Chapter Text
PROLOGUE
Look. Ricky’s not trying to be dramatic in any way, but wedding season probably deserves to be in one of the seven circles of hell.
And he should know. He was the child of an infamous divorce, which was reason enough to hate the whole institution of marriage. But on top of that, he made his rounds through enough of the soul sucking ceremonies personally too. First, with Nini. And then without her.
Both were bad, honestly. For different reasons, but still.
With Nini was littered with expectation , the fucking bloodsucker.
Expectation, that is. Not his ex-girlfriend.
( Well –)
With Nini it was all, ‘ so when are you two tying the knot? You’ve been together since high school, right?’
And that would of course prompt him to ask himself, fuck , when were the two of them going to tie the knot? They’d been together since high school, right?
And that would lead him to asking himself if he was ready for marriage. Or if he wanted marriage. Or kids. Or if Nini wanted either of those things. And that would lead to conversations and conversations would usually lead to arguments and arguments usually lead to both of them hating each other a bit. And well, on Ricky’s part, himself a bit too.
Which lead to the funny thing, cause the funny fucking thing was, it turns out the answer to that million dollar question of when Ricky Bowen and Nini Salazar-Robert’s would tie the knot was – drumroll please – … never. It was never going to happen. So what was the fucking point?
What was the fucking point of any of it honestly?
But the thing is, as fucking brutal as weddings were in a shitty relationship, they were somehow worse on your own. Which is exactly what you’ve gotta do directly after getting out of said relationship. Go at it on your own.
So yeah. Hell. Torture. The whole shebang.
You get it.
JUNE 4TH - 5TH
“Gina?”
Ricky is honestly taking a guess with that one. And that’s not because he doesn’t remember what Gina Porter looks like. He doesn’t think that that is something he would ever forget.
Not in a weird way. Just in a real way.
Gina didn’t have one of those faces you could forget. She had one of those faces that stuck with you, burrowed behind your eyelids and played in your dreams on the nights you felt particularly lonely. She stuck around. Left an impression, if you will.
And, okay, that definitely made it sound like it was in a weird way.
So scratch that, the point was when you can only see the lower half of a person there is only so much you can go off of.
But Gina was missing from her hotel room when he stopped by to grab her on his way down. And by the way that lower half freezes from where it hangs off the side of the bar, Ricky assumes he made the right guess here.
Caught red handed.
The lower half of Gina Porter lowers slowly back down until her heels click against the tile again, her long braided hair framing the upper half of her body as it slowly comes into view from where she was … hopping over the hotel bar counter?
Ricky would honestly almost be amused at the sight. It was kind of ridiculous. Finding Gina Porter jumping over a fancy hotel bar was definitely not on his bingo card for this wedding but, hey, life has a way of surprising you.
However, his brows raise as she turns around, his eyes softening, and not just because of the sight she makes.
It’s also because, well, it’s Gina Porter and the sight of her almost always demands a reaction. It’s almost mandatory. And now, as she stands there looking beautiful and chic with her waist length hair and her midnight blue silk dress that fits her like a glove, she definitely doesn’t look fit for literal bar hopping. And that’s because she looks elegant, and graceful, and if Ricky took just a few more pregaming shots in his hotel room he’s pretty sure he would’ve thought some sort of fairy was robbing the bar or something.
But another reason for Ricky’s reaction is that she’s crying. Or she has been, he's pretty sure, since he last saw her. Which was honestly at check in less than four hours ago.
He’s seen Gina cry before. Recently even. Been there to comfort her through it from once upon a time through to yesterday. He knows the signs, and the mascara smudges around the eyes are pretty hard to mistake. That combined with the glassiness of her eyes and the kind of almost blankly composed look on her face tells him all he needs to know. He wouldn’t be surprised if she used the slow descent from the counter to wipe away her tears subtly.
“Hey…” Ricky starts gently at the almost guilty glint in her eyes, his lips pursing as she sniffs and moves to take one last swipe at her wet cheeks with the back of her hand. “You weren’t in your room.”
“... Hey.” Gina chokes out after a moment, nodding her head at him almost coolly before she’s clearing her throat. “I decided to, uh… to get out a bit early.”
Ricky opens his mouth and shuts it. He tries again.
“To, uh, get a drink?” Ricky blurts out smartly, as he gestures to the bar. Gina blinks back at him before glancing back over the counter of the bar.
“Yeah. Trying to at least,” She shrugs and there’s not an ounce of sheepishness in it. Honestly, the only thing breaking the illusion of Gina’s composure is the gentle sniffle. Ricky is kind of impressed, but then again, he usually is by Gina. She turns to arch a brow at him then, almost dryly teasing, “I mean, you know, not all of us came prepared with a small liquor cabinet in our suitcase.”
