The Perfect Gift

Ch. 13

Nini's phone rings while she's at work and she gestures for an employee to take over so she can take this call. Jenny, an older teenager hired just a few months ago, nods and smiles as she heads over to stand behind the counter.

She jogs up the stairs, accepting the call half-way up them. She doesn't even have time to utter a greeting.

"So when are we meeting him?"

Nini raises an eyebrow at the direct question. It's been a little over twelve hours since she last saw Kourt—and therefore, had the conversation about Ricky—but clearly, this matter cannot wait.

Her hand twists a knob, entering the practice room and closing the door. "I don't know. How abo—?"

"We're free tonight."

Nini sighs and slumps down on the piano bench. "Kourt. I should at least ask—"

"Sounds great! See you guys tonight! Bye!"

And then Nini finds herself staring perplexedly at her disconnected cell phone.

Kourtney had never been a patient soul.

With an irritated sigh, she scrolls through her contacts and stops at Ricky Bowen— she wasn't one for cutesy nicknames— but her finger hovers over the call button.

A picture of him from the time he stole her phone to snap ridiculous photos of himself pops up as his contact picture. She had walked into her living room after a quick bathroom break to find him in the middle of his narcissistic photo shoot. When she'd asked for an explanation, he had just smirked and jokingly said, "Just in case you ever missed me."

She likes to scroll through them sometimes. Not that she'd ever tell him that.

She smiles briefly at the picture of him, with his features contorted into an exaggeratedly disgruntled expression. Specifically, his lips are turned down into an absurd frown, his nose is scrunched up like he's been hit by a fowl stench, his brow is lowered like a neanderthal's, and his messy bedhead in the picture reminds her just how much her fingers love running themselves through his hair. It certainly wasn't the most flattering snapshot of him, but it had made her laugh the hardest so she'd immediately set it as his contact photo.

Nini finally hits the call icon and waits for him to pick up as she presses her phone to her ear. He answers almost instantly.

"Hey, what's up?" he sounds pleased, if not a little surprised, by her phone call. They spent so much time with each other outside of work, they never felt the need to text and call throughout the day, unless it was to confirm plans or something along those matters.

"Are you free tonight?"

"Tonight?"

"Yes. Tonight. Are you free?" she reiterates in a light, humorous tone.

"No. I'm not."

She frowns. "Oh," she says in a small, hesitant voice. She wracks her brain, but doesn't remember him mentioning anything about being busy later tonight. "Um, I didn't know you had something planned..." She's a bit disappointed that she won't get to hang out with him tonight, but she's more terrified of the wrath she'll have to face from Trish when she doesn't see Ricky on her arm. "So, what are you doing, then?"

"I was going to lounge on my couch with my gorgeous girlfriend and watch old screwball comedies on Netflix because I know how much she loves black and white films," he answers in an almost bored tone. "She's, uh, she's pretty demanding," he adds with a tired sigh.

Nini bites down on her bottom lip to keep her grin from taking over her face. She feels a light flutter in her stomach, aimed more at the 'girlfriend' comment than the 'gorgeous' comment. "Oh, demanding, is she?" she asks in a flat tone, attempting to play along.