Saturday dawned cheerful and expectant, but Gia awoke slowly, her whole body resistant to leaving sleep behind. Although she didn't feel so bone-weary and out of control as she had over the last week or two—she'd slept like a baby, it seemed—she turned on her side and curled around one of her pillows, burrowing her face beneath it to block the light. She relished the pleasure of not having to haul herself out of bed at the crack of dawn and put on her armor for work, her cheerful smile, and that she didn't have to immediately deal with her hair. She could feel the mess of it beneath her head and around her shoulders; she'd fallen asleep with it still damp, and would need the patience of Job to restore order to it.
But there were other things she needed to remember, something they had to do today, something she'd done last night.
Yanking the pillow from her face—she'd been on the verge of suffocating anyway—her eyes flew open, and then she beamed as it all came back to her.
Ricky. Her Rickaroni.
Who would have known that the skinny little kid who'd fallen off his bicycle in front of her would grow up to be quite so scrumptious? And holy smokes! How he could kiss!
"I've been missing out," she murmured into the quiet room. Although he'd always been relatively closemouthed about any love life he had, she was pretty sure Ricky hadn't missed out on much. Maybe that was why he was so good at it. But then, she didn't want to think about any of that right now. All she wanted to think about was him. And her. Him kissing her. Them kissing. No more Fred and George, that was for sure. "We could have been doing that together for years."
The more she thought about it, however, the more determined she became that waiting until now, until after the madness of high school, might not have been such a bad thing after all. She'd seen some tragic demises of friends-to-lovers relationships, breakups that might have been avoided, friendships that might have been preserved, had they stayed out of each other’s pants. But the expectation in high school to not just experiment sexually, but to be well-versed in it, coupled with the lack of understanding that intimacy was about far more than getting naked with someone else, put undue pressure on people to take steps they weren't ready to take.
The Christian beliefs Gia had embraced early on taught abstinence, which was all fine and good, but her reasons for doing so were not nearly so high minded. Sure, Gia knew her opinion was antiquated among her peers, but she hadn't wanted to have sex with just anyone. She'd wanted it to be special, with someone she really trusted. Having witnessed so many broken hearts over the years—those of her friends, yes, but also her sisters—she'd decided long ago that trust was even more important than love. People could justify anything when they were in love. Love colored things, and not always in a good way. Jules was a perfect example of that; she'd spent almost ten years of her adult life in love with a guy who treated her like crap. Oh sure, at first Mike had been awesome. But over the years, he changed. Juliette, however, hung on, loving him even when he didn't love her, unable to see the truth through her love-tainted lenses. Ren and Phebes? Their relationship had been poisoned by skewed ideals about love and sex and the criminal acts of a fellow student who thought sex was a right, not a precious privilege, and the loss of trust in each other, in the people who loved them, and in the world around them. Their experiences were as different as night and day, but both of them bore wounds that still needed tending even after all these years.
So, between her misgivings about love and trust based on what she saw in relationships around her, and being terribly self-conscious over the lanky, awkward body she'd been saddled with for most of high school, Gia had been able to avoid the entanglements of angsty high school boyfriend/girlfriend relationships. It had certainly helped that she'd always had friends around to keep her from being too lonely, including Ricky who was willing to be her partner in crime whenever one was called for.
But just because they were out of high school didn't mean the pressure was off. In some ways, now the pressure felt less like it came from outside influences, but instead, it was her own desires pushing her to experience everything all at once. Ricky's hands on her, so different than they'd always been in the past—sliding over her curves, clutching at her, pulling her to him in ways that shouted desperation—had stirred up a response in her that had been so unexpected and overwhelming and... well, desperate too. It had been quite eye opening. What would she have allowed had he not pushed her away first? And this was only their first round of kisses, no less!
Gia sighed blissfully. Oh, what kisses they'd been, too. The best part? Because they'd talked last night, because even though their words had been few, they'd been honest, because they had stopped when they did, she didn't feel guilty about any of it, nor was she afraid of seeing him today. She wasn't worried that he'd changed his mind, or that she'd messed things up, or any of those myriad of things she'd heard her friends bemoan time and time again.