“Well, that just sounds a lot like you dropped the ball there.” Ricky jokes with a scrunch of his nose and a put upon bewildered expression, and the words are somehow able to startle a wet laugh out of Gina. Something in Ricky’s chest loosens just a bit. He takes it as a win and decides to try and keep up the lighthearted mood by gesturing to the bar in front of them. “And you know, there’s usually a person behind the counter who does that for you. The whole drink fetching thing, I mean.”
Gina gives him a look as she raises her brows at him, gesturing widely to the deserted area around them. Somehow it was only the two of them by the hotel bar, something Ricky did notice when he spotted the mysterious disembodied pair of legs over the edge of the bar. Gina’s gesture reminds him of that swiftly.
“Huh. Okay, maybe not now, but generally —” Ricky’s voice trails off as he searches the room for a bartender but Gina merely just sighs.
“Yup. And I could really use a drink, so.” Gina’s words lose a bit of their firmness at the end there, her eyes flicking to the floor and Ricky doesn’t have to try to remember why. He just wishes that she wouldn’t. Even for a minute. That he could erase her memory and make this whole wedding thing easier for her because—
Fuck, it’s so much harder to go at it alone .
“Do you wanna talk about it?” Ricky asks as he rocks back and forth on his heels briefly, and Gina shoots Ricky a glare that he’s pretty sure could kill him if it hit him at the right angle. He raises his hands in innocence, immediately rushing to say, “Hey, I’ve only asked like two times today!”
“Three.” Gina corrects sharply, a scowl on her pink lips. “I’m counting that time at the gas station on the drive over.”
“I— okay ,” Ricky says as he shakes his head, “That one doesn’t count! I’ve never seen anyone look so heartbroken by a bag of peanuts! The question had to be asked! And peanuts, pilots, they kind of go together, so…”
Gina’s arms cross over her chest stubbornly, the pout on her lips almost hostile if it wasn’t verging so close to being almost childlike. “It wasn’t about Jack.”
“Yeah, but is this?” Ricky asks, and almost immediately regrets it as Gina looks almost struck for a moment before she’s turning away from him. He rushes to continue, hoping desperately to change that expression on her face. “Gi… you should try not to think about him.” He says gently, and it’s like he gets to watch Gina somehow close up even more in real time. Like that blanket mask of composure earlier wasn’t the final stage of her completely shutting off. This was.
Once upon a time, he never got this expression. Once upon a time, Gina would talk to him without hesitation and they could open up to each other like it was easy, and they still can, sometimes. But sometimes it’s different. Sometimes it’s like this and Ricky is reminded of the fact that they’re still adjusting to having this back. To being friends again.
So Ricky quickly scrambles to say anything right. “I’m really sorry but… He’s not worth it. He’s not worth the energy you even put into thinking about him.” Ricky insists firmly, protectively . “ Or your tears.”
Ricky watches as Gina’s composure seems to buckle just a little then, showing in nothing more than a slight crumpling of her expression, a wobble of her bottom lip. Ricky takes a step forward instantly but before he can even take a second, Gina is shaking her head and taking a shaky breath.
“... Thanks. He really is though.” Gina mumbles and the words are so quiet that Ricky almost doesn’t hear them. But before he can say something in return and hopefully make that expression a little less cloudy Gina’s eyes flick up to meet his, dark and wet but still strong with something that he can’t name. “You think you’re sorry enough to help me out though?”
“What?” Ricky blurts out in confusion and Gina juts a thumb over her shoulder to the bar behind them, her lips pursed.
“You’d probably have better luck jumping that counter than I would. With the lack of heels and all. Or you could hoist me up a bit so that I don’t rip my skirt.” Gina points out as she glances to his dress shoes and Ricky glances down at them too. He doesn’t know why. He knows what his dress shoes look like. But when he glances up to meet Gina’s eyes again he still can’t quite figure out how stealing alcohol from the hotel bar became the answer to Gina’s breakup troubles.
But Gina looks determined. And the smudges around her eyes look a little less wet, and maybe a drink really is what she needs–
Hell, it was what he needed after Nini.
“... Alright.” Ricky says as he moves to take off his suit jacket, making his way slowly over to Gina to close the gap between them. Gina seems almost surprised by his response, as if maybe she was expecting him to blow her off, and that hurts a bit but–
Maybe that’s also to be expected after everything.
He meets her eyes squarely as he smiles slowly, arching a brow as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a piece of paper. A piece of paper that just happens to hold the entirety of his best man speech. Just the thought of that makes his stomach sink a little but Ricky tries to cover the sensation with a cheeky wink. “But it’ll cost ya. I need another pair of eyes for this speech, so … “ He pokes his tongue in his cheek. “How about it?”
