Nini's phone rings while she's at work and she gestures for an employee to take over so she can take this call. Jenny, an older teenager hired just a few months ago, nods and smiles as she heads over to stand behind the counter.
She jogs up the stairs, accepting the call half-way up them. She doesn't even have time to utter a greeting.
"So when are we meeting him?"
Nini raises an eyebrow at the direct question. It's been a little over twelve hours since she last saw Kourt—and therefore, had the conversation about Ricky—but clearly, this matter cannot wait.
Her hand twists a knob, entering the practice room and closing the door. "I don't know. How abo—?"
"We're free tonight."
Nini sighs and slumps down on the piano bench. "Kourt. I should at least ask—"
"Sounds great! See you guys tonight! Bye!"
And then Nini finds herself staring perplexedly at her disconnected cell phone.
Kourtney had never been a patient soul.
With an irritated sigh, she scrolls through her contacts and stops at Ricky Bowen— she wasn't one for cutesy nicknames— but her finger hovers over the call button.
A picture of him from the time he stole her phone to snap ridiculous photos of himself pops up as his contact picture. She had walked into her living room after a quick bathroom break to find him in the middle of his narcissistic photo shoot. When she'd asked for an explanation, he had just smirked and jokingly said, "Just in case you ever missed me."
She likes to scroll through them sometimes. Not that she'd ever tell him that.
She smiles briefly at the picture of him, with his features contorted into an exaggeratedly disgruntled expression. Specifically, his lips are turned down into an absurd frown, his nose is scrunched up like he's been hit by a fowl stench, his brow is lowered like a neanderthal's, and his messy bedhead in the picture reminds her just how much her fingers love running themselves through his hair. It certainly wasn't the most flattering snapshot of him, but it had made her laugh the hardest so she'd immediately set it as his contact photo.
Nini finally hits the call icon and waits for him to pick up as she presses her phone to her ear. He answers almost instantly.
"Hey, what's up?" he sounds pleased, if not a little surprised, by her phone call. They spent so much time with each other outside of work, they never felt the need to text and call throughout the day, unless it was to confirm plans or something along those matters.
"Are you free tonight?"
"Tonight?"
"Yes. Tonight. Are you free?" she reiterates in a light, humorous tone.
"No. I'm not."
She frowns. "Oh," she says in a small, hesitant voice. She wracks her brain, but doesn't remember him mentioning anything about being busy later tonight. "Um, I didn't know you had something planned..." She's a bit disappointed that she won't get to hang out with him tonight, but she's more terrified of the wrath she'll have to face from Trish when she doesn't see Ricky on her arm. "So, what are you doing, then?"
"I was going to lounge on my couch with my gorgeous girlfriend and watch old screwball comedies on Netflix because I know how much she loves black and white films," he answers in an almost bored tone. "She's, uh, she's pretty demanding," he adds with a tired sigh.
Nini bites down on her bottom lip to keep her grin from taking over her face. She feels a light flutter in her stomach, aimed more at the 'girlfriend' comment than the 'gorgeous' comment. "Oh, demanding, is she?" she asks in a flat tone, attempting to play along.
"Uh huh," he answers dully. "So, sorry, but I'm already booked for the evening."
Nini can hear the grin in his voice, toward the end of his comment. It makes her chuckle into the phone and she shakes her head. "I'm sure she'll love what you have planned for her." And she does, because while she owned quite a large collection of classic movies on DVD, Netflix's selection of the genre still managed to make her envious.
"You think she'll want me to pick up ice cream on the way home?"
The chuckling dies down and she sighs into the phone, thinking back to Kourtney's orders— because really, it wasn't exactly a polite request. She clears her throat and says, "Ricky..." before trailing off hesitantly.
"...We can do Go-Gurt if you're not feeling ice cream?"
She makes a pained smile at the reservation in his voice. She's touched that he would actually consider giving up ice cream for Go-Gurt, even if it was only for a night. "Uh, no. Ice cream sounds delicious, but we're going to have to cancel those plans."
