3 Years

63 - Timeless Bond

They were sitting in the back of Ricky's dad's truck leaning against the side; Nini had her head against his chest, and his arm was around her, playing with her hair. They were stargazing, something they used to do a lot in high school and college.

"I'd say this turned out very well," Nini said.

Ricky looked down at her and kissed the top of her head. "Definitely."

She snuggled closer to him and rested a hand on his stomach; she surprised herself when she could feel his abs through his shirt.

"So... what happens now?" Ricky asked.

Nini shrugged. "I don't know. We can just talk."

"What about?"

She thought for a moment. "What's the strangest thing that happened in New York?"

Ricky chuckled, and so many things came to mind. "That is a long... ass... list," he said, nodding his head between words.

"Well, what'd you think of first?"

"Um..." He looked at the sky as he pondered. "Ok, here's one: so... I was a bartender at-"

"Wait, you've already lost me." She turned around to face him. "You were a bartender."

"Excuse me, but why does that come as a shock?"

"I don't know; I just don't imagine you in that kind of setting."

"Hey, it paid the bills."

"Carry on then."

"Anyway, before the judgemental meanie interrupted-"

She giggled and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Shush."

"Can I start this?"

Nini smiled and went back to her spot on his chest. "Yes, proceed."

"Thank you. As I was saying, I was a bartender at this place where it wasn't really all that fancy, but popular enough to where the tips and pay were pretty good; plus, being a waiter didn't require a college degree and I was of age to serve alcohol. I usually worked the later shifts because that's where the most money came from, even though going back home at night was terrifying. Anyhow, this guy comes in and has obviously had one of those days. He sits on a stool and pulls out his wallet. I go over to him, and I'm not kidding when I say this."

He was talking with his hands now, a gesture that Nini knew meant he was enthusiastic about a certain topic.

"When I go over to him," Ricky continued, "he puts a debit card and his license on the table first. He grumbles, 'Give me whatever your strongest is. And start a tab too.' He keeps digging through his wallet and pulls out a ten-dollar bill next. He tosses it with the other two things and adds, 'And that's a tip.' Before I even did anything! The dude ended up staying for the entirety of my shift before finally asking for a car to be called."

Nini laughed, unknowingly drawing shapes against his toned torso. "God, I've had a few of those myself."

"What? Similar feeling or night?" Ricky could only imagine what Nini would look like, dazed in a bar and so far wasted.

"That feeling. I, uh, I didn't drink all that much after the twins were born, but the girls got me back into it down the road," she chuckled.

Ricky smiled. "Kay, now your turn."

"I don't have too much exciting stuff to share," she said. "I mean other than the twins."

"Come on, you have to have some funny stories. Ok, what's the dumbest thing you've done in the past decade?"

Nini snorted and turned to hide her face in his chest. "That would be when I agreed to those stupid blind dates that the girls claimed would be 'good for me' or whatever."

"S- So what happened with them?" Ricky subconsciously held her tighter.

"Nothing, obviously. The only one that was even enjoyable was one with EJ's coworkers; that one wasn't a blind date though because he had asked me directly, but it didn't go past the one date. The rest were more like flings that only lasted, like... a week or so."

He tilted his head down a little to kiss her head. "You are worth so much more than a quick fling." Those guys are idiots.

She chortled, still hiding her face (and the redness). "Yeah, well, I didn't care all that much because I had the kids to take care of. Besides, dating plus the twins just sounded like far, far too much work."

Ricky honestly couldn't imagine her with anyone, only because no one would ever deserve what all she could give them. He tortured himself for years with the picture of her on another person's arm; that reality is what he had prepared himself to witness when he and Nia were packing to come back.

He hooked his finger under her chin to make her face him. "Hey, look on the bright side of things: we found our way back to each other."

"Yeah," she grinned, "we did." She leaned up to kiss him, her hand snaking up his arm and to his neck. His hands dropped to her waist as he tried to pull her as close as possible.

Ricky felt like his whole body was on fire; her left hand roamed up his chest as the other stayed still on his neck, and he could feel the trail of goosebumps that she was leaving behind as her nails slightly scratched him through the shirt.

Nini felt her heart doing somersaults; his hands caressed her sides, never going too low. She's missed his touch more than anything, and every part of her that came into contact with him turned to mush.

The way he kissed her gave her an adrenaline boost, so she decided to climb into his lap and straddle him. Ricky was surprised with the change but delighted nonetheless.

Her arms encircled his neck entirely as her lips parted, prompting his to do the same, and their tongues met in one of the most passionate kisses of their lives.

He took her bottom lip between his teeth, tugging some and making her sigh with bliss. He'd kill to hear that sound for the rest of his life. "Oh, Nini," he moaned in response. She smirked against him and kissed him roughly one more time before pulling away.

"And one more thing," she said breathlessly.

Ricky felt like he was in a daze, and he could have sworn that she had somehow fogged his brain. "Y- Yeah?" he swallowed, very well aware that their chests were touching as they were both trying to catch their breaths.

"We will always find our way back to each other." She nuzzled her nose against his. "No matter how long it takes or how much time has passed." They both had wide grins on their faces that they knew wouldn't be leaving any time soon.

He gave her a quick peck and murmured, "Always and forever."

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