❁starbucks❁

❁seventeen❁

It had been multiple weeks since Nini's conversation with Gina, and although it lasted a short time, it had been all she was able to think about since. She had told Kourtney about it as soon as she had gotten back to her dorm that night, and she had jumped around the room and squealed. The snow had melted and the flowers were beginning to bloom again.

Nini still hadn't made her move yet. 

Ever since she was a kid, she had been afraid of confrontation and admitting her feelings to people. It was one of the scariest feelings to Nini, and she would avoid it at all costs if she could. Even if she knew Ricky liked her back, the feelings of anxiety still persisted deep inside Nini's soul and didn't seem to budge, no matter how much she tried convincing herself that everything would be okay.

The sun was setting; the sky was painted with hues of vibrant pinks, bright oranges, neon shades of yellow, and finally some spectacular reds. Nini was driving to Starbucks again after a long shift at work. Every time she saw the glowing neon sign at the front of the coffee shop, Gina's words hung over her head like an invisible weight.

She walked into the place only to see Ricky sitting at her spot.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Nini asked curiously.

"I took off work today." Ricky said simply. The golden light from the sunset shone on his tan face, making his eyes appear almost golden. The boy of her dreams was standing right in front of her. And she couldn't get herself to do anything to get him, even if he apparently liked her back. Right now at this exact moment, with light glaring into his eyes, and the smell of coffee heavy on his gray hoodie, he was euphoria personified; an angel on earth. Nini felt tears stinging in her eyes. The perfection of this moment and the person in front of her was making her want to laugh and cry at the same time.

"Oh." Nini choked.

"I have your coffee!" Ricky turned around to reveal the steaming cup beside him. 

"Thanks." Nini sniffed. 

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked with a worried note in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm good," she smiled. "So why did you take off work today?"

"I wanted to spend some time with my best friend/favorite customer in the whole world!" He smiled. "Let's go."

"Where?" Nini laughed, but he didn't answer. He just grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the store, giggling to himself.

"Hey, where are we going? Seriously." Nini asked once they had gotten to his car. "Do I need anything or should I just keep it in my car?"

"Don't think so much! You don't need anything, just get in!" Ricky rolled his eyes.

And against every principle Nini and her mother had ever taught her, she hopped into his car with no questions asked.

Before they started the car, Ricky looked at Nini drinking her coffee innocuously. 

"What?" She asked, giggling partly at the excitement of the fact she didn't know what was happening.

"Nothing." Ricky said, turning on the engine. 

And with that, they were off. Ricky turned on a playlist that he had proudly announced was carefully curated for this event, and they drove past Minneapolis' limits. Nini repeatedly asked where they were going to no avail; Ricky would not give even the slightest clue.

After driving for roughly forty minutes, they stopped at a random parking garage.

"Where are we?" Nini asked, looking at the tall structure, and then back to Ricky.

"An abandoned parking garage. To watch a sunset together. Accompanied by pie I picked up earlier." Ricky smiled.

"Wow." Nini smiled. She felt her eyes well up with tears once again. "You didn't have to do thi-"

"Yes, I did." Ricky said, opening his door and getting out of the car. "C'mon, take this pie. We'll miss it." Nini just smiled, took it, and followed Ricky.

"This still works, amazingly." Ricky said, approaching a rickety-looking elevator. He pressed a rusty button and the doors slowly slid open. "I promise it's safe. I've been on this." 

"I trust you." Nini said and stepped inside. Ricky pressed a button, and up they went. Eventually, the elevator dinged and its doors opened to reveal an empty floor.

"It's kinda creepy." Nini remarked, looking at the gray cement.

"This isn't it, silly." He said, taking her free arm and leading her up a ramp. 

They turned the last corner to see they were on the roof, with a full view of the Minneapolis skyline and the gorgeous sunset.

"Wow." Was all that Nini could say. She set the pie down and walked towards the edge of the roof. She felt the wind on her face. The lack of fear in her own body amazed her; she felt infinite in this moment. She smiled, feeling tears well up in her large eyes.

"Well?" Ricky asked.

"This is so perfect, Ricky. I can't express how happy I am at this moment." She smiled, feeling a tear fall down her eye.

"Here, sit." He patted the hard concrete next to him and held up a fork. She did, laughing.

"Are we just gonna eat straight from the pie?"

"Didn't bring knives or plates, so no." Ricky laughed. Nini giggled.

"That's okay. I don't care." Nini smiled and stabbed her fork into the pie.

"Damn, going right in there."

"What other way is there in this situation?" 

"I dunno."

"Ricky?" Nini suddenly asked.

"Mhmm?" Ricky hummed. He had a mouthful of pie.

"How do you know this place?"

Ricky looked at her. "I used to go here in high school when I just wanted to escape everything."

"Like what?"

"Homework, parents, friends, girlfriends, everything. If it got too overwhelming, I'd sneak out of my house to come here. I accidentally discovered it once when I was skating in sophomore year, and it's been somewhere I've visited often since. Although I haven't really came since I met you."

"Have you shown it to anyone else before?"

"No. Never. This is my special place, but now it's ours."

Nini blushed and took another bite of pie.

After a bit of conversation, there was silence as they just watched the sunset together, basking in the glow and living off the true happiness one another felt in the moment.

"Hey, Nini?" Ricky abruptly broke the comfortable quiet. He looked directly at Nini.

"Yeah?" Nini asked, looking back. She could feel her heart pounding.

"I'm in love with you."

this will be a two parter. :) hope u enjoyed this and thank you for 10k (and almost 11k wow i never pictured this story to get so big!) love u all and hope you are staying safe wherever you are <3 

im just curious: where are you all from?