Gina pauses as she scans Ricky’s face curiously. Now that they’re this close Ricky can see the freckles on her nose. Can reach over to her face and rub his thumb over the mascara smudges under her eye. Gina flinches at the touch at first, and then squirms under it for a moment before swatting Ricky away with a pout that’s so grumpy that it makes him laugh.
Her lips twitch for not the first time that day, but it almost feels like it. Because it’s one of those moments that Ricky knows she’s not quite thinking about her ex at all, and it feels like those are getting rarer and rarer by the minute. After a moment she takes a breath and moves to wipe at the smudges with her own manicured hands, nodding firmly.
“... Alright. Deal. I want a tequila shot and a beer.” Gina says as she raises her chin just a little and Ricky grins as he moves to put his foot on the bar without hesitation.
“Coming right up.”
“Alright. Do you want me to be honest?” Gina asks as she rolls her beer bottle between her hands idly. The condensation is all over her fingers now, and with the way she has the bottle sitting just off from her lap – likely in an attempt not to get beer or water on her silk dress – Ricky is kind of afraid that the thing might slip from between her fingers and shatter onto the tile. But not quite as afraid as he is of what Gina might say next.
Ricky doesn’t have to think about the answer to the question. He nods immediately, steeling himself. “Brutally.”
“It sucked.” Gina says without any hesitation, and Ricky’s jaw drops more dramatically than he’d like to admit.
“Wha– I?” He looks between Gina and the scrap of paper he’d just read his speech off of, his brows furrowed in confusion as he says, “It didn’t suck .”
Gina’s wince is sympathetic even as she nods, head bobbing and lips pursing as she moves to take another sip of her beer. “But it did. Just a little.”
“Well, if it’s just a little–”
“Okay, a lot .” Gina says as she raises her arms in a shrug and Ricky can’t help the sound that bursts out of him, some strange cross between a laugh and a groan.
“ Gina !” He moans as he lets his face fall into his hand and Gina quickly moves to reassure him, the thunk of her beer being set down on the counter his only warning before her hands are on his shoulders. Ricky can’t even find the energy to be glad that Gina isn’t thinking about her ex anymore. He’s too busy bemoaning his apparently shitty best man speech.
Fuck .
“There was just— just a lot of stuff about him leaving you behind and all that, you know? And about how much you’re going to miss him, and Ricky, it’s not like he’s dying. Or moving to another country. And he’s still your best friend. He still loves you, and you still love him, and you guys have known each other so long that that is never going to really change even if other stuff does.” Gina insists in a way that is both firm and soothing, her hands smoothing over his shoulders as she says it, “You know that, right?”
“Of course I know that.” Ricky says a bit too quickly and Gina’s hands pause on his shoulders for a moment before she’s shoving them to push him up to face her. Ricky knows what’s coming and he tries to shift his gaze away but no luck. Gina’s eyes are boring into him, her brows furrowed as she waits. Ricky scrambles to insist, “I do .”
“Do you?” Gina insists firmly and something around Ricky’s eyes tighten.
“... Yeah.” Ricky says halfheartedly, his shoulders lifting and falling in a shrug. After yet another, longer pointed look from Gina, Ricky finally sighs, his gaze falling to the tiled floor. It’s always been hard to lie to her. Half because she always catches him anyways. So Ricky flicks his tongue over his lips and tries again, honest as he mumbles, “... But I don’t know. I just feel like everything is going to change between us after this.”
“... Ricky. Look at me.” Gina says softly, and Ricky tries to resist it. He does. But the hand that Gina places on his own is too gentle. More gentle than he really deserves honestly. And maybe it’s her kindness that makes him meet her eyes, but he does. And he regrets it.
It feels like she’s looking right into him.
“You and Red have survived the change of joining the East High drama club together. Of getting girlfriends and boyfriends and having to balance those relationships with your friendship. Of going to different colleges in different states . You guys have survived summers apart. You survived that time you nicked the bug and you thought maybe he was going to hate you. You survived that one time you threw up a Salt Lake Slices pizza, even though I’m pretty sure that that was the closest Red has ever come to murdering you.” Gina says with a shrug, and Ricky can’t help but laugh in surprise, blinking at her in a startled way that he can’t even explain, watching her as she lists all the things that he and his best friend have made it through as if it was nothing. As if she just remembered this kind of thing. He’s kind of amazed that anything he’s ever done is taking up any of her brain space at all. But somehow, it does. And somehow Gina’s voice lowers to something even gentler. “What makes you think you two can’t survive one measly marriage? Huh? To Howie ?” Her head shakes slowly as she makes a face at the very idea. “Are you kidding? That guy has been putting up with the both of you since you were teenagers. He knows that you’re a package deal.”