In fact, Gia could hardly wait to see Ricky today. Maybe he'd called or texted; she turned toward her bedside table, but her phone wasn't there. She'd probably left it in the living room last night when she'd fallen asleep against Ricky's chest, a thought that made her sigh again.
Wide awake now, she pushed up out of bed. Gramps would be coming home today, too, and she'd promised Gran she'd be available to help out.
When she got to the kitchen, she was surprised to see Granny G's breakfast bowl and coffee cup already washed and draining in the sink. A note on the counter told Gia to sleep, that Juliette and Vic were going to help get Gramps home this morning, but that if Gia could be there to oversee lunch, that would be lovely. So she made herself a cup of coffee, stuck a couple pieces of bread in the toaster, and went searching for her phone.
She found it in the couch cushions, nearly out of juice from not charging it overnight, but she didn't even have to swipe it on to see several notifications of texts and messages, most of them from Ricky.
Jupiter had texted; she opened his message first, and smiled when she read it. I hope your grandfather is feeling better. Please tell me if you need more time to be home. My aunt has changed plans to have her children visit longer with their grandparents, so I will stay in Midtown with Uncle Ricardo next week.
She shot him a grateful message back, promising to let him know once her grandfather came home. She had no clue how much help he'd need, but knowing Gramps, he'd not want her to miss work just to keep him company.
A voice message from Jules reiterated what Granny G had said, that she and Vic would help get Gramps home. "I brought a massive spaghetti casserole over this morning and left it in the fridge. It's for lunch since it sounds like the whole gang is planning to join us there to welcome Gramps home." Gia grinned at the gentle sarcasm in Juliette's voice. "Apparently, we're going to try to wear him out completely his first day home. Make him wish he were back in the quiet of the hospital, you know?" She'd also left instructions to stick the casserole in the oven by eleven if they hadn't gotten home from the hospital yet, but that was it. Gia was footloose and fancy-free for the next hour.
She took a deep breath, surprised to find herself a little trembly, and opened the first text from Ricky.
Good morning, GG. I hope you slept well. Do you need any help today with Gramps?
Half an hour later, he'd sent another one. Can't stop thinking about you. Don't ever get rid of those puppy PJs. Ever. Call me when you get home from the hospital. I want to help. And see you.
What was it with guys and ugly pajamas? Vic still claimed his favorite outfit of Juliette's was her fluffy pink bathrobe. And now Ricky was mooning over her ancient flannels.
Two minutes later. Actually, if I'm being honest, I want to see you. And help. In that order.
She needed to put him out of his misery. But before she could do more than hit reply, another text came through.
You're awake! Or home from the hospital! Yes, I've been checking my phone every 30 seconds, I admit it, so I know you've read my messages.
Gia giggled and hit her call button. Texts were fine, but she suddenly wanted to hear his voice.
"Hey there, Georgy Girl." Ricky answered after the first ring.
"Hey there, Rickaroni-Baloney."
There was an awkward silence, and then they both began speaking at once.
"So how is Gramps—"
"Do you want to—"
After an even more awkward bout of chuckling, Ricky told her to go first.
"I'm actually here at the house. Granny G let me sleep in since Jules and Vic are going to help her get Gramps home. You want to come over and wait here with me?" The moment the words were out, she wondered how good an idea it was inviting him over when the house was empty. And suddenly, Trevor's rule about not being alone with a woman behind closed doors made a whole lot more sense than it ever had.
"I wish I could, but I'm working this morning," Ricky said. A wave of relief washed over Gia, followed quickly by disappointment.
"Oh." The word came out like a deflated balloon.
Ricky chuckled into the phone. "Don't worry. I'll come over as soon as I get off at noon, okay? Can I bring you lunch?"
"Jules made a massive casserole for everyone. You're invited." She smiled, fairly giddy with pleasure. "You're always invited."
"I'll run home first and shower, okay? Changing tires is dirty work." He said his goodbyes, and Gia released a happy sigh.
That gave her all the time she needed to do something with her hair, find the perfect outfit to wear.... She paused, considering her motives. Ricky had seen her in just about everything she owned, but still, she felt pretty today and she wanted to look good, too. "I'm dressing up for me," she decided, and then said again, "For me."