the exception

22. happiness cant stay forever

-no comment on anything about this chapter. u get to read with no warning !! ENJOY TEEHEE

{Friday afternoon}

Nina's pov

I turn my car engine off before getting out of my car and walking up to the diner entrance. I unlock the doors and walk inside, turning the lights on. I clock in then head into the backroom, setting my stuff down before wrapping the apron around me. Soon enough, the chefs were arriving and getting set up while I cleaned tables and set up the registers.

After some prepping, I flip the sign to 'open' before unlocking the entrance door. Not long after, customers begin to pile inside and I get so wrapped up in my work, taking orders, putting orders in, delivering orders, cleaning up tables.

Now, I was standing behind the counter as the last customers had just left. I was counting the money when I hear the bell on the door ring. My head pops up and I meet eyes with Ricky. A smile slowly grows on my face as he walks up to the counter.

"Hey, what're you doing here? I thought you were coming at 6?", I say.

He chuckles, looking at his phone, "Nina...it's 5:55"

My eyes widen and I glance at the clock on the wall, "Oh my gosh! I uh- that went quick. Sorry, I just need to clean up and close"

He nods, "You- you want some help?"

I slowly nod my head, "Sure- if you wanna."

I watch him pick up a cloth and begin to wipe down the seats and tables while I finish counting the money. Soon enough, everything was done, and I could close. I grab my things from the back room and clock out, coming back into the main area to see Ricky waiting with a smirk.

"What's with the face?", I chuckle as we begin walking out.

As I lock the door, he spins on his heel and looks at me, "Nothing, just...excited."

I furrow my brows at him, "For...?"

He lets out a breath, "I have a surprise."

I raise my eyebrows at him, "Ah...I see. Well, where're we going?"

He presses his lips together, "You'll see."

Ricky's pov

I take her wrist and pull her over towards my car.

"Ricky! What about my car?", she laughs.

I shrug, "We'll get it later! Just come on!"

We both get situated in my car before I begin driving off. Throughout the entire ride, Nina wouldn't stop asking me questions about where we were going. I just kept my mouth shut...which I think annoyed her?

"Are we there yetttttt?", she whines.

"Almost", I chuckle.

After a couple minutes, we were finally driving alongside the beach. I watched as Nina looked out the window at the water.

"Ricky? What're we doing at the beach?", she asks.

"You'll see", I reply.

I finally find the perfect spot and back up onto the sand. I get out of the car and open the back door, grabbing a handful of things. I see Nina walk around and look at me confused.

"What's happening?", she asks.

"We're gonna have a picnic and watch the sunset. I figured you'd be hungry and tired after work...and so I brought food and then we can just chill.", I simply say.