Loose Ends

Chapter 33: Water Baby & August Rush

"If you don't calm down I'm gonna punch you," Ricky told Ben with irritation as he placed several basket orders in the waiting area of the cooler. Ben had been jumpy and nervous all morning and it was wearing on Ricky's last nerve.

"I can't help it," he whined as he placed several baskets down as well. "How do you think the talk between them is going?" Ricky rolled his eyes.

"How should I know!"

"Well, do you think it's going good or bad?" he pressed. Ricky glared at him as he walked out of the cooler to finish organizing the paperwork for the pickup.

"Ben, you know their past history and Adrian's attitude. Take a guess." Ben suddenly paled causing Ricky to look slightly alarmed.

"You don't think Amy would hit her do you?" Ricky rolled his eyes again and walked away. He had more important things to think about. He was spending the afternoon with Amy and John and then taking Amy out to dinner tonight. Tonight would make or break their relationship. The last thing he wanted to be focused on was his ex-girlfriend and he was immensely thankful when his shift ended. He showered and changed into beach gear in record time and drove to his mom's to pick up John. He'd already told her about his and Amy's plans so she had him dressed in little swimmers and sandals after his morning nap so he would already be dressed for the beach; she even put sunscreen on him before Ricky arrived. After he buckled John in his seat he sent Amy a text saying he was on his way. When he arrived at her house she came walking out the door just as he was driving up. She was wearing a yellow sundress, sandals, and a hat with a butterfly in it and she was carrying a beach bag. Ricky smiled, happy to be spending the afternoon with her. She climbed into the passenger seat and they were off.

Ricky parked and they headed down to the sand. Amy was carrying her beach bag and the one Ricky had prepared while he was carrying John. As it was John's first trip to the beach he was once again swiveling his head around trying to see everything at once, causing his parents to laugh. They settled on a spot close to the restrooms and Amy spread out the blanket Ricky had packed in his beach bag. They set John down to remove their shoes and outerwear but Amy had to stop after removing her sandals to chase John as he had decided to waddle away and chase a seagull. She scooped him up and walked back towards the blanket and had to force herself not to drool as she saw Ricky sitting on the blanket, shirtless, rubbing sunscreen on himself. Thankfully John was squirming to get down and explore and Amy was forced to focus on her toddler instead of his daddy for several moments. She sat down on the blanket with him in her lap and removed his shoes. She had just taken a tube of baby sunscreen out of her bag when Ricky's voice stopped her.

"Mom already put sunscreen on him before we came to get you." Amy nodded and dropped the tube back in her bag.

"So do we wanna walk on the beach for a bit first or play in the water first?" she asked.

"Let's play in the water first. It'll tire him out faster." Amy nodded in agreement and then sat John down on the blanket so she could stand up and remove her sundress. When she did Ricky's mouth fell open for several moments before two guys several feet away from her wolf whistled and Ricky turned his head to glare at them. Amy was wearing a yellow bikini that molded to her curves perfectly. The top was a solid piece with a little bow in the center, strictly for decoration, and the bottom had a gold ring at each side that rested on her hip. Ricky hadn't seen Amy in any state of undress since their night at band camp and she had definitely acquired a few curves in all the right places since then. Her stomach was also flat and toned. No one would ever guess that she'd been pregnant at one point; there wasn't a single stretch mark on her. John tried to waddle away again so Ricky scooped him up and sat him in between his legs, locking his ankles and raising his thighs to form a sort of playpen for him. Amy placed her sundress in her beach bag, unaware that the wolf whistles she'd heard had been directed at her or that Ricky was ogling her. She turned around and Ricky quickly diverted his eyes down to John so she wouldn't catch him staring.