𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 || rini au

04. cherry

𝙞 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩

𝙞'𝙢 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛𝙞𝙨𝙝, 𝙨𝙤 𝙞'𝙢 𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩

== n i n i 's p o v ==

somewhere in paris, france

after the long, dreaded jet ride we finally arrive at our cabin. it's been a long day, and all i want right now is to just lay down and rest--away from ricky. i know it seems like i'm being too harsh on him, okay? i know i am. but just put yourself in my shoes; i tell him i love him after 12 years, he instantly breaks up with me, ghosts me for 8 years, and now suddenly i'm just supposed to believe that he's changed? no. no way.

we enter the loft, both of our jaws dropping at what we see. it has two rooms, one of which is the fucking bathroom! as if that wasn't already terrible, there's only one bed.

no. fucking. way.

filmore graves has literally millions of dollars, they couldn't put us in a more expensive place to stay? or at least one where i don't have to spend every minute of every day with ricky?! we turn and look at each other, neither of us knowing what to say.

== r i c k y 's p o v ==

i'm not complaining.

nini just has to see me in a whole new light, okay?! the ricky that she knows and remembers is completely gone. that was ages ago. i've changed. nini rolls her eyes and takes a deep breath before she sets her suitcase down on the bed. i set mine down by the door and walk around the place--even though there's not much to see--, giving myself a tour. i look back at nini, who's taking her hair out from her bun and massaging her roots--something i'm remembering she used to do all the time, because her scalp gets sore when she leaves her hair up for too long. i can't help but smile, because at least not everything about her has changed.

"stop staring at me," she snaps, not bothering to look back at me as she unpacks.

"how did you-"

"we're world class spies, ricky. i have eyes in the back of my head," she laughs, putting her clothes in one of the dressers by the bed. nini sets a blue hatbox in the bottom drawer and her light pink yoga mat up against the wall. she grabs her file and sits down on the bed, spreading the papers around her to study them. she holds her hand out for me while reading, holding the company card between her index and middle finger.

"groceries," she clarifies, "i'll be out in a second."

"no, you can stay here. i'll get them." i take the card, hoping that if i go out of my way for her she'll maybe hate me a little less?? i don't know. i mean, the goal is not to make her fall back in love with me. she doesn't have to love me. or like me. i just want her to know that i've changed. she looks up from her papers and nods, with the tiniest smile on her face as she looks back down.

carrefour market in paris, france

i know it's not on the regulated list, but i decide to put some root beers in the cart, too. i know those are nini's favorite. i brought some of my own money, just in case i'd need it, which i will if i don't want to get caught. i also grab her some cherries--the kind with the pits, of course, not those gross maraschinos--and head to check out. i pay for the two separately, ignoring the cashier's weird looks. it'll be worth it. right? maybe? best case scenario, she probably won't even acknowledge it. but it's worth a try.

back in the temporarily home provided by filmore graves co. in paris, france

i open the door to the house with my hands full of groceries to see nini passed out on the bed with her papers around her. i don't blame her, it's been a really long day. i set the food down on the counter quietly and walk over to the bed, carefully picking up the papers from around her and putting them back in her file. i pull the blanket up to her neck gently before making my way back to the "kitchen"--which is only like seven feet away--and putting all of the food away.

i grab a pillow off of the bed and a spare blanket, setting up a pallet on the ground. i know how nini feels about the one bed thing, and although i'd kill to sleep in a bed right now, i don't want to make her even more uncomfortable than this situation already is. but just as i get situated, i hear nini speak up.

"you can sleep up here, ricky."