nini salazar-roberts, fed up with her moms' disapproval of her always being single during the holidays, turns to the first person she can think of for help, ricky bowen. someone she hasn't been in contact with for years, and frankly, hasn't wanted t...
ricky arrives back at his house about 30 minutes after he left. he felt bad for leaving his dad behind for so long, but he needed to keep his mind off of molly and the breakup. they had dated for a year and a half, only for ricky to find out she had been seeing someone else for the last half of their relationship. he broke things off right before he left for salt lake, figuring it'd be best to start fresh once he arrived back in new york at the end of break.
he steps up onto his porch, taking a few deep breaths. he stays outside for a few moments, reluctant to go in and face his dad. looking to his left, he sees a figure sitting on the porch next to him. unsure of who it is, he walks closer to get a closer look, realizing he knows exactly who it is.
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he steps down from his porch and stops for a moment, contemplating whether or not he really wants to do this. figuring he was already in too deep, he continues to move forward. as he approached her however, he began to regret his decision. he had no idea what to say, they haven't seen each other for years.
"are you actually gonna talk to me or just stand there like a creep?" nini asks, looking at him with a teasing yet serious expression.
he laughs and takes a step forward so he's right in front of the step where she's sitting. "yeah, sorry. i just got home and saw you and wanted to see if you were ok," he says, rubbing the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed that he had basically admitted to watching her.
"jane got engaged," she replied simply, figuring there was no need to explain. ricky just looks at her with a surprised expression. he knew jane and parker had been dating, but had no idea they were this serious.
"wow," he replies, unsure what else to say.
"yeah," she says, "i'm happy for her. but now my moms are never gonna stop trying to set me up with someone. they have this whole fantasy where i have a boyfriend, it's so annoying," she complains, looking up only to be met with a confused ricky.
they haven't spoken in years, yet here she was, rambling and complaining to him as if they never stopped talking all those years ago.
"i don't know why i told you that, we're not friends, go home," nini says with a cold tone, looking down at her phone and acting busy.
"you're the one who called me over," he mumbles, hoping she didn't hear him.
"excuse me?" she asks with a scoff. he rolls his eyes and turns to leave, stopped by the sound of the front door opening.
"i thought i heard voices!" carol exclaims while stepping onto the porch, closely followed by dana, "ricky?" she questions when she notices who her daughter was talking to.
nini sighs and gives them a fake smile, "he was just leaving."
"nonsense!" dana replies, "ricky get over here, how have you been?" she pulls him into a hug and rubs a hand up and down his back as nini watches in shock.
"uh, good, i've been good. ho- how are you," he stutters, nini's glare making him nervous.
carol smiles at him and squeezes his shoulder, "great! we've missed you ricky, it's been too long." not long enough, nini thinks.
ricky smiles at carol and dana, carefully glancing down at nini, who was still seated on the step.
"you know," dana starts, looking down at her daughter, "nini's single, she could use someone to spend the holidays with," she suggests.
"mom!" nini yells, standing up from her seated position and giving dana a look, "i'd like my personal life to stay private, thank you."
"oh nini, it's just ricky! it's no big deal, she was just joking," carol says, wrapping her arm around her daughter's shoulders and pulling her into a side hug.
the energy had become significantly awkward after dana's comment, so ricky took it as his oppurtunity to leave, "you know, i should get going. i kinda left my dad waiting and i don't want him to get worried."
"no problem honey, it was so good to see you again. we'll see you and mike tomorrow for dinner, it'll be so nice to see you both together again," carol says, much to nini's surprise.
before nini could protest, ricky had left and her moms were pushing her back into the house.
"mamas," nini says cautiously, "what did you just say?"
"you know mike comes over for dinner every year," dana says, clearly avoiding the question.
"exactly, mama. mike. you said mike, not ricky," nini says, trying to keep her cool.
"nini. this is the first time you and ricky have been home for the holidays in over two years, and he hasn't come to one of our dinners since you were in high school. lighten up a little bit! it's christmas!" carol replies, walking into the kitchen. dana follows, giving nini one last smile before she turns and enters the kitchen.
nini let's out a long sigh and retreats to her bedroom. this was going to be a long break.
