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Gina Porter loved stupid clichéd themed school dances.
Granted, she had only been to three (and this was her third one), but there was always something that made them so special despite the cheesiness.
Or rather, someone, and a certain place, insignificant to others, called the coat check.
She smiled as she clasped her boyfriend’s arm, realizing this Homecoming had one— it was tucked away a little passed the table to buy tickets, in a small room that looked about as big as a janitor's closet.
It was perfect.
“You noticed they had one too, huh?” Ricky whispered in her ear as they walked past the ticket table and headed towards it to put their jackets in. When they were leaving it Ricky said, “I’ve been to at least six school dances before and this is the first time I’ve ever cared about a place to put coats while everyone else is dancing and having fun.” He chuckled as they walked towards the table their friends had agreed to meet at against the pulsing music from the DJ’s booth.
“I guess that’s just the effect I have on you.” Gina shrugged easily as they slid into some seats.
Ricky’s cheeks tinted light pink. He leaned in with a crooked smile to her ear and whispered, “Meet me at the coat check in like… fifteen minutes?”
His being so close, his voice tickling her, his lips grazing her ears sent unmistakable shivers up her spine. When he leaned back he was looking to see if she agreed to his proposition.
Her eyes said it all, but she spoke regardless, “Okay.”
“Oh my God, are you two about to nose kiss again?” Carlos asked from across the table as he took a seat.
“Hey, that was one time, and you weren’t supposed to see that!” Ricky pointed his finger toward him as he defended himself and his girlfriend.
“That’s what you get for being nosy.” Gina sat back in her chair. “Come here, Ricky.” Gina waited until he looked towards her before pulling him closer by his jaw and pressing a kiss to his lips. “And there more where that came from.” She shrugged as she looked at Carlos, crossing her arms.
“Oh, I sure hope so.” Ricky grinned as he pulled over closer to her and wrapped his arm around her. Gina got comfortable in the space between his arm and his side, one of her favorite Ricky spots (she learned she had a lot of those and the number of them increased daily).
Carlos grimaced. “I hate to admit it, but you guys are sickeningly cute. Emphasis on the sickening . Where’s Seb?”
When Carlos turned away and got up from the table in search of his date, Ricky turned to Gina. “You wanna dance?”
“No, I wanna go to coat check.”
He laughed, “Not yet!”
“Why?” She pouted.
“Because we can’t be suspicious, baby.” He replied as he pushed a curl behind her ear. “We gotta show some face first.”
She pouted again, messing with his tie lavender tie that matched her dress, “I hate when you’re right.”
He laughed, kissing her forehead. “When you see me walk out, follow me after a couple of minutes. Whatever feels right.”
“Alright.” She smiled, pressing a peck to his lips.
“Hey guys, you look so cute!” Ashlyn grinned as she took a seat next to Ricky, still holding Big Red’s hand.
“Aw, thanks, Ash!” Gina replied.
“Red you look dapper as hell, dude.” Ricky leaned behind Ash and fist-bumped him before Red took a seat on the other side of his girlfriend.
“You don’t look too bad yourself!” Red complimented back as they sat.
As the four continued small talk, Ricky noticed Ashlyn’s eyes constantly drifting from the group, as if she was looking for someone, and he’d know that look anywhere. It was how his eyes searched for Gina even while he was dating Nini, and— Oh.
At his realization, he turned to look at his girlfriend to tell her immediately. However, she was getting up and going over to Big Red to continue having an in-depth discussion about Star Wars.
“Where are you going? No Gina, don’t leave me.” Ricky joked as he grabbed her arm, placing rapid kisses in her hand, all over palm that made her giggle like a school girl.
“Five minutes!” She chuckled, kissing the top of his head before scurrying over to sit by Big Red.
“I’ll give her back I promise!” Red laughed as he turned to face Gina so they could talk.
When the silence dipped between Ash and Ricky he whispered, “Are you… looking for someone?”
“Oh— Well no— Maybe— I don’t…” She chuckled, shaking her head slightly.
“Who is it?” He asked.
“What do you… What are you asking?” Her cheeks were getting visibly pink as her hands toyed with her sparkly pink clutch.
“Just who you’re looking for. That’s all.” He promised as he turned towards her.
Her face changed a little, marginally sinking. “You can’t tell anyone.” She mumbled.
“Well, not if you don’t tell me who it is.” He chuckled a little.
“He’s your best friend— I’d feel… terrible.” Her voice got even quieter as if someone was listening in on their conversation when Big Red and Gina were too immersed in their discussion to even care what they were talking about.
“Ash, I think you’re overthinking my question.” He laughed. “Who are you looking for?”
“... I’m looking for… I’m looking for Maddox.” She sighed. “Wow, that felt good to say.” She chuckled as she wiped her hands off on her dress, and Ricky tried to suppress his shocked look.
“Oh… Well, I’m… I’m glad you got that off your chest.” He patted her shoulder.
“Me too…” She mumbled, and she looked like she wanted to add something.
“I won’t tell anyone.” He added for her.
“Thanks.” She smiled.
“No problem. But now I have to go… check on something. I’ll be back. Hope Maddox comes soon.” He smiled as he got up to walk out of the gymnasium.
Was he thrilled his best friends’ girlfriend wanted to be with someone else? No. But was he happy that Ash got to admit how she felt out loud to someone (maybe she didn’t say it, but it was heavily implied)? Yes.
Because he knew all too well what that felt like, and he hoped it worked out for Ashlyn, and even for Big Red in a different way.
