what more can i say | rini au

10.

He's going to panic if he thinks about it too much more.

But he can't panic too much because he has to be the confident guy who can break things off with Gina in the next hour that they'd agreed to spend together.

He thought he got the panic out of his system when he was at Nini's house, but after leaving it seemed his cortisol levels had returned to their pre-Nini amounts.

As his phone rings, he sees Gina's name pop up on the screen.

"Hey Gi." He answers the phone with a small smile on his face, sitting in the parking lot of their usual spot.

Carlotta's Grill wasn't the cheapest place in town, but it also wasn't frequented by Gina's rich friends while still fitting her tastes so it worked rather well for the couple.

"Hey babe. You said noon right?" He can't help but notice she sounds a bit distracted. Gina doesn't forget her schedule or anything on it.

"Yeah, I'm waiting in the parking lot. I can grab a table in the back like usual?"

"That sounds good. I may be a bit late. I got... side tracked." He thinks he hears a laugh in the background of the call at that last part of her response, but he's not sure enough to mention it.

"Okay. That's fine. I'll grab the table and our menus. Just um- I don't think we need to be putting this off so, if you could try to head over soon I'd really appreciate it." He sounds genuine, not snarky the way those words could sound from another person or even from his own lips at a different time.

"I will. See you soon." Gina says before hanging up, Ricky slipping the phone into his pocket as he gets out of the car and locks it.

He walks into the restaurant and he can tell the hostess is surprised to see him here without Gina, but she doesn't comment on it as he mentions he's looking for their usual table for two.

He's seated towards the back as he's wanting. It's for the privacy, even if this time it's to avoid drawing attention to a potential argument rather than to potential pda.

He sees the dancer out the window as he sits in the booth, staring out at the parking lot.

Gina's so effortlessly pretty, and no matter the fact of her need for secrecy, Ricky has grown attached to her in their time together.

She's not still dressed from dance, having changed into normal clothes, but he knows she had ballet earlier, and the way her hair is tied up indicates the very same.

He's picked her up from the dance studio before, and though he parks around the block so no one would see her get into the car with him, he can tell how genuinely happy she is when she leaves there.

She's beautiful always, and anyone can see it, but she's so gorgeous when she's smiling, the genuine happiness when she nails a new routine or learns a new skill is the prettiest thing to him.

His resolve is slipping as he watches her make her way around towards the door, she has that same sweet smile on her face.

While Ricky's sure they both know this conversation is a serious one, and not just a normal lunch date, he also knows he does enjoy these little dates they've had. The grill was their place, one of the best places for them to go, being on the edge of town, and it was small enough for them to get acquainted with the staff.

Their waitress is one he's seen what feels like a thousand times, and so she's a welcome face as she walks Gina over to the table.

Sure, Gina's is one he's happy to see, but he's also dreading this particular meeting. It hurts knowing things were ending, even if he does intend on calling it off himself.