Ricky doesn’t know what his face might look like right now. He just knows that his breath feels heavy and his eyes feel hot and his hands feel sweaty but she still puts a cool hand on the back of his neck in a reassuring caress that tugs him just a bit closer to her dark, intense eyes. He can smell the beer on her breath and he can count her eyelashes. He doesn’t pull away. Couldn’t even if he wanted to. “Everything is going to be fine , okay? You don’t have to make a speech to remind Red how much he should miss you because he’s not going anywhere. He’s not going to have to miss you.” Gina’s thumb brushes behind his ear as she pulls back a little, patting his knee. “So there’s no need to give that speech because it reads like a guilt trip.”
“... It’s not a guilt trip .” Ricky murmurs after a long moment of considering Gina’s words, and Gina doesn’t hesitate to meet his gaze again, her dark eyes boring into his with a firmness.
“ I know that. And you know that.” Gina says with a firm pat of Ricky’s shoulder before she’s scrunching her nose and adding, “I just know that if I was Red and you read that to me at my wedding I’d feel like an absolute piece of shit for, what?” Gina threw her arms up with a sigh, “falling in love and getting married? Growing up?”
Ricky pauses for a long moment after that, looking into Gina’s dark brown eyes thoughtfully. She arches a brow at him eventually, her hands moving to retrieve her beer on the counter and it’s only after a long exhale that Ricky nods.
“Fine. You’re right.” Gina nods at that, as if there was never any doubt, and the expression would’ve made Ricky smile if he didn’t have a whole speech to rewrite in less than an hour. He purses his lips together as he looks over the speech again before looking pleadingly to Gina. “Help me fix it?”
“Oh, I thought you would never ask.” Gina says as she places a bashful hand over her heart, like she was some sort of delicate southern belle. That does make Ricky crack a smile, one that only grows even as he protests Gina plucking the speech unceremoniously out of his hands. “Give it here. And hold my beer. We’ve got major work to do here.”
“Okay, maybe not major –” Ricky argues even as he takes her beer obediently, but Gina shakes her head, gesturing to the whole of the speech with a wave of her hand.
“Oh, we’re talking a total rewrite. A best man speech is supposed to be … charming. Funny. Sentimental and nostalgic but not too much, just a— “ Gina holds her forefinger and thumb about an inch apart, clicking her tongue with the motion. “But don’t worry.” Gina’s hand quickly caresses his jaw in a both reassuring and distracted gesture, her eyes scanning his speech with furrowed brows even as she says, “We’ve got this.”
Ricky is struck not for the first time by the realization that Gina used to be his best friend once. Right up there with Red. And she’s always reminding him why, without even trying to.
He can’t believe he ever gave this up willingly.
Her hand has fallen from his chin but he still feels the warmth of the touch even as he nods.
“Okay.” He says quietly before he nods again, more confidently and follows her back to the bar as she mumbles ideas to herself. “Okay. Do your magic on me, Porter.”
“Great speech, Ricky!”
“Oh, uh, thanks, Natalie!” Ricky tries to give the girl a wave of thanks around Red’s shoulder but it’s difficult with just how much his best friend is sobbing. He winces even as he moves to rub a hand over Red’s back, gently comforting him.
“I--You… It ,” Red blubbers out, and that’s honestly more than Ricky has gotten out of him in the past five minutes, so it’s progress.
He nods his head understandingly even as he pats Red’s back again, gentle as he adds, “I’m really glad you liked it buddy.”
“I l– loved it. I love you . You’re my best friend .” Red sniffles and Ricky feels his own eyes get hot as a result. He moved to hug his friend a bit more firmly, his chin resting on top of his red hair. And despite his conversation with Gina, despite knowing that they can still talk all the time, despite knowing that Red doesn’t even live that far away, it still feels like a goodbye. Like he’s never going to see him again.
“I love you too, man.” Ricky whispers into Big Red’s hair and Big Red’s shoulders seem to shake a bit more for it. Ricky looks up to try and stifle his own tears and somehow catches the eye of Gina over at the singles table. She’s got a fresh drink in hand and she’s sipping it even as she nods at him and Ricky has to compose himself a moment before he nods back.
Howie wasn’t a bad guy. Red would be okay. It would be okay.
“I’m so happy for you.” Ricky chokes out, and he means it. He’s happy Red is happy. He’s happy he found his person. He’s just sad for what this might mean for them. “I— I just want you to be happy, man. I just want the best for you and again, if Howie ever fucks up— you just, you just tell me and we’ll get the fuck out of state and elope in Canada or something.” Ricky chokes on a sob, hugging Red a bit tighter and Red seems to hug him equally tight in return. “Okay?”
“Yeah … okay.” Red blubbers out and Ricky has to force himself to nod again through his tears, his chest tight with a sadness for something that hasn’t even happened yet.
“You guys know I’m right here, right?” Howie asks from the table at Ricky’s hip which just happens to be the table for the groom and groom. Ricky sniffles as he glances down at the guy, still valiantly trying not to actually full on cry.
