𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 || rini au

26. love me like you

"you're a little awesome, too," she sighs out.

"a little? ouch. that one really struck a nerve.."

"fine, a lot. you're amazing."

"just amazing? i thought--"

she slaps a hand on my chest lightly before turning around in my arms.

"don't push it, bowen," nini snickers.

i gently pick her up, setting her down on the counter and standing in between her legs. we press our foreheads together and smile, soaking in the moment.

"can i kiss you?" i ask, which makes her let out a little giggle.

i pull back a little, "what? i thought you wanted me to keep checking in."

"no, no, i think that's the cutest thing you can say. i mean, yeah, it got a little annoying last night, but it just means you respect what i want. i love how you can romanticize consent verbally like that," nini smiles, bringing one of her hands up to play with my hair.

"mm, you still didn't answer my question, though," i joke, putting a finger on her chin. nini rolls her eyes playfully before moving her hand to the base of my neck, pulling my head over to kiss me.

"i think we've come full circle," nini jokes when we pull away for air, referring to our habit of kissing on counters.

"it's kind of funny, i remember when we were fourteen, i'd practice asking you out in my bathroom mirror. ten years later, here we are," i chuckle. nini's face softens (in a good way) at my words, rubbing her thumb back and fourth at the corner of my jawline.

she pushes the curls back from my forehead, leaning in to kiss me again. it gets heated quickly, nini pulling on my tie to tell me to pick her up without having to pull away to actually talk.

"you're covered in lipstick," nini giggles as i set her down on the bed, reaching up and wiping at the side of my face so it won't stain while i hover over her.

"that sounds kind of homophobic, babe--"

"how?!" nini cuts me off with her laughter, throwing her head back onto to the pillow. i can't help but smile too, because that's probably my favorite sound ever.

i just can't believe this is happening right now.

nini just always seemed too good for me, and that had nothing to do with how how she looks--although she's absolutely gorgeous.

i mean, come on.

looking down at her now as she comes down from her fit of giggles, her brown hair sprawled around her head in loose curls, her smile sweet and soft, the red lipstick that had been applied so carefully earlier now smudged all over her face, she's just..wow.

but the thing about nini is, she's not just the kind of beautiful where you can look at her and think wow, there's so much more to her than that.

like..i've noticed that she always puts three of those little sugar packets in her coffee, because she can't stand the bitter taste alone (because she's just too sweet for that). she'll always leave your clothes or the spot where she sleeps on the bed smelling just like her-which, in case you were wondering, she always smells like sweet lavender. because i remember she told me that she read somewhere once that lavender made people happier--

and nini, being nini, liked to see the people around her smile.

that's just who she is. and it's such a relief to see that these things haven't changed, even after what happened with us in the past. she truly has a good heart, it's just been broken and let down. by me, doing the dumbest thing i ever did. i'll always regret that. for forever.

but now, looking at her like this, maybe she's not doing so bad.

== n i n i 's p o v ==

i'm sure my hair's all messed up by now, but i really just could not care less.

i have that feeling again, where it's like i'm meant to be here. and yeah, i couldn't agree more. it feels just like we're sixteen again in my room, trying to be quiet while my moms are downstairs making dinner. ricky will always be my first love like that. the first person i ever liked, the first to take my breath away, my first kiss, and that first strong feeling like that. like this, i mean.

"too much?" ricky asks me as he pulls away from our kiss, the two of us laughing about the fact that a chunk of my hair had gotten in the way and was now stuck to both of our faces.

"not at all," i say with the dumbest smile on my face while ricky brings his hand up to the side of my cheek, moving my hair out of the way. i giggle as i push at his chest, trying to flip us over. he gives me a smiley confused face as i do so, probably because that's not something i ever used to do. we sit like this for a second, smiling at each other while ricky threads his fingers back through my hair like he's going to put it up.

..

"we should probably go soon," ricky says quietly, his face pressed into my neck.

"you think so?"

"no," he laughs, continuing to kiss at my jaw, "do you think so?"

"mm, not really."

i bring my hands to the sides of his head, tilting his face up. our lips meet softly at first, in a gentle kiss that felt like a sigh.

that's when we hear it. three quick, loud knocks at our front door.