"Oh." He sounds disappointed and confused.
"Kourtney wants to meet you," she blurts. She winces and reaches up to twirl a strand of hair around her fingers, mostly out of nerves.
"Oh." Now he sounds surprised and confused.
A beat of silence passes by.
She mistakes his silence as an answer for not wanting to go. She'll just have to think of an excuse to cancel on Kourt later. "Ricky? Ricky, it's okay if you don't want to go. I'll just—"
"This is a big deal, isn't it?" he asks, plain and simple.
She starts at the question, eyes blinking in rapid succession and her fingers pause mid-twirl in her hair. She doesn't want to freak him out about the big-dealiness of meeting Kourtney and Devon. They are her best friends, after all, and the most important people in her life.
"Um. No, no it's not a big deal. Like, at all. Nope, not a—not a big deal."
Yeah, that lie could have gone better.
"You're lying," he states, sounding amused by her inability to lie convincingly.
Her shoulders slump and she presses the heel of her hand in between her eyes. "That was your out, Ricky!" she moans. "You could have easily overlooked my lie and we could have avoided the whole thing."
"I don't mind going, Neens," he says lightly.
She perks up a little. "Really?" she asks in a timid voice.
"They're your friends!" he laughs. "Of course I don't mind. I mean, I was bound to meet Kourtney and, uh—Devon? Was it?—eventually, anyway." He pauses for a second and then continues. "But I just want to make sure you feel like you're ready for me to meet your friends," he adds softly. "I know you already feel like we rushed some things, so I just want to go with whatever pace you're comfortable with."
She smiles at his words. "Thanks, Ricky. I really appreciate that."
"Seriously, whenever you're ready," he says in an understanding tone.
Her grateful smile turns into a regretful one as she mutters her next words. "The only problem is, whether I'm ready or not, Kourtney is." She sighs. "So basically, if we don't show up, she's just going stake out our floor until she catches even the slightest glimpse of my 'supposed boyfriend'," she adds in a droll tone.
"What's all this 'supposed' business?" he asks in a playfully hurt voice that manages to make her relax and smile. "Anyway, if it makes you feel any better, I'm up for it. What would we be doing?" he continues, taking on a more sincere and serious tone.
"I have no idea," she honestly replies.
"She just called me up and told me that we'd be seeing her tonight. No details about anything yet. But it's Kourt, so she'll probably text me about whatever she wants to do in a few hours."
"I'm sure things will be fine. Besides, we really connected that day we were on the phone together. I feel like I can tell her all my hopes and dreams and share all my secrets with her; secrets that I've yet to tell you, Nina Anne Salazar-Roberts," he says jokingly.
She snickers. "Okay. Kourt can always use another girl friend to confide in. And that's still not my middle name."
"Ouch."
******
Nini spends the rest of the day constantly checking her phone for a text from Kourt, or even a text from Ricky with some lousy excuse so he can back out. She never received a text from Kourt but Ricky, as if reading her mind, texts her, "Heard from Kourt yet? Pretty pumped for tonight!", probably hoping to calm her nerves.
The gesture makes her smile and it works. Not as well as she'd like, but it definitely helps the uneasiness that has settled into the pit of her stomach.
She knows Kourtney and Devon will love Ricky. And she's pretty sure he'll at least get along with them; he was such a nice, easy-going guy, how could he not? But the whole 'first time meeting the boyfriend' ordeal is still pretty nerve-wracking. And, well, it doesn't help that she's a bit of a perfectionist and she can't really imagine a night of 'perfection' if she has to deal with all three of them in one—sure to be—eventful evening.
An evil, taunting voice in the back of her mind reminds her that she'll have to go through this whole thing again, but with her moms, in a few days.
Nini can only deal with one crisis at a time, so she quickly shuts that thought down. It's still there, though... lurking in the creases of her mind.
A loud buzzing from her phone stirs her from her thoughts and her hand flies to snatch it from its hiding spot underneath the counter. She sighs in relief when she sees it's from Kourtney.