“Howie, man, I’m trying really hard to root for you. Can you just not ruin the moment here?” Ricky says and the amusement in Howie’s eyes is palpable as Red lets out a wet laugh and that laugh makes Ricky’s lips twitch as well and—
Maybe it is all going to be fine.
Ricky’s eyes flick over to the single’s table again and find Gina’s. There’s a smile on her pink lips for a moment before she’s raising a supportive glass to him. It’s empty.
Ricky is too distracted by Red’s stuttered words to notice her getting up again.
“Okay, at this point I think the bartender has a crush on you.” Ricky points out as he returns to the table, noticing the obscene amount of umbrellas in the drink that Gina was sipping.
Gina hums in amusement around her straw, her eyes twinkling in a mischievous way that the tequila seems to have brought out in her tonight, “Jealous?”
“Of you? Absolutely.” Ricky says without hesitation, and Gina laughs. “The bartender’s hot. I wouldn’t hesitate on that one if I were you.”
“Well, if it helps I think you have a chance.” Gina retorts with an arch of her brow, her hand moving to pinch his cheek even as Ricky protests and tries to squirm out of it. “With that speech and those soulful brown eyes of yours, I’m sure he’d buckle if you asked really nicely .”
Ricky’s cheeks feel warm and not just from the pinching. The teasing tone of Gina’s voice always had a way of resonating like no other. He swats her hand away and she brings it right back to her straw, taking a long sip as Ricky argues, “my speech isn’t going to get me laid, Gina.”
“You think so? Cause I’m pretty sure every single person here is undressing you with their eyes right now.” Gina makes a show of scanning the room thoughtfully, “Some of the less than single people too now that I think about it.”
“Okay, that is not true —”
“There’s one.” Gina points, and Ricky’s eyes bulge. “Oh, and there’s another. And another one–”
“Stop that!” Ricky hisses as he scrambles to pull Gina’s hand down, and Gina’s drunken laugh is brightly amused. “Oh my god, you’re insane .”
“I’m just trying to make up for the bartender. Let you know there are other options.” Gina says with a waggle of her brows, and Ricky looks at her in disbelief.
“I was more thinking of the bartender for you .” Ricky suggests slowly, and Gina’s eyes are still coloured with laughter even as she shakes her head.
“No. No .” The words are punctuated by the straw going back into Gina’s mouth and Ricky watches as she takes another long sip. It’s then that he notices that he still has a grip on her hand and takes the opportunity to squeeze it.
“No?” He asks slowly, testing the waters. But Gina’s eyes meet his with a firmness beneath her drunken amusement, and he knows her answer even before she says it.
“No. I’m…” She pauses for a moment, seeming to mull over her words even under the influence of copious mixed drinks. She shakes her head. “I’m not ready.”
The words are whispered quietly between them, Gina’s eyes never leaving his but seeming to get a wetter by the second despite the smile on her lips. Ricky’s eyes soften.
“Okay. That’s okay,” Ricky insists as he squeezes her hand in his. Gina smiles in return to him, but it’s dim, something that Ricky tries to counter by moving to rub his hand up and down her arm. “Can I at least have a sip of your drink then? You know, to make up for the bartender you stole from me.”
Gina laughs at the question, which was exactly Ricky’s intention. She shakes her head as she moves to take another sip, “Oh, absolutely not. No.”
“Oh, come on .” Ricky makes a show of whining and Gina shakes her head again, mumbling around her mouthful of straw as she begins to drink faster. Ricky’s brows arch as he reaches for her cup, struggling to try and take it as he sputters a surprised laugh and asks, “Are you… are you chugging that? Gina. I just want a sip , come on—”
“That was a really great speech, Mr. Best Man.”
Ricky glances up at the compliment in surprise. He almost hates to say it but Gina might have been right in more ways than one. The speech rewrite really was the right way to go.
And that same rewrite really might get him laid tonight.
Ricky hates to admit it but … He wouldn’t be opposed .
The girl before him is someone he’s pretty sure went to business school with Red. He doesn’t know her name or anything about her really, but he knows that her dark hair is in a pixie cut that flatters her fairy-like features and her blue eyes are meeting his with interest. And so Ricky’s mouth opens to accept the compliment and maybe say something clever enough to make the other girl laugh, but before he can get a word out he’s interrupted.
“ Thank you .” Gina says with a nod from where he now spots her behind the girl. He hasn’t seen her in about half an hour but she’s got a strawberry daiquiri in hand, and her lips are dyed an endearing red with it. But it doesn’t take Ricky long to realize that her last drink probably should have been more than a few before that. She makes a show of tipping an invisible hat, her smile crinkling her eyes prettily as she says, “I was the speechwriter for that particular masterpiece. I’m glad to hear it’s going over so well.”
