𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭. [𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘪 𝘢𝘶]

Twenty Two

cw: lime lol; also just a disclaimer. this chapter makes me rlly happy lol and the mascara that was previously on my eyelashes is now halfway down my face so enjoy the chapter yall!

- N I N I -

Sex is so awkward.

Not actually the action of having sex, but its the aftermath.

Like, after Ricky finished we were both exhausted so we both just kinda fell asleep right away. But it just seems awkward if you don't fall asleep afterwards. Like what do you do? Cuddle? Seems awkward.

Speaking of Ricky, his head is currently in between my legs.

And before you ask, no. We're not dating.

We're friends with benefits. We never really agreed on that, like it's not our official title but I decided on it since we're definitely not dating but we do stuff that couples do. Like, for example, what we're doing right now. And we cuddle, and we hold hands, we basically do all the normal couple-ish stuff.

Except kiss each other.

I've kissed his cheek, and he's kissed my forehead, but we haven't kissed each other on the lips since that one night we had sex. Speaking of sex, we don't do that either. We do intimate stuff, but we've only had sex one time. 

I clench the bed sheets and throw my head back as his mouth works wonders. I buck my hips forward but his hands grip my hips and push them back down.

"Don't move," He demands, tightening his grip on my hips to lock them in place.

"Ricky.." I breath out, slamming my eyes shut and trying not to move.

Eventually we get interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on Ricky's door. I hear him- and feel him groan before deciding to ignore it and keep going. He only gets to continue for about fifteen seconds until the person knocks again.

"Yo, Rick! You in there?" I hear a voice that I immediately recognize as Ej's ask from the other side of the door.

Ricky groans again before removing his mouth from my lady area, giving me some time to catch my breath.

"Go hide in the bathroom." He orders. I waste no time in getting up from the bed and stumbling my way into the bathroom.

"This better be fuckin' important." I hear Ricky snap. Poor Ej, he's probably so confused.

"Yo dude did you take my razor?" Ej asks, causing my eyes to widen.

"Why the fuck would I take your razor? I have my own."

"I don't know, I can't find mine." I begin to panic when I hear Ej's voice get closer to the bathroom. I have no time to react until the bathroom door flings open and I am revealed. Luckily Ricky's t-shirt that I was wearing is oversized so I was covered.

"Aye! What's up, Neenzee!" Ej greets, walking further into the bathroom and looking for his razor I'm assuming. When he couldn't find it, he grunts and walks out of the bathroom and back into the main room.

"Okay, I'll let you two lovebirds get back to whatever y'all were doing." Ej winks before leaving Ricky's bedroom.

Once Ej is gone Ricky turns back so he's facing me, "Where were we?"

+

"Okay, you guys are dismissed. I'll see you all tomorrow." Mr. Mazzara announces and people start rising from their seats and heading towards the door. I was walking with Kourtney and was about to exit until Mr. Mazzara stops me.

"Nina and Ricky, can I talk to you?" He asks. I tell Kourtney to wait for me outside and head back to his desk and stand next to Ricky.

"I have some good news for the both of you." He shares, causing a small smile to escape my lips.

"Ricky, your grade just went from a D- to a B+."

My face lights up with a smile as I turn to him and wrap my arms around his neck as his wrap around my back, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Congratulations!" I exclaim, smiling so hard.

"I couldn't have done it without you." He replies, hugging me even tighter. I hear the claps of Mr. Mazzara in the back as Ricky twirls in the hug. This was a big moment! It felt like all my hard work had really paid off. I spent so much time trying to get Ricky's grade up and now that it has, I feel complete. I feel proud of Ricky, and proud of myself.

"Alright, run along now. You both need to get to your next class." Mr. Mazzara instructs as Ricky places me back down on the ground. We walk out of the classroom together as big smiles remain on our faces.

"I knew you could do it." I say as I sling my arm around his shoulders. He looks down at me and gives me a real, genuine smile. I don't get to see Ricky's real smile much but I could tell this one was real. He looked happy, and that made me happy. He deserves nothing but pure, genuine happiness and I feel glad that I was able to give him that.

"I probably would've flunked if it wasn't for you, Nini. I really appreciate you going out of your way to get my ass back on track, even though it was a little awkward at first." He thanks, and I laugh at the last part remembering how I used to rush out of class just to avoid seeing him.

"I tried so hard to convince myself that I didn't care about you anymore. I tried to tell myself that we were back to enemies and it would stay that way forever. But no matter how hard I tried, I have a soft spot for you Ricky Bowen. You could run me over with a fucking car and I'd still forgive you. I tried so hard, I really did. But deep down I knew that no matter who else there was, or no matter who I meet, I knew that nobody would ever compare to you. Nobody would be able to make me laugh the way you do. Out of everyone I've ever met you're the one person who I constantly feel safe with. As long as I'm looking into your eyes and I'm in your arms, there's not a worry in the world. It's like as long as I'm with you, I'm at peace with everything. When I'm with you the world stops spinning. Time stops for a moment and I just get peace. That only happens when I'm with you, Ricky. You make me feel alive. You make me feel like I'm the only person who matters in the world. You make me feel like there's nobody else. Every second I spend dancing with you, laughing with you, smiling with you, even arguing with you is by far the best way to spend my time. I know we're not dating, and I know I've said this before but indirectly. So this is me saying it directly. What I'm trying to say is, I love you Ricky Bowen. I always will."  I confess, not even caring that we're in the middle of the school hallway. It felt like the time was right for us.

"I fucking love you too, Nini." He doesn't even hesitate to respond. He picks me up off the ground so that my legs wrap around his torso. His hands find his way to my back as he rests his head on my shoulder. I rest my head in the crook of his neck and feel a tear slip my eye. Not because I was sad, but because for once in the longest time I finally felt happy. I felt complete and whole. And I owe it all to Ricky Bowen.

+

A/N

omg. my babies. im not even lying, im literally in fucking tears rn. like im crying at a confession that I WROTE WTF?? also sorry this chapter is kinda short the word count is only 1306