A few weeks later...
The tension between Gerald and I had finally died down. It was still there, but we weren't screaming at each other and sending threatening text messages anymore.
Tyler had to go help his roommate with something, so it was just Kaitlyn and me in the editing bay at the tv studio.
"How do you select the part of the clip you want?" She asked. "And why is the keyboard so many different colors?"
"You just mark in and out at the desired points like this," I said as I showed her. "Then you drag it to the timeline...and the keyboard is meant to provide shortcuts instead of using the mouse all the time."
Kaitlyn watched me drag a few clips onto our documentary timeline. It was supposed to be 20 minutes and we had edited about 2...it was going to be a long process.
"Oh, shit," I said as I leaned back in my chair, grabbing my phone. "I should've asked Gerald about "Drop," and that other song that he released, "Rewind." Those would've been perfect to talk about."
"Are you gonna ask him?" Kaitlyn asked as she clicked on Grady's interview clip, watching it. "See, he looks so much better without that stupid fluorescent orange beanie."
I rolled my eyes, pulling up Gerald's number in my phone.
"Yeah, I'm gonna text him and see if he can come out for a few hours next week," I said as I started to type out my message.
Me: Can you come back next week? I realized there was a question I forgot to ask you for the documentary?
Gerald: Uh, sure. Yeah. I can come out for a few days. Next Thursday and Friday.
That was too easy, but I wasn't going to argue with him.
Me: Okay, great. See you soon.
"He'll be here next week," I said as I looked up at Kaitlyn. "And I'm assuming Grady will come with him, like always. So I'll see if I can stay at Ricky's on Thursday and Friday so you can have your much needed alone time," I laughed.
Kaitlyn blushed, slapping my arm as she pulled her eyes away from the screen.
"Shut up!" She laughed. "So can we edit anymore?"
"I'd rather not until we get the rest of our footage," I said as I saved our project. "We'll have a whole six weeks or so to finish it after I film the last little interview. That'll be more than enough time."
We packed up our stuff and walked back to the dorm. I set my bag down on the bed and went to grab a cute outfit.
"Ricky's waiting for me out front," I said as I came out of the bathroom brushing my hair. "We're going to the mall."
Kaitlyn changed into her pajamas and plugged in her laptop.
"I'll be here watching Live PD," she said as she climbed into her bed. "You two be careful!" She called as I shut the door.
I made my way out of the building and over to Ricky's car. He was leaning against it, holding a rose.
"Hello, gorgeous!" He smiled as he extended his arm, handing it to me. "For you."
I smiled, taking the rose and hugging him before following him to the passenger side of his car.
"Thank you!" I grinned as I got in when he opened up the door for me. "It's so pretty," I laughed as I took a photo of it with my phone to post on Instagram later. It was a white rose with sparkly pink dye on it.
He shut the door and came back around, getting in the driver's side and starting up the car.
"I figured we could go to the mall and hang out. There's a cookie dough place that I've been dying to try," he grinned as he reached over and held my free hand. "That sound okay?"
I nodded, blushing with a smile as I snuck another photo of our hands resting in the middle.
"That sounds lovely," I said as I gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Thank you."
Xoxox
We walked around the mall for a bit, popping in and out of stores. Ricky bought me this new perfume from Bath and Body Works that smells like apples, and he bought me some new fall scented candles that I can't wait to light in our room.
"I can't wait to light this pumpkin cupcake one," I said with a laugh as we walked out of Yankee Candle. "Kaitlyn may or may not love it."
Ricky held one of the bags while holding my hand in the other. We walked to the food court for all the free little samples before getting in line at the cookie dough place.
"Oooh," I said as I looked at the flavors in the cooler. "I think I'm gonna get sugar cookie dough with some sprinkles," I said as I looked up at him, pecking his lips softly. "What are you gonna get?"
He smiled down at me and placed his hand on the small of my back as we moved forward.
"I think I'll get the Reeses pieces with some chocolate chips," he grinned. "I love peanut butter a little too much."
"Mhm, noted," I winked as we stepped up to order. I pulled out my wallet to pay, but he shook his head, giving the cashier his card before I could even get mine out.
We sat down at a table and ate our cookie dough, laughing about me telling him the story of how Kaitlyn nearly beat up Tally in class.
"That's crazy!" He laughed, taking a drink of his water. "She sounds like a really good friend."
"She is!" I smiled. "That's my best friend. We've got plans to move in together after college is over in a few months."
Ricky stood up to throw our trash away when we were done, holding his hand out for me as we walked to the car. He opened my door for me and got me inside before going around to the driver's side.
"I had a really nice time tonight," he said as he placed a hand on my cheek, stroking it with his thumb as he leaned in softly, kissing my lips before tugging on the bottom one. He moved a little closer to me.
"Mhm," I hummed against his lips as I placed a hand on his shoulder, unbuckling my seatbelt and moving closer, my other hand going on his cheek. I pulled away after a few seconds, catching my breath while a smile. "That...was, whoa..."
"I'd have to agree..." He laughed as he started the car, backing out of our parking spot. "It was nice to go somewhere other than campus."
I nodded, looking out the window up at the moon.
"Definitely. I loved this little date," I smiled. "It was so cute. Thank you, Ricky."
He brought my hand to his lips, kissing it softly.
"Anything for you, darling."