“Oh. Were you?” The girl asks in surprise as she turns to look at Gina, glancing between her and Ricky in a wary but polite way. Ricky, for his part, only just barely notices the glance, too busy noticing how Gina practically sways on her feet when she nods. Ricky doesn’t even have to think before he’s up on his feet and reaching out to steady her by the elbow, his features pinched with concern. “I didn’t realize. Did you two … come together?”
“We did. I took a five hour drive with this guy, and let me just tell you,” Gina points at the other girl with the words, somehow managing to bop her on the nose in a way that has the girl flinching in surprise. Ricky reaches out to pull Gina’s hand back with an apology on his lips, his free arm wrapping around her waist as she wobbles on her feet and says, “He is an excellent driver. Very safe. You’d be in good hands .”
The words are suggestive on their own, but to make it worse, Gina accompanies them with a salacious wink, and Ricky thinks he wants the ground to swallow him up. His ears are on fire as he begs, “Gina, please stop flirting for me —”
“Oh, are you two…” The girl’s dark brows are neatly furrowed together as she watches them, clearly confused as she asks, “not… together?”
“Us? No. No . Me and this guy ?” Gina moves to pat Ricky on the lapel of his suit jacket with her daiquiri-less hand but misses and somehow ends up patting his stomach. “No. Gross . It’d never happen. Never. We’re friends from college. Or high school. Or both . Definitely both. I’ve known this guy for ten years. Can you believe that? Ten years! If anything was gonna happen it would’ve happened already.” Gina waves the idea off with a dismissive hand, aiming to pat Ricky on the chest again and this time succeeding. “This guy? Sexy, single and ready to mingle.” Her eyes twinkle as she leans in conspiratorially. “Do you want his number?”
“Gina, how much have you had to drink?” Ricky has to ask in concern. Gina moves to look up at him again then, an amused smile on her features as she reaches up to caress Ricky’s cheek in a friendly way that’s honestly more just a brush of fingers.
“Why are you worried about me? This lovely lady here wants to have sex with you, Richard. Right?” Gina glances over to the woman and question then, her brow arching at the girl’s deep blush. “ Right ?” Her grin grows as she gestures between them again, nodding enthusiastically as she says, “Don’t worry. There’s nothing going on between us at all. He’s a free agent. You can slide right in.” Gina makes a sliding motion with her hand that is accompanied by sound effects that Ricky is pretty sure might be for a plane. He has to fight his amusement at the action in favor of concern as she blinks and leans back into the girl beside them, moving to basically stage whisper. “He does have a very jealous ex though so you might want to watch out for her. You know, real,” Gina fixes her expression into a snarl as she mimes stabbing, once again going for the graphic addition of horror movie sound effects as she pretends the murder the girl in front of them, the abruptness of the action startling the woman into a step back.
“Okay, that’s enough. You’re going to bed.” Ricky says with another flush, and Gina whines. Genuinely whines. “Don’t whine —”
“Aww, come on, Ricky! Let’s stay a little longer!” She pouts as she wraps her arms around his neck, looking up at him as she pleads. “Let’s dance?
“Gi, you can barely walk upright. We can’t dance.” Ricky says gently, even though admittedly, he’s not completely sure of that. Ricky has seen Gina do drunken plies on a carpeted dorm hallway so, who is he to say.
But as much as he hates to admit it, Gina’s puppy dog eyes are still pretty effective even after all these years. So it’s better they go now before she really does swindle him on the dance floor.
“Fine. But you owe me one.” Gina insists and Ricky is too busy collecting her to protest.
“Fine. One dance.” Ricky says as he begins to usher her out of the wedding, pausing a moment to glance at the blue eyed girl who is currently simply watching them in bewilderment. “I am so sorry by the way. Uh, thank you for the compliment. I hope you have a good night.”
He’s so busy with his apologies that he doesn’t notice Gina’s beam of excitement, her eyes sparkling with it as she whoops triumphantly.
“Okay, now I want an answer. How many have you had tonight?”
Ricky feels a bit like a failure here.
There was no one who explicitly told him he should be watching over a heartbroken Gina. But somehow it just felt like his responsibility. He’s the one who drove her here. He’s the one who came in with her.
Ricky had decided to look after her.
And yet, here Gina was. Drunk off her ass and clinging to him as they made their way back to her hotel room.
“Not that many.” Gina insists, but by the smell of alcohol lingering on her and the fact that she’s currently got her face nuzzled into his neck, Ricky isn’t quite buying it. His lips are thin as he presses the close button on their elevator, sighing as the doors refuse to do just that.
“And how many is that?” Ricky asks gently as he pushes Gina’s long braids over her shoulder. Gina hums.
“Four?” She asks after a quick count on her fingers, before she’s looking up at him with sleepily drunken eyes. “See? Not that many.”
