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Sometimes Ricky wondered how it had already been a couple of months since their first kiss. When he had gotten back to school last summer, time had seemed to drag on and on, but suddenly it was passing so fast that he wished he could make it stop.
It would only be another few months before EJ was off to college, and the last time he had attempted some sort of long-distance relationship, he had royally screwed up.
Things between Nini and him were fine now, great actually, but they obviously weren’t the same as they had been before, and the thought of losing EJ in the same way? It made his stomach twist and his chest tighten in a way that sometimes made it hard to breathe.
It wasn’t as if they weren’t talking about it though. But EJ seemed to be as worried about the whole thing as Ricky was, and somehow neither of the boys had come up with the right coping mechanism yet.
So, they had decided not to make a big deal out of Valentine’s Day. Ricky’s Dad was out of the house, so EJ was coming over and they were ordering pizza and watching some movies.
It was pretty basic, Ricky thought, but he didn’t mind.
When they had made it to fall break, still kissing under the bleachers and in the drama room after class, they had decided to give this whole relationship a go, and when they had still been together after Christmas ( minus the usual hick ups here and there ) they had decided to tell their friends.
Most of them had thought it was a prank at first, and Ricky couldn’t even blame then. Back then, when he had first started feeling this way about EJ, he had thought that this was the universe’s way of punishing him somehow.
Nini had seen the truth though, that they were both incredibly nervous, wringing their hands in anticipating of everyone’s reaction. And after that things had gone back to normal. They hadn’t really made it official in school, or to their parents, mainly because that was a whole other thing to deal with, and with the spring musical coming up soon neither of them needed the additional stress.
When the doorbell rang, Ricky had just finished cleaning up a little around the place. His father had already left to go on his date, which Ricky highly suspected was with Miss Jenn. She had been over at their house a couple of times, and the first time Ricky’s heart had leaped right out of his chest. He had wondered if he had done something wrong, but when he had figured out that the whole thing wasn’t about him, he had let them be. His father deserved a bit of happiness, even if it was with Ricky’s drama teacher of all people.
Miss Jenn was nice. Maybe not always honest about her past, but then again he doubted his father had laid it all out on the table during their first meeting.
“Coming!” he called as he headed for the door, where he was greeted with EJ’s trademark smile. The one that still made him a little weak in the knees whenever he saw it. “Hey,” Ricky added, stepping aside to let the other boy in.
“I thought about getting you flowers, but then I wasn’t sure if that was what you did when you weren’t dating a girl, and I also wondered how you were gonna explain that to your father, so I eventually didn’t.”
Ricky chuckled, waiting until the door had closed to lean in a for a kiss. “No flowers are just fine.” He couldn’t remember ever getting flowers, safe that one time had had been in the hospital due to skating accident, and his grandma had brought some along. He had often gotten flowers for Nini, for their anniversary, or Valentine’s Day, but he guessed that girls were more into that whole thing anyway.
“I already picked a couple of movies we can watch, so you can check if there’s anything you like,” He nodded towards the couch. “I’m going to order some pizza. The usual?”
EJ nodded as he settled down onto the couch, reaching for the remote. During the beginning of their relationship Ricky had wondered if EJ even ate fast food at all. They had a personal chef at their home, who was always around to make whatever the other boy desired, and who had almost scared the living daylights out of Ricky the first time he had been over there. And then there were, of course, also EJ’s abs. Ricky wasn’t ashamed of his own body, but there was just something about EJ’s body that was even more defined and damn near perfect. So pizza had somehow seemed out of the question.
Apparently, that wasn’t the case though, so it probably just meant some more work outs or an extra round of water polo practice.
“How about The Irishman? Isn’t that a critically acclaimed movie?” EJ called from the couch, and Ricky nodded, phone between his ear and shoulder as he went over the flyer once more before placing their order. He had definitely heard of that movie before, but he couldn’t really remember what it was about. A man from Ireland, he assumed, but beyond that Ricky had no idea.
-
The movie turned out to be the most boring thing Ricky had ever seen. It seemed to drag on and on, and when he checked the time, only 30 minutes had gone by. Luckily their pizza arrived shortly after, but it only really served as a distraction for a minimum amount of time. Enough time to miss some important plot points, as it seemed, because when Ricky turned his attention back towards the movie, he had no idea what was going on.
So when he felt EJ’s and casually slipping around his shoulders, pulling him a little closer, it was a welcome distraction. Ricky’s stomach still fluttered at every small touch, and it took him right back to the gym that night when they had first kissed.
This was nice, nicer than he could have ever imagined, really. Sometimes Ricky wondered how things would have gone if he hadn’t broken up with Nini. Or hadn’t attempted to win her back by signing up for a musical.
