gotten married and it still felt like a dream. They were living a completely different life from when they lived in Oahu; things weren't much different for Ricky, he was still lifeguarding but now at the Pipeline at Ehukai Beach, one of the most dangerous beaches during the winter. Nini, however, was working a few very different jobs from her usual cafe staffing and acoustic gigs — she taught surfing on the North Shore in the mornings then worked at a surfboard shop nearby, designing artisanal, one-of-a-kind types of surfboards for rich tourists. She had two gigs a week, on Fridays and Sundays; those nights, Ricky would wait tables at the same bar and they would go home together after on their motorcycle. The bike was Nini's idea, it was a lot cheaper than a car and for the time being, enough for the both of them. They revelled in the proximity they shared because of the bike as well, a forced yet enjoyable form of intimacy that helped strengthen their bond. Other than their jobs and their mode of transport, the people they were living with were completely different. Ricky's extended family was much more tightly knit than Nini's — they went over to his grandparents' house for dinner twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, to meet with the rest of the Bowens over the weekend. The rest of the three nights left in the week, they spent with Ricky's parents. The house was rather quiet, there was no Nate yelling every five minutes or Nic who'd get everyone to go surfing, there was no game night either. But then again, it was the f month since their lives had taken a 180º turn, they'd just been holding each other as they adapted to the changes together.

It was a Wednesday night that they were taking a walk along the North Shore, Ricky held onto Nini's left hand, he could feel the cool metal of both her rings on her ring finger, "What's it like, to finally be in a place where people haven't watched you grow up?" She smiled at his question, thoughts clouding her brain, "It's really fascinating actually, Tim probably would have told you that I've been introducing myself as Nini Bowen," He nodded his head, a smile crept up his lips because he just loved the way his family name sounded with her name, "Instead of people going oh you're a Roberts, now they go oh you're the new Bowen daughter-in-law. It's kinda freaky that they knew we just got married but I guess it'd be the same in Kauai." They then began talking about the frequently asked questions they've received in the past month, ranking in the top two were the questions of how did they know that their marriage would last and when they were going to have children. "You're only 21, for goodness sake. It's not that we don't want children but it's only been a month. People really got to chill." Nini leaned in to kiss his cheek firmly, "We don't have to care about what people think of us, you know? And, you're a Bowen-" Ricky interrupted her, "We are Bowens." She smiled as he stroked the skin on her waist lightly, "Yes, we're Bowens, and we will always be tied to what people think our families should do and say." Being able to trudge through other people's scrutiny together meant more than they thought it would. Ricky's initial thoughts of not letting Nini go with him to Oahu tossed out the window, he knew he couldn't have done any of it without her — that's how he knew that their marriage would last.

They spent their birthdays for the first time as a married couple with a short trip to Maui, taking Friday and the weekend off to visit some friends who moved over to that island. It was the first time they had a whole apartment rented for themselves, no parents they had to be polite and quiet around. The couple had joined their friends for dinner and drinks on their first night but soon chose to forgo the nights out, deciding that they wanted to take advantage of the privacy they had in the apartment to freely be intimate with each other. Ricky would wake up early to keep up with his fitness regime and Nini would wake up to the sound of him in the shower, some things just never changed. It had been the first time since they were in Kauai that they had the whole day to themselves, to surf and explore the island. They had rented a motorcycle, the same one they owned in Oahu to ride and explore the Road to Hana, snapping up pictures of the beautiful scenery. Nini changed her lock screen wallpaper that day, having managed to snap a shot of Ricky's broad, toned back as he leaned against the motorcycle; she'd kissed him hard after making sure she got the perfect photo, unable to resist the attractiveness of her husband. On the last day of the trip, they were picnicking at Keawakapu as they watched the sunset in the evening. The couple was wrapped up in each other, Nini sat in Ricky's lap, sharing his body heat even though the air wasn't cold. A random teen on the beach had taken a photo of them, squealing that they were couple goals and she airdropped them the photos — Ricky immediately changed his home screen wallpaper, thanking the girl. His wife pinned him down on the mat, straddled him, leaning down to kiss him but he pushed her shoulders slightly, "Babe, I thought you cared about if there were kids on the beach?" Nini huffed some air into his face in protest, rolling her hips against her husband's in support of her argument, "No one knows us here, we aren't a Roberts or Bowen right now. Let's make the most of it." Gone were the days they'd make fun of couples who were intimate on the beach without a care in the world, they had become them.