Gina watched the back of her boyfriend’s head as he walked casually out of the auditorium and she felt her heart start to race.
It’s time. She thought eagerly as she continued to talk to Big Red for a couple more minutes— Jet, Maddox, and Kourtney showed up when their conversation was coming to a close. By then she could also excuse herself without making it too obvious that she was going to meet Ricky.
Her heart was racing as she walked toward the little room where all the coats were being stored, and it was dark as she stepped in and pulled the door behind her. “Ricky?” She called out into the darkness.
And when she said that a phone flashlight came on. “I know this isn’t where we started, but any coat check is close enough, right?” He asked, walking towards her.
She chuckled. “Yeah. Close enough,” her arms laced around his shoulders, bringing him in for a kiss that lingered a little too long. She tried not to smile into his mouth as she continued to kiss him, his strong hands squeezing her waist and pulling her closer as he delved into the kiss as much as he possibly could’ve.
He pulled back after a second saying, “Wait, I brought you in here for a reason I swear.”
“I thought kissing was the reason.” She giggled, pulling him closer and kissing his cheek.
“No! Although that’s just a bonus.” He replied as he dug into his front pocket.
“Ricky Bowen did you lose our jacket tickets?!” She jested as he pulled something out of his pocket.
“No, but only because I slipped it into your purse earlier. Should be next to your sparkly lipgloss that I accidentally eat every time I kiss you.”
“Ah, thinking smarter I see.”
“You know it.” He kissed her lips again before fiddling with whatever was in his hand.
“What’s that?” She asked, looking into the semi-darkness at his hands.
He grabbed her wrist. “It’s… an offering, inducting you into the Ricky Bowen skater cult.” He replied as he hooked the bracelet on her hand.
She felt her insides slowly turning to a big sap of sweetness, (a truly sickening feeling that only Ricky Bowen could draw out of her). “Ricky, what is this?” She admired the gold charms as they dangled from her wrist— she recalled telling him a few weeks ago how she needed more gold jewelry as she dug through her jewelry box, but she didn’t think he’d buy her something.
“They represent our moments in time.” He ran his fingers over the charms as he talked about them. “The jacket is for the first time I stopped you at the coat check and a car for when I dropped you home, and I’m sure you can imagine what the cup is for.”
“Don’t tell me—”
“The best moment of my junior year. My favorite school dance memory even— After this one of course.” He snuck in a quick cheek kiss as she busted out laughing.
“That’s probably the best memory I have with EJ.”
“That was pretty good, but nothing is gonna top me slapping him.” He shrugged.
“Man, I don’t think you get how much I wish I saw that.”
“I can do it again if you like.”
“I would like that.”
“Remind me next time we see him.”
“And what if a fight breaks out what then?”
“When has EJ Caswell ever been known to fight back?”
“You do have a point there…” She chuckled, “Okay, tell me what the rest of them mean!”
“Right okay. Then there are the chocolates, self-explanatory, and then the snowman, and the Anna charm, because you’ll always be my leading lady, which is also why there’s a playscript. A disco ball is there for the last dance we attended at camp. Lipgloss because you dropped it from your bag at coat check last time, and when you looked up at me after I picked it up for you all I wanted to do was kiss you.”
She looked into his eyes as he uttered those words, and she could feel her cheeks heating up. “But you didn’t because you're the most considerate person I know, Ricky.”
He shrugged. “It just wasn’t the right moment. It— It wouldn’t have felt right to kiss you when you were feeling like that—”
“It would’ve felt right to me, especially after being kissed by a loser all summer—”
“Gina Porter that’s not nice!”
“It’s the truth!”
“Well, can’t argue with that, my girlfriend never lies!”
She grinned, and leaned in towards him, “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing you call me that.” The dancer whispered against his lips and then pressed into them. He deepened the kiss only because he could never not deepen it.
He pulled away from her with a small mwah sound. “If that impresses you, let me finish telling you the charms.”
“Ricky Bowen how much money did you spend on this?!”
“I wouldn’t worry about that. Anyway, there’s a clapper board for the documentary day when you professed your undying love for me, and then there’s a hat.”
“Why’d you say the hat last? It was one of our first memories together.”
“Because it’s the one that means the most to me.”
“Really? Well— It’s important for me too, but why is it the most important for you?”
“Because it’s when I realized what I had for you wasn’t just a silly crush or a way to get over Nini— I wanted you to be my girlfriend, and everything else was so far from my mind after that. My mom, Nini. All I wanted to do was go and have fun with you at Ashlyn’s party. Everything faded when I realized how much you cared about me. That you thought of me enough to take the time to knit me something— That meant the absolute world to me Gina. You mean the absolute world to me, and I never want to lose you.”
“Aw, I love you…” She mumbled pulling him into a hug.
“I love you too.” He nuzzled his head into the crook between her neck and her shoulder (one of his favorite Gina spots). After a second of holding her, he asked, “Gina? Are you crying?”
“Maybe…” She replied as she tried to get rid of her tears without ruining her makeup, pulling back to look at him.
“Yes!” He cheered. “Jet owes me fifty bucks, woohoo!”
“Did you make a bet about my feelings Ricky Bowen?!” She acted as though she was shocked and hurt.
“...I’ll take you out to a movie with the profit?”
“... Let me get the waterworks going again!”
“It’s an extra 25 if you cry about it in front of everyone.”
“Baby, pick out what movie you wanna see, we’re about to earn ourselves 75 dollars!” Gina pecked his lips before pulling him out of coat check and back to the gymnasium.