3 TOWNS, 4 HEARTBEATS [RINI AU]

two

The dive bar down the street from the venue thumped with heavy bass, the purple light illuminating Nina's face as the bar tender poured her another round. Ej and Gina suggested continuing the already perfect night the three were having by moving their party down the street to this particular location, and because Nina knew her grandmother would shame her for coming back so early, she agreed. The concert had been better than Nina initially expected, and it was true what Ej and Gina had said, Ricky Bowen was hot and he was charming and he was an overall talented musician and great performer. Nina could say that after this experience, she would listen to him again.

She thanked the bartender after her glass was full, turning on her stool while sipping on her drink as she watched Gina grind up against Ej, the two much more drunk than Nina would ever let herself be. She giggled to herself as she turned back to face the bar, the alcohol hitting her harder than she would like to admit.

She began to pull her hair out of her face into a classic Nina Salazar-Roberts high ponytail. The feeling of her hair starting to stick to her face was beginning to overwhelm her. Her grandmothers words played in her head, but she didn't care. The bar was hot and no one was paying attention to her, at least, she thought no one was.

She downed the rest of her drink, turning to flag the bartender down for a refill when a stranger, who was staring at her, caught her eye.

The stranger, dressed in a dark blazer and dark sunglasses, sat a few stools away from Nina. Her berry lips formed a pout of confusion as she looked the man up and down, her eyes settling on the messy mop of curly hair.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing sitting all alone?" The stranger said, trying his best to sound smooth.

Nina raised an eyebrow, "Is that all you've got?"

The stranger removed his sunglasses to reveal the honey brown eyes that belonged to none other than the Ricky Bowen.

Nina didn't flinch at first, her brain not even processing who it was that was sitting before her. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve... I think you'd be surprised." Ricky teased.

And that's when it clicked. The dark t-shirt, the eyes, the sunglasses inside.

"Holy shit..." The girl, who hardly ever cursed, breathed out, "You're fucking Ricky Bowen." She finished her thought, proud of herself for realizing under the circumstances.

Ricky let out a bitter laugh, "Yeah, could you maybe try and keep it to yourself. I'm supposed to be in incognito."

Nina let out a small giggle, "You're doing a terrible job." She replied. "Sunglasses inside are so... obvious? It's like, we're inside and it's dark, clearly you're just hiding something."

Ricky couldn't help but laugh, finding the brunette funny. "Yeah, alright, you got me there." he stuck out his hand, "I know you already know who I am, but I'm Ricky." He said, trying to act as normal as possible.

Nina accepted the hand, both of them moving one barstool closer as she did, so that way they were sitting next to one another. "It was a great show tonight." Nina simply stated, finally letting go of his hand.

Ricky looked taken aback, "You were there?" He asked, unsure of why she'd be lying about her whereabouts.

Nina nodded, "Yeah, although before tonight the most I had heard from you is on the radio." She teased, earning an eye roll from the celebrity. "Those two out there, huge fans!" She remarked, pointing to Ej and Gina who were all over each other.