Second Chances (Ricky + Nini)

chapter 31 - you're doin' great out there without me

[a/n : a bit of a filler, but thanks for reading!]

"Miss me?" Ricky's perfect voice hummed through her ears as he picked up her call. These airpods were really worth the money, she could have sworn that he was right there beside her, she instinctively looked at the ring on her finger and internally squealed. She still couldn't believe she was going to marry him, even though it's been 5 weeks since he proposed. 

"Hello? Neens?" His voice brought her back to earth. 

"Hey." Nini said. "I love you so much."

"Umm. I love you too?" Ricky said chuckling. "What's up, babe?" 

"Remember when I said my boss really loved how the YAC project turned out?" Nini's boss, Doyle, had loved the idea from the beginning and was really impressed with Nini's execution. The fundraiser had successfully raised awareness for the organization, and was also great branding for Figment magazine. 

[a/n : yes, Doyle is a Gilmore Girls reference!]

Ricky murmured a response indicating he knew what she was talking about. 

"Well. He's apparently moving up to a sister publication, and he wants to groom me to be his successor!" 

"Oh. That's great, I guess." Ricky said. Well that wasn't the response she was hoping for from him. She thought he'd be more excited for her, proud even. "Don't you need more experience for that position?" 

He was definitely not excited. Did he doubt her? Did he think she wasn't good enough? 

"Yeah. Normally you'd need a few more years as assistant editor, but Doyle thinks I'm ready, and he promised to help me through it all." Nini said defensively. 

"Good 4 u." Ricky said curtly. 

"Ricky?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Is something wrong?" Nini asked. "Cause you don't seem too happy about this."  

"Nope. Everything's great, Nini." Ricky said. "I'm just a little busy right now, a client just texted me. I have to go actually." 

"Okay." Nini said. He didn't seem busy before. His mood went from 100 to 0 real quick. 

"We'll talk later okay?" Ricky said. 

"Okay. I love you." 

"Bye,  Neens." Ouch. Something was definitely bothering him and Nini would have to do some digging to figure it out. Her boyfriend - fiancé - love of her life could be really cryptic sometimes. 

___________

Ricky dropped his head back until it hit the back of his chair. That was a terrible way to respond to Nini's news. He was a terrible person. He couldn't even pretend be supportive for her. He was absolutely proud of her, but he couldn't help but feel slightly jealous and let the insecurities creep back in. He'd been looking for a job for months now, he couldn't even get junior positions and here was his girlfriend about to get a promotion. He'd always known he wasn't good enough for her, but he hated being reminded of it. 

Just as he was about to wallow in self-pity, his redheaded friend barged in through the doors carrying three garment bags. 

"Here's your suit, best man." Red said giving him one of the bags. Ricky opened it to find a light pink suit with a matching bowtie. He wasn't too excited about the color, but Nini always liked him in pink. He sighed. His mind once again drifting to the brunette of his dreams. 

"Anyway, I need your opinion... Ashlyn got me two suits, and I can't decide." Red pulled out a darker-pink suit and a dark red suit from another bag. "Most of the wedding stuff is pink, but she thinks the red one might suit me better since.. well.. since my name is Big Red."