Your place? Devon and I got into a fight while unpacking and things are a mess over here... we'll bring dessert!
Nini laughs and shakes her head. And then she stops and makes a mental note to warn Ricky about their rather volatile relationship. She quickly types out, "Sounds great. Anything will do."
****
Nini leaves the Melody Mart an hour early so she can help Ricky prepare for this impromptu dinner party. Which is why he's rather baffled to find her at his door right at this moment.
"Don't you have another hour of work?" he asks in confusion.
"Missed you, too," she murmurs sarcastically, standing up on her toes to press a kiss to his cheek. She pulls away and moves to enter his apartment, but he holds her in place. She's about to irritably tell him that they have about an hour and a half to prepare dinner for four on very limited supplies in her kitchen so she may or may not have to raid his fridge and that they needed to hurry the hell up, when he kisses her right on the lips.
Well, this isn't too bad, she decides and she feels her irritation melting away as she relaxes into his kiss.
He ends the kiss and gives her a sheepish look. "Sorry. I wasn't expecting you so early, but it was a nice surprise," he murmurs.
And now that his lips are off hers, she reaches a point of clarity and her mind reminds her of her whole dinner situation.
"No time," she suddenly declares, eyes popping wide open as the cloudiness disappears.
He raises an eyebrow. "What?"
"Kourtney and Devon are stopping by my place in about an hour and a half," she says hurriedly. "We have to make dinner for four by 6:30. I don't even know if I have enough food for four people, because I can't remember the last time I stocked my fridge," she rushes in a worried tone.
His brows furrow. "Should we go to the store?"
"...I was just gonna raid your fridge?" she asks hopefully with a teeth-bearing grin and cocked shoulders. "I'm scared we won't have time," she tacks on with a wince.
Ricky looks at her bemusedly. He finally lets her in and closes the door. "Okay, let's see if I have anything. Do you have any ideas about what to make?"
Nini shakes her head as she follows him into the kitchen. "Kourtney isn't that picky, so as long as it isn't too exotic or out there, she'll be fine. And Devon will honestly eat anything and everything. Like, even more so than you."
He raises an eyebrow. "That big of an appetite?" he questions, sounding impressed.
"No. He just likes to test the boundaries of what's edible and what isn't," she says with a roll of her eyes. "He once ate a part of a lobster shell because he liked the crunch."
"...Yeah, can't say that I've done that," he mutters as he tries to imagine someone eating lobster shell. He can't imagine it to be tasty.
"Richard, focus! Stop thinking about the eating potential of a lobster shell and focus!" she snaps.
He shakes himself out of his reverie and turns back to his pantry. "Right, sorry!" He yanks the door open and peers at the semi-decently stocked shelves.
"Is there anything good?" Nini asks desperately as she pops in under his arm and scans the various food products.
"Well... I've got noodles."
"Pasta's always great!"
"...But nothing to make any sort of sauce with."
"Not helping," she growls as she shoots him a dirty look over her shoulder.
"Sorry," he says sheepishly. And then he scratches the back of his head as his eyes squint in careful consideration. "Uh, how about we make, um..." he trails off, grasping desperately for a dinner idea. "Do your friends like cereal?" he finally asks pathetically.
"I am not feeding my friends cereal," she mutters with an unimpressed look.
He visibly deflates but then perks up and snaps his fingers at her. "Hey Neens, you still got some leftover chicken?" he asks hopefully.
"What, the chicken breast from a few nights ago?" she asks, thinking back to the contents of her freezer. "Yeah, I think so."
He grins. "We could make stir fry! I have some frozen vegetables and if you cut up that chicken, we may be good." He leans over her and pulls out a small bag of uncooked rice. "And I have this, too," he says as he shakes it at her.
Nini laughs in utter relief and leans up to kiss him on the cheek. "Ah, Ricky Bowen, you are the best!" she squeals excitedly. "Okay, I'm going to run home and grab the chicken, you get the vegetables started." She ducks under his arm and runs to his front door. "I'll be right back!"
