Chapter Text
“And that’s the thing about illicit affairs,
And clandestine meetings and longing star-”
The singer’s voice slipped through Gina’s ears and out as she took the earbuds off. Her afternoons normally didn’t kick off with an angsty Taylor Swift song but then again, her afternoons didn’t normally consider the event for today.
Gina stopped in her steps.
She looked towards the direction of Penny Ann’s Cafe, unobscured from the walkway shade atop her.
Few cars lined up in front of the restaurant despite the clock striking lunch time on her phone.
Will we… actually pull this off? Gina thought, stupidly. She registered her knees bouncing on their own but did nothing to stop them. There were only a few people in there. It’ll be fine.
A few nights ago, Ricky had wiggled his eyebrows after proposing the idea and held her hand the whole time. Gina had hit him with a pillow. A pillow fight ensued. The winner compensated through a few kisses and cuddles.
“You’re brutal.” But Ricky was laughing. He was still holding her hand.
“Who’s not the weakling?” Gina pointed at herself with the other.
The night concluded with Ricky giving her free hand a kiss (Afterwards he said: “I forgive you, by the way.” // “The cuddles happened, Bowen.” // “Or did they?!”). They both shared a nod of agreement about his plan.
Gina breathed a sigh, feeling the same butterflies settle on her stomach at the memory.
If this is a dream then she’s been trapped in a slumber for fourteen days.
She knew she’d have to open her eyes one day but she’s certain of the futility.
She and Ricky… They have a good thing going on.
A new notification caused her phone to vibrate. They agreed on the meet up time of 12:00 pm sharp. “Was he late?” she whispered, aloud clicking her gadget open.
“Again,” added the voice (in an exaggerated geezer’s tone) of someone-she-had-kissed-and-cuddled.
Gina turned around, not even hiding the smile creeping up her face. Her phone is haphazardly shoved down her bag, forgotten.
Ricky Bowen materialized right next to her.
Gina threw her arms around him, nearly toppling him off balance. They’ve literally texted just yesterday. He sent her a dumb meme about his new favorite artist. Yet her heart is going walking-up-the-stage-before-a-performance-type of crazy!
“Alright!” Ricky let out a chuckle. He hugged her back and spun her around like a ballerina from a music box.
Gina remembered the feel of his arms that one afternoon, a year ago during their performance to save Miss Jenn and the theater.
They were tethering on the edge of strangers to friends.
And now…
“Ohhh okay I’m gonna put you down,” Ricky said, his face still close to her cheek. Her feet lightly touched the ground.
The spell wore off. She walked one, two, three steps back- a notable distance away from Ricky but Gina can still smell his new cologne on her. (Velvety and sweet, her nose crinkled in satisfaction.)
“Also!” Ricky raised his index finger. “Not late. I arrived here twenty minutes early!” Ricky added, with a frenzy to his face.
That.
He is so cute, Gina thought. A tape recorder would be ravaged by the number of times this thought crossed her mind.
She appreciated the effort. She really did.
But there’s no way she’s going to allow this repartee to dwindle.
Gina scoffed. “Yeah Ricky and Mamma Mia 3 is canceled.”
Ricky furrowed his eyebrows in a comedic manner. His cartoonish demeanor didn’t crumble even the slightest bit.
“There is no Mamma Mia 3.” He sauntered towards Penny Ann’s with an additional beat on his step.
“Then birds can talk.” Gina followed him, shaking her head but feeling as upbeat as he is. Salt Lake is anything but salty, in contrast, the weather today is a tranquil afternoon with the sunlight settling perfectly on your skin.
Ricky looked dashing under the golden hour.
She paused, making Ricky stop in his tracks. His curls were coated by a gold glitter. Take that, Disney. She flashed him a thumbs up. “Hang on,” Gina said with lighthearted intent.
Ricky frowned, making the sunlight reach the planes of his face in better angles. “I want to eat.”
“We’ll have a photoshoot first.”
“WHAT!”
Gina stuck a tongue and took out her phone. Another ping reached her ears. Her eyebrows furrowed. Again? Does mom want me to do an errand?
She looked at the notification and let out a surprised exhale. It usually came during later afternoons.
“What’s up?” Ricky asked. Gina looked up from the screen and saw concern reflected in his eyes.
Gina showed the screen to Ricky. She felt light in her feet this morning and this afternoon. Gina thought stability was finally in her favor.
You and Ricky are sO cute!
A stranger’s comment said. Five more lined after, arranged in an order that made Gina bounce her knees. “Can I read the rest?” Ricky’s expression is passive. Gina nodded.
When the first round of comments came, she had done her best to ignore them. Two weeks have passed and they’ve only reminded her of their presence more and more as the days flew by.
Being in the spotlight shouldn’t come with this price.
Ricky clicked the phone off and handed it back to her. Gina put the phone on silent. Should have done that weeks ago— and stuffed the phone back in her bag.
He reached for her hand. “May I hold that?” Ricky asked, in a voice that came across as a whisper. Gina cleared her throat to ignore the emotion that rose from his tone. “Yeah.”
Their hands slipped together and Gina didn’t know why it took so long for them to do so. Ricky rubbed circles on her palm. “All they’ve said is that we’re cute.” What a felicitous remark. Gina let out an astonished noise and then burst out laughing. She covered her mouth as an attempt to stop.
“That’s good,” Gina replied, after the laughter died down. There was Ricky again, armed with his comforting words. And there was Gina ruining everything. “I’m sorry if I ruined the date-”
“No, no, no,” Ricky clasped her hands. “You didn’t. These strangers decided to… be all weirdos over your Instagram account in the middle of the afternoon.” He paused and gazed at her. Gina let the words sink in.
Yeah, no, I think we do that for each other.
“We don’t have to talk about that now,” Ricky continued, remaining steadfast. “I wanted to go on a date with my girlfriend-” He gave one of his cute smiles again. Oh, golden hour is upon me. “-anddd…?”
Yes. She wanted to go on this date with Ricky. She wanted a simple lunch paired with a couple of more jokes. They’ll discuss the difficult stuff next time. Stability is unpredictable but not impossible. For now… it’ll start with taking a couple of steps to Penny Ann’s.
“Yeah,” Gina nodded, feeling that light feeling return. “We can arrange that.”
Ricky let out a breath, a grin spreading all over his face once more. He held on to her hand a little tighter. Gina squeezed his back. Together, they walked through the front door.
BONUS:
Thankfully, Penny Ann Cafe is as empty from the outside as it is on the inside. However…
“I knew it!” Carlos pointed an accusatory finger at them. The rest of the Salt Lake Theatre kids looked up and then proceeded to mind their own business.
“So much for secret dating,” Gina whispered.
“Come on,” Ricky replied. “Let’s get something to eat.”
“Of course everybody knew,”
“Can’t hear youuu.”