The Perfect Gift

Ch. 10

She laughs, feeling lighter as her heart soars from his words. "Me, neither," she admits with a bite of her lip.

Ricky quickly snaps back to look at her. "Yeah?" he asks hopefully.

She nods, a small smile starting to form. "Today's been the most fun I've had in ages," she says. "I'll be disappointed to see it end."

His shoulders relax and he grins at her. "Well, it's good that the feeling's mutual, I guess," he says. "I was kind of embarrassed because I thought it was only me," he tacks on with a relieved laugh.

She blushes. "Definitely not just you," she mutters, averting her gaze.

"So what's the plan?" he asks after a beat. "Sit here awkwardly until we're the last ones or leave and call it a night?

She wrinkles her nose. "Well, when you put it like that... maybe we should just head home?" He boos her and she rolls her eyes. "You want to stay here all night then?"

Ricky gives his own sigh. "No, no. You're right. We should get going." He stretches with a yawn and gets up. He stands behind her and pulls out her chair.

She thanks him and he shoots her the charming grin that makes her stomach flip. He gently places a hand to her back, murmurs, "This way," into her ear and they start toward the coat check.

Nini glances up and sees Ricky smiling down at her. She forces one of her own and focuses on moving forward.

She's already feeling the beginnings of disappointment sweep through her.

*****

They step out of the elevator and begin their way down the hall in a comfortable silence. When they come to a stop outside his door, the silence becomes less comfortable.

"I had a good time," Nini pipes up, trying to fill the silence."At the party, I mean." She smiles at him when he turns his attention to her. "It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be," she confesses.

Ricky sends her a relieved smile. "So did I, but I owe you for that one, Nini. Trust me, the only difference between last year and this year was bringing you. Seriously."

She suddenly finds her old boots from two seasons ago absolutely fascinating. "And, um, thanks, for spending all of Christmas Eve with me," she adds after she takes a moment to clear her throat. "You didn't have to, but it was sweet of you to come by."

His eyes soften and a genuine smile plays across his lips. "I wanted to spend it with you," he says earnestly. "So thanks for not shutting the door in my face," he adds playfully.

They stand there for a second, identical smiles aimed at each other, before he finally snaps out of it and scratches the back of his neck.

"It's getting late," she observes after a beat.

"Yeah, it is."

Their eyes dart around the hallway, because all of a sudden, they can't quite meet each others' glances.

He clears his throat. "So, uh, do you want me to walk you to your door?"

Nini shakes her head and holds up her hand. "Ricky, it's fine," she insists with a light laugh. "I can make it the few feet by myself," she promises with a grin. He hesitates and she points down the hall. "It's right there," she says with a small laugh. "It's fine. Really."

He finally relaxes and gives her a small nod. "Alright," he concedes.

So they stand there, an awkward silence blanketing over them. Nini rocks back and forth on the balls and heels of her feet. Ricky roughly shoves a hand in his pocket and dangles his keys in the other one.