"Nini!" he calls dryly.
She turns around and her eyebrows furrow impatiently. "What? Ricky, we're in a—"
"Aren't we having the dinner at your place?"
"Oh." She blinks. "Right."
He laughs. "I'll meet you over there when I get everything together. Leave your door unlocked."
"Sounds good!" she says sheepishly as she leaves his apartment.
Ricky shakes his head and grabs whatever else he may need to make their dinner.
******
"You know, for someone who claims to be a bad cook, you sure do have a lot of random food stuffs," Nini comments lightly as she eyes her counter full of various spices and sauces Ricky has laid out to flavor the stir fry.
Ricky laughs and goes about throwing everything together in a small, flat-bottomed wok. "I don't eat my own cooking because it's good, Neens. I eat it to survive."
She looks at him in alarm, taking a break from preparing the chicken. "Why am I letting you cook for my friends, again?"
"Hey, I make a decent enough stir fry, okay?" he says defensively. At her unconvinced look, he rolls his eyes. "Well, now I do, anyway. The first eight or so times? Not so much," he confesses with a flinch.
Nini laughs and starts slicing the chicken into small, even pieces. "Ricky, I can make it if you don't want to," she points out.
He waves her off and turns to the stove, his back now to her. "No way! I'm trying to win brownie points with your friends, here." She bites back a smile at his honesty. "If they find out that I was the one that made their delicious dinner, they'll say—" he breaks off to clear his throat daintily and then he adopts a high-pitch and heavily accented feminine voice for his next bit, "... 'Oh mah goodness! Your darlin', handsome boyfriend cooked us this most delicious meal? Why, Nina, honey, you've found yourself a man of true husband material!'" And then he looks at her smugly from over his shoulder.
Nini stares at him, expressionless, for a beat. "When did my friends become southern belles?" she finally questions tonelessly.
Ricky shrugs and shakes the wok back and forth. "It's the only accent I can really do."
"It was terrifying."
"You wanna hear my British accent? I'm actually pretty good at that one, too."
She snorts and shakes her head. "No, thanks," she says. "You should save it for the next time you have to imitate somebody else in my life," she jokes.
"I'll whip it out when the time is right," he says confidently.
Nini rolls her eyes but laughs anyway as she walks up to him with the chicken in hand. She points at the wok and he nods, gesturing for her to go ahead. She carefully dumps the cut-up chicken into the wok and steps away as it starts to sizzle.
She washes her hands and dries them on a towel. "I'll get started on the rice," she says.
"Okay," he says absently, keeping an eye on the chicken and flipping the wok every so often.
They focus on their separate tasks in comfortable silence for a while. After Nini presses the 'cook' button on her tiny rice maker, she turns to look at Ricky's back. She walks up to him and stands at the stove to be by him as she watches him cook.
"Hey," he grins after noticing her from the corner of his eye. "You still nervous about dinner?" he whispers quietly.
She shakes her head and sends him a faint smile. "Not after smelling this. It's amazing, Ricky," she murmurs, sounding awed as she eyes the delectable looking stir fry. The smells and the sounds are making her mouth water and she suddenly realizes just how hungry she is.
"Thanks!" he says brightly, looking every bit like a puppy that had gotten a treat and a fond pat on the head for doing a trick correctly. "And good!" he adds for good measure. "For not being nervous, I mean," he explains. "Just your best friends meeting your super hot boyfriend, right?" he says as he sends her a wink.
Nini jokingly slugs him in the shoulder with a tiny fist. "You're not super hot," she says weakly under her breath.
He laughs, barely feeling this particular punch. "Don't worry, I'll be on my best behavior," he promises as he leans over to press a gentle kiss to her forehead.
She smiles and her eyes flutter close from the feeling of his lips against her skin and his nose burying briefly into her hair.
And yes, her heart still skips a beat, if anyone was wondering.
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