The Remembrance of You *ON HOLD*

Chapter 5

"So. Is that all Nina?" Ricky tries out my full name smugly, obviously proud of the new information that he's learned about my life. "That's not all but it's a lot" I smile as I lean back against my bed. He grins and I give him a shrug. "So. Is that all Richard?" He glances at me cautiously at the sound of his full name and the same sentence he spoke and I cover my mouth to hide my laughter. "That's not all but it's a lot" he copies my words and I narrow my eyes at him before giving him a light laugh. "Well it feels like I know you. Which is weird because I just met you." My voice drops a little in volume and Ricky eyes me completely, seeming to put a response of his own together. "Yeah it feels like I know you too. But I guess some people just click." He concludes and I nod. "Yeah I suppose our paths are all sorta set in stone and there are some people you're just meant to come across in life." I say, giving him a small smile. He raises an eyebrow. "That's an awfully educated way of looking at things." He muses and I roll my eyes before looking into his piercing, brown eyes. "Some things have to be calculated. I can't live life based on my feelings, so I live it based on things that seem to make sense. And having a set path... that makes sense to me." He nods and it's almost as if he's in deep thought for a second before coming back into the conversation. "Yeah you can't live life on feelings. Your way seems to be the best." He confirms and I nod. "I don't meet many people who agree with me on that." I admit and he shrugs. "It seems like we're a bit different Nina, so that doesn't surprise me." I give him a sideways glance. "You don't have permission to use that name Richard." He laughs and his eyes seem to light up. "Huh too bad I'm not asking for it." I groan and lean my head against the bed.

A few moments of comfortable silence pass before I glance to Ricky. I'm surprised to see him studying me, and I feel my face heat under his gaze. "What?" I mumble and he shakes his head. "This might be the 2 o'clock hour in the morning talking, but you're unlike anyone I've seen. Unrealistically stunning." I blush a little harder and sit forward, covering my face. "Little forward there Ricky?" I mumble into my hands and he laughs before I feel two warm hands encircle my wrists. He pulls my hands away from my face and thumbs over my pulse point on my wrists. "Just telling the truth Nina." I roll my eyes and glance nervously between his eyes and the wall behind him, uncertainty flooding through my body. "Question" I mumble, focusing on anything but him. "Answer" he jokes and I sigh. "Do you maybe... I mean since we're being forward tonight... Do you want to go out with me?" If Ricky wasn't holding my hands I'd want to cover my face again out of embarrassment. I glance back at Ricky to see what he's thinking and he seems shocked but happy. "Yeah I'd love to go out with you." I laugh in relief and Ricky moves his hands from my wrist to my hands, intertwining our fingers lightly. "And of course, Thanksgiving right? Because unless you're making us a giant feast for our first date I'm gonna have to-" I laugh loudly and pull one of my hands from his in order to push at his shoulder. "Of course Thanksgiving. My parents will love you, and I want you to have a place to be for the holiday."

I watch as his lips turn up in amusement and happiness.

But then watch his lips a little too closely and then I can't stop.

I glance between his lips and his eyes and he looks so beautiful, so calculated but so completely beautiful that I start to feel butterflies erupt in my stomach and I'm thinking about him in another way. His eyes almost hold shock, as if he know what I'm thinking but then he's doing the same thing as me. He's glancing between my eyes and my lips. He couldn't know what I'm thinking, because not one part of me knows what I'm thinking. I had just met this guy. But he doesn't seem to care and if he doesn't care, then why should I? So before I know it, I'm surging forward and his mouth is on mine, his full, gentle lips working against my own and he gasps into the kiss in short breaths. I pull him by his shoulders and he wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me away from the bed and further into his arms. What the fuck.