Would EJ and him have ever crossed paths? Probably not to this extent, he then thought, and maybe things were meant to happen the exact way they had.
EJ’s nose brushed against his cheek then, and Ricky smiled. He turned his head towards the other boy, letting their lips connect in a kiss. This was definitely way more interesting than whatever the hell was going on in that movie.
“Did you pick the movie because you knew I’d eventually get bored and make out with you?” Ricky asked with a slight chuckle. He’d gotten a little bolder ever since dating EJ, and he couldn’t say that he was complaining.
“Mhm…I originally picked it to seem smart.” EJ confessed with a laugh, and before Ricky could reply he felt himself being pushed down onto his back, with the other boy above him. EJ’s weight on top of him felt familiar, much like the warm feeling that spread from his chest through his entire body as they kissed.
“Yeah well. That didn’t work.” Ricky grinned, his hands slipping under the other boy’s shirt and running across warm skin. He loved the way he could feel goosebumps breaking out on EJ’s skin.
They hadn’t really done more than this, ever, but usually EJ was quick to lose his shirt, which Ricky couldn’t say he was complaining about either. The shirt was still in place for now, however, and it wasn’t all that bad. They had time, that godawful movie was running for at least another hour and they could always pick something else to watch then.
EJ’s hands tangled Ricky’s hair eventually, and he let out a content sigh, leaning into the touch. It sent a shiver down his spine in a way that made all the nerves in his body stand up, and maybe he was kissing the other boy a little harder, and maybe that was exactly what EJ had intended.
He got lost in the kisses then, and when he heard his own name being called, it took Ricky a moment to realize what was going on.
“Ricky?”
To his own horror, Ricky recognized his Dad’s voice, and when he lifted his head, he found him standing in the door, with Miss Jenn following close behind. It was probably a little too late to push EJ off him, even though that was absolutely his first instinct. Which wouldn’t have been fair, because EJ looked about as terrified as Ricky did.
He could feel his cheeks heating up as he attempted to duck his head, while EJ scrambled off him.
“Hah. I didn’t expect that.” Miss Jenn was the first to speak up and alright, maybe Ricky was never actually going to be able to look at her again.
“I…thought you guys were going out.” Ricky managed, suddenly feeling the need to cover himself up, even though he was wearing all of his clothes.
“Yeah…we were, but the reservation got mixed up. So, we decided to come home and order food instead. I didn’t know you were going to have company.”
Alright, so this was a talk they would eventually need to have, but right now wasn’t the time for it. Ricky knew his Dad wouldn’t have a problem with him dating another boy, but this still wasn’t how he wanted him to find out.
“EJ.” He nodded towards the boy who was now sat on the opposite end of the couch, and God Ricky was glad that EJ hadn’t taken off his shirt.
“Mister B.” EJ seemed to take this with a little more grace than Ricky, and he briefly wondered if the other boy had experience with that sort of thing.
“Uh…I think we’re going to my room.” Ricky eventually managed, trying to subtly smooth out his shirt as he got up from the couch. “Then you guys can have downstairs.”
“Right.” His Dad nodded, “But leave the door open.”
“Dad!” Ricky was blushing again, nodding for EJ to get towards the stairs. “Miss Jenn…uh. See you on Monday.” Or tomorrow morning. He added in thought, because he had no idea if she was staying over or not, and really, Ricky had other things to worry about right now.
She gave him a smile, and before anyone else could say anything, Ricky grabbed EJ’s hand and pulled him upstairs.
Once they were inside his room, and the door was closed, the other boy couldn’t quite hold back his laughter. “I’m sensing a pattern here.” He then replied, once he noticed Ricky’s slightly confused expression.
“Oh, you mean how people keep interrupting important events in our life? If things keep going at this rate, I’m going to have to rent a hotel room to sleep with you.” The words were out before Ricky had registered them fully, but when he did, he felt his cheeks heating up.
EJ’s smile turned into a smug grin though, and he stepped in a little closer, crowding Ricky back against the door.
“Is that something you’re thinking about?” He then asked, and Ricky seemed to blush even deeper, if that was possible.
“What do you think?” He then mumbled, twisting his hands in his boyfriend’s shirt. “Can you please go back to kissing me now? Because you have…” glancing at the alarm clock on his nightstand, Ricky noticed the time. “About two hours before my Dad attempts to be a reasonable adult and kindly throws you out,”
A chuckle escaped EJ’s lips as he leaned in even closer, his arm sneaking around Ricky’s waist. “That I can do,” he then grinned, before pressing his lips against the other boy’s, who smiled into the kiss as he attempted to pull EJ even closer.
So maybe this wasn’t the most spectacular Valentine’s Day, but it was definitely one to remember, and Ricky was more than alright with that.