“Gina, that is that many. You had two drinks at the hotel before we even got there.” Ricky corrects, and Gina seems to pout in thought.
“Oh, yeah.” She mumbles as the elevator door finally starts to close, and Ricky can’t help but sigh and tuck her a bit more securely into his side. She fits there well. Comfortably. And that seems to make Gina even more upset, her eyes wet for the umpteenth time that night as her face crumples. “...Ricky?”
“Yes, Gina?” Ricky asks distractedly as he presses the number for her floor.
“I miss Jack .” And it’s not the drunken wail he expects, or even a petulant whine. It’s quiet and sad, and that somehow makes it worse.
Because they’re finally talking about it. But only now when Gina is too drunk to remember any of it in the morning.
“... I know, Gi.” Ricky murmurs in return, his free hand coming up to hesitantly pet her hair. Gina’s face buries deeper into his neck and Ricky swears he feels a wetness there. He doesn’t say anything about it.
“No, you don’t. You don’t .” Gina insists through a hiccup and Ricky can only wince as he gently moves the hand on her waist to rub up and down her back. The silk of her dress is smooth under his calloused palm, but he can feel the wrack of her sobs underneath it and his heart aches just a bit. “You don’t get it! You’ll always h–have Nini. But Jack is gone .”
“I…” Ricky’s brows furrow at the statement, his heart aching even harder at it even as he clenches his jaw. “I don’t have Nini, Gi.”
He hasn’t had Nini for a long time. Not really. He knows that deep down now.
But unfortunately, that’s when Gina pulls away from his neck to look up at him, and this is worse. Because now he can see her tear filled eyes. Now he can see the stubbornness in them as they meet his own.
“You always say that. Always . And then– and then you two get back together. And then you stop talking to me again .” Gina points at Ricky then, her finger just a bit too close to his face but he ignores it. “You and Nini you’re on and off again, on and off again but we’re—” Gina’s breath hitches. There are tears clinging to her eyelashes that make Ricky kind of want to throw himself off a building. A wobble to her bottom lip that makes him want to duck and run and grovel all at the same time. “We’re like that too but… but I never get any say in it, and it’s not fair —” She shakes her head. “I’m a good friend. It’s not fair.”
“... I know, Gi.” Ricky breathes in return, his own eyes stinging as he watches her lips twist in pain. She shakes her head.
“No you don’t.” The words seem more sober than anything Gina has said on this whole trip back. More purposeful.
Ricky doesn’t know what to say to them.
But the moment is gone as soon as it begins because the elevator doors open and they’re on Gina’s floor and she’s moving to storm off and stumbling with it. Ricky doesn’t hesitate to steady her, shushing her gently as he moves to help her to her room. Despite her words, somewhere along the way Gina ends up hugging him tightly. Ricky’s heart squeezes along with it.
“... We’re here.” Ricky mumbles as he moves to unlock the door to her hotel room. Gina is still glued to his front, her arms tightly wound around his waist as Ricky gently moves to push the door open. He has to practically drag her to her bed, helping her settle on it before he’s crouching down to at least take off her shoes.
“Jack used to do this for me.” Gina murmurs from where she lays on her back on the bed. Ricky’s hand pauses on her heel even as he nods. Gina can’t see it, but she continues anyways. Honestly, Ricky isn’t even completely sure she’s talking to him. “He’d do this and he’d kiss my legs. And my feet. But not in a weird way.” Gina sniffles in a wet way that lets Ricky know she’s about to cry again. “Not in a foot guy way.”
Ricky huffs a halfhearted laugh as he moves back onto his feet, her heels in hand as he says, “... maybe you should think that it was in a foot guy way. It might make you feel better.” Ricky moves to put her heels neatly in the hotel closet before moving into her bathroom in search of makeup wipes. “I’m pretty sure it hurts less to breakup with a guy with a foot fetish.”
“Don’t be mean.” Gina says tearfully from the other room, and Ricky has to sigh.
“I’m not being mean. I’m trying to make you feel better.” Ricky counters as he returns with the bag of wipes, coming back to the silently crying Gina with a heavy heart.
“You barely even knew him. You and Nini had only broken up last year and so you didn’t even get to meet him until then, and you didn’t have long to get to know him cause we all barely got to hang out together, and—” Gina hiccups, closing her eyes tightly as she shakes her head. “You didn’t know him.”
“I know enough about him.” Ricky says as he sits on the edge of the bed. He pulls out a makeup wipe and begins to gently wipe at her teary eyes with one, but by this point most of the mascara is on her cheeks anyways. The touch seems to make Gina look up at him, and their eyes meet. Gina’s hand grabs onto his wrist. He let’s her.
“He’s really great, you know?” Gina whispers shakily, and Ricky’s lips thin.
“So are you, Gina.” Ricky says firmly in return. Gina’s lips wobble at the comment but she doesn’t say anything. So Ricky doesn’t either.
