ricky and nini's realizations

chapter 33

general pov

the following morning was a warm, quiet fall sunday morning. nini naturally wakes up to the bright sunbeams coming in through her window. she reflects on the night before trying to dig around in her thoughts to see if she can recall that what ricky did was real. only to confirm that what happened between her and her best friend did actually happen. she wants to relish in the thought of it and how good it felt. maybe even the feeling of how right it felt in a way, but she lets the realistic part of her self, that she knows all too well, get the best of her. thoughts of uncertainty floods her mind as she buries her head into her pillows even further. how am i going to act around him now? was what he said the truth about how he feels about me? of course it is. he's not a liar, but how could he have felt like that for so long... ricky's amazing. he could have any girl, but he thinks about me like that? she doesn't have the first clue at how to feel about this. it's like a tug of war battle in her thoughts. nini rolls over in her bed letting out a slow breath. i dont regret last night. she thinks as she conclude her thoughts. ricky wakes up to his own thoughts in a similar way to nini. his thoughts are racing miles a minute. only not in the same way. he smiles as he spreads out on his bed stretching his previous night's sleep away as he thinks about his favorite girl. he's dumbfounded that he finally admitted the feelings he pushed down for so long to her. he reflects on the emotions that were so new to him, yet so thrilling and comforting to feel. he pictures the way nini looked last night- absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. he closes his eyes as he tries to remember the way her soft lips felt on his own. i kissed her. we actually kissed. and she kissed me back. he can feel heat rising in his chest just at the thought.

nini's pov

i reach for my phone at the sound of my text notification. my heartbeat picks up when i see it's from ricky. i wanna speak to him. i do. i just. holy crap. last night was entirely unreal and a whole new territory. i unlock my phone hesitantly to read "good morning :)". i've gotten plenty of good morning texts from him before, but i can feel the slightest bit of apprehensiveness to reply. my thumbs hover over the keypad, "morning," i respond with. i immediately see that he's already typing just after me hitting the send button. "what are ya doing?" i start to type back to the simple question, "haven't gotten out of bed yet," i send back. "same. i'm still laying here," he responds. i don't make an effort to continue the conversation when i hear my mom shout that she made breakfast. i head downstairs to join my moms in the kitchen leaving my phone on my bed. i enjoy easygoing conversation with them filling them in on last night's dance. well the parts i wanted to tell of. then head back up to my room at the sound of my phone ringing. i first see another text from ricky. i had forgotten that i discontinued the conversation so abruptly. "so what are you doing today?" he double texted almost half an hour ago. i then take notice of the caller id and my nerves are like no other. i don't have the slightest clue how to act around him right now. my body functions better than my mind at the moment given that i hit the accept button. "u-uh hello?" i say hearing the nerves in my voice. "hey nins" he says almost as if he's treading on his own words. "hi," gosh i've never been more dense in making conversation. "so, uh you busy today?" he asks me. "no, i'm probably just gonna get a head start on homework if anything," i tell him. "do you," he cleats his throat, "wanna do something with me today?" i pause to think for a second. i can't just avoid him plus i'm making this more tense by being distant with him. "nevermind. sorry, i know you wanna do your homew-" i interrupt to give him my response before he has the chance to hang up. "no. ricky," i giggle faintly, "we can do something," i tell him as heat rises in my cheeks slightly. what's something? "oh," he says as if he's surprised by me, "good. um i'll come get you in a little bit?" i tilt my head to the side even though he can't see it, "don't you mean i'll come get you. between the two of us i am the one with the car you know," i say with a series of more giggles. "uh uh. i'm coming to get you," he tells me and i can hear the smile in his voice, "we're gonna walk somewhere." "okay. i'll see you soon," i tell him. "be there soon."

ricky's pov

i told nini that i would be there soon, but i still have yet to get out of bed. i jump out of my blanket and scurry to my bathroom. my hair is a frizzy mess and i look awful. i wet my hair and comb it through to manage it to the best of my ability. i pick out my favorite black ripped jeans and my classic distressed denim jacket to pair with a black shirt underneath. the fall weather definitely goes good with my preferred style of clothing. i put on deodorant and oddly put on cologne. that's so not typical for me. once i feel like i'm all put together, i go right back to my bathroom to not only brush my teeth better than i ever have, but to also floss, use mouthwash, and unattractively scrape my tongue. i do a final look of myself in the mirror to make sure i look okay and put together. i grab my phone and jog down my stairs flying out the door. as i'm walking down the sidewalk i type out a text to nini, "i'll be there in a couple minutes," i wanted to type a smiley face like earlier, but i decided that i was thinking too much about going too far into the little details. "okie dokie," her cute little text brought a grin to my face as i let out a chuckle that was definitely too high pitch for a guy. the closer i get to her house the more my excitement to see her precious face turns into nerves. i start falling into the trap of my own mind. her texts were really dry this morning. what if last night was a mistake for her? is she coming out with me out of pity? no. i know my nini. if last night wasn't what she wanted then she would've stopped it. and at this point. i'm approaching her door. i knock three times. i hear the click of the door being unlocked all the while my heart is dropping from my chest. the door opens and i meet the eyes of the girl who i am realizing is entirely out of my league. she's wearing a small, shy smile, "hey ricky." my mouth is dry as i speak, "hey nins. ready to go?" "mhmm," she lets out with a sweet tone in her voice as she begins to step outside. i however, didn't have the common sense to step out of the doorway as she was making her way out like a normal person. i just stood there. like a freaking brick wall. i'm an idiot. she was looking down as she held her hand on the doorknob to pull it closed behind her. as she's stepping off of the ledge she lands right in front of me bringing back all of the fresh memories from last night due to our closeness. we still for a few seconds completely unaware of what the other person is feeling based on the words and kisses shared just hours before. i rake my eyes up and down her body taking in her beauty and cuteness. she's wearing her glasses today, which throws me off. she never wears them, but i always tell her to wear them more. with her hair straightened and pulled into a high ponytail with the perfect amount of baby hairs framing her face. my eyes come back to hers and i can see the anxiousness in her face along with the fiddling she's doing with her fingers again. i pull one hand out of my pocket to lightly hold her hands still. she instantly looks down hitching a breath. it was almost inaudible, but i caught it. i rub my thumb across her now still hands, "can i kiss you?" i ask her quietly as if what we're doing is a secret and we don't want people to hear us. i release my hold on her hands moving it to her cheek. as soon as she nods i lean into her. i had been craving this feeling again. it's the most intoxicating, right feeling that i don't think i can get enough of from her. it was a long, soft kiss. we pull back at the same time keeping our faces close together. she grabs the ends of my jacket to fidget with. i've definitely discovered her nervous tick as i smile down at her twirling the last button of my jacket. "where are we going?" she asks breaking the silence. "we're gonna go for a walk," respond smiling although she can't see it. she lets out a kind of 'hymph' noise as a quick laugh. it's the cutest. "so no destination? just a walk," she says back still looking down. "i mean..." i drag out as i nervously bring my hand down to intertwine our fingers into a hand hold, "maybe we'll end up at the park, or a cafe, orrr." she laughs, "okay a walk sounds good," she says as a nice way to make me stop talking. i guide her with our linked hands off of her front porch to begin our walk sensing the newness the both of us are feeling right now.