It’s quiet then as Ricky wipes Gina’s face. Gina neither leaning into his touch or pulling away from it, but letting him work as she watches him. Her tears are silent.
“Ricky.” Gina whispers, and Ricky hums in reply. “Thank you for taking care of me.”
Ricky’s movements stutter to a halt at the statement, completely caught off guard. His eyes are on the spot of Gina’s cheek was working on for a long moment, and he can’t seem to find the strength to move them because he–
He doesn’t deserve to be thanked for what he’s done today. He doesn’t know if he’s really done much of anything.
“I’m sorry for yelling at you in the elevator.” Gina adds with a sniff, and Ricky’s mouth twists because he kind of thinks he might start crying too.
“You don’t have to be sorry, Gi. I deserved it.” Ricky whispers back as he begins to work again. She’s quiet for a moment as her hand finally falls from his wrist with a hum.
“You did a little.” She says, and Ricky lets a huff of laughter from his nostrils as he moves to take another makeup wipe. Gina watches him silently for a moment. “Ricky?”
“Yes, Gina.” Ricky replies gently, and Gina’s eyes find his as he looks back over to her.
“Will you go to Lily and Val’s wedding with me next weekend?” She asks quietly and Ricky blinks in surprise. “ Please .”
Ricky is frozen for a moment at even the thought, his mouth opening and closing before he breathlessly starts, “ Gina —”
“I rsvped for it back when Jack and I were together so I said I was going to bring a plus one.” Gina scrambles to explain, her watery brown eyes doing absolute numbers on Ricky’s resolve. “And I–I don’t want to go by myself. I can’t go by myself. Please , Ricky.”
“Gina, I hate weddings. You know that. They’re stupid, and meaningless and sad, and they just make everyone feel bad about themselves and alone, and I– … I probably wouldn’t have even come to this one if it wasn’t Red’s, and I’m pretty sure Lily purposefully didn’t invite me to hers–” Ricky explains and Gina suddenly sits up, and they’re close. Closer than Ricky thought they’d be. She’s practically in his lap. “ Gina —”
“Maybe how much Lily hates you will just make it more fun! We can take a shot every time she shoots you a death stare!” Gina offers as she takes his hand between both of hers, tucking their joint hands under her chin in a pleading way that makes Ricky sigh.
“I think you’ve had enough shots for a lifetime tonight.” Ricky points out firmly but Gina’s resting her chin on their tangle of fingers, looking at him with those same watery, begging eyes that somehow always find away to shoot directly through his heart.
“Please, Ricky? I had fun tonight, and I won’t have fun without you. Cause… cause I hate wedding’s too now and… they make me so sad but if you’re there… ” Gina admits shakily, Ricky’s jaw clenches. Her voice cracks as she intertwines her fingers with his, holding on even more tightly. “ Please ?”
Ricky sighs again. “... Goddammit, Porter. Fine. Fine, I’ll do it, but—”
Gina’s eyes go wide in that same startled way again. Like she’s surprised he’d show up for her.
Ricky clenches his jaw against the guilt of it, and just barely braces himself for the hug Gina tackles him with. They almost fall off the bed with the momentum of it, Ricky’s quick reflexes the only thing keeping them from toppling on the ground as Gina sobs thank you’s into the shoulder of his suit jacket.
Ricky slowly wraps his arms around her in return.
“... It’s no big deal, Gi.” Ricky mumbles in reply, even though it really is.
Two happy couples in two weeks.
God, fuck his life.
Untangling Gina from his arms is a bit of a fight after that, but somehow Ricky pulls it off. He’s able to finish taking up her makeup as well, which he’d also consider a pretty definite win. Maybe he’s not so bad at this taking care of Gina Porter thing after all.
By the time he sets a bottle of water on her night side table and a couple of aspirin to top it off, Gina is dead asleep in her dress, snoring softly in her bed. Ricky can’t help but reach over to pull back a braid that’s dangling in front of her nose, tucking it behind her ear securely before he’s sighing and crouching by her bedside.
“... I don’t know how you don’t hate me, Gi.” Ricky whispers gently with a wince. His thumb gently strokes over Gina’s eyebrow. Her eyes shift but she doesn’t stir. His heart swells. “... Thanks for taking me back every time.”
Gina’s answer to his words is simply more deep even breaths, as to be expected. Ricky smiles at the peaceful sight of her before he’s getting up to stretch with a sigh.
“Alright, I’m leaving before this gets creepy.” He whispers to a sleeping Gina, making his way out of her room with a gentle, “... sleep tight, Gi. See you tomorrow.”
Ricky shuts the door behind him with one more wedding in his wedding season schedule than he honestly would’ve ever asked for, but it’s fine.
It’s for Gina, so maybe it’s fine.