AN: Greetings. If you're still out there...haha I promise to explain. Just read first.
Amy adjusted the strap on her shoulder as she exited the cab. She straightened her scarf and brushed a hand through her hair, turning to the thick-accented cab driver with a smile, "What do I owe you?"
He tipped his hat to her and leaned toward the window, "Eight fifty sweetheart."
Amy clicked open her wallet and pulled out a ten, handing it to the cabbie with another smile and waved him off, "Keep the change."
He pursed his lips in gratitude and tipped his hat once more, "Thanks doll," and then pulled away from the curb, Amy, taking a minute to sigh deeply, more at peace than she had felt in weeks. Her thoughts faded to only a few hours ago when she had last been with Ricky and she couldn't help the smile as the memory grew clearer and clearer.
"What are you doing tonight?" He asked as they walked together back towards the Foundation; his arm curled around her shoulders as her own stayed secure around his waist.
"Mm, nothing, why?" She was leaning into him as they turned the corner and he smirked, mentally marking the spot where he had kissed her for what he thought would be the last time.
"I just thought maybe you'd like to have dinner with me tonight. Maybe make up for the last two weeks and get a jump start on the rest of the summer?" He glanced down at her as he slipped a hand into his pocket, "What do you say? I'll cook?"
She smiled up at him and rested a hand on his chest, stopping them in place. "You cook?"
He nodded, "Margaret and Shakur taught me when I was younger and I sometimes cook at home for my dad and my brother." He pulled her by the hips closer to him and tilted his head to the side, "Come on, what do you say? I'll cook, you bake, we could make an evening out of it."
She laughed and pressed her lips to his before pulling away with a sigh, "Aren't you sick of me yet?"
He snorted and rolled his eyes as he slipped himself back around her shoulders and pressed on, "Yeah, like that's a possibility. So what do you say? Dinner? My place? Tonight?"
She pretended to mull over the question, but he could tell by the glow on her face that she wouldn't say no, not now when they were neck deep in the new honeymoon stage of everything. "Alright," she sighed, "If you insist."
He laughed and rolled his eyes, "I know it would be such an imposition on you, but I promise you'll have a good time."
She chuckled and leaned her head against his shoulder, "So what time? And where should I meet you?"
"Well, what time do you get off work?"
"Three," she answered as the Foundation came into view, another two blocks and they would be right at the entrance.
"Mm," he responded, "I don't get off until five, but let's say, you go home, change and do whatever you need to and then meet me at the office right at five? We'll take my car, head to the grocery store and then home?"
Amy turned to look up at him and furrowed her brow, "You sure you don't want me to just go get the groceries and meet you at home? It'll give you time to get ready and what not."
He shook his head and kissed her forehead, "It's fine. I want to make sure we get stuff that we both like, so it'd be better if we shop together."
She narrowed her gaze at him and tried to fix him with a steely glare, "Are you saying you don't trust my taste in groceries? Like I'll come back with something gross and disgusting?"
He laughed and kissed her in response, letting his hand graze the bottom of her ponytail before pulling away, "Not at all, I trust you, I do. But I also want to try and utilize all the time that we have and if that means spending a good half hour or so with you at the grocery store, then so be it."
She rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Alright," she conceded, "good answer."
He smiled and rested his forehead against hers, breathing her in like a load of fresh laundry and catching the darkening of her eyes, "So I'll meet you tonight?"
She reached up, looking as though she was going to kiss him, but only ghosted over his lips as she replied, "See you at five," and then pulled away, leaving him without so much as a look back.
She had to admit the incredible sense of joy that enveloped her once she had been able to get out what she wanted to say to Ricky. It was overwhelming and addicting and made her absolutely sure that this was the right decision to make. Yes, she had intended, prior to her conversation with her mother, to tell Ricky that they needed to keep their distance, maybe that it would be best that they didn't see each other at all for a while. But she couldn't bear for that to be the answer and had kept asking for others' opinions. It was after she had talked to her mother, heard her story and her thoughts on her father that she realized, not only did Ricky deserve a chance, but that she wanted to give him one. That was the reason she was so conflicted and had not known what to do about everything, because she didn't want to just cut him off, she wanted to be with him, even if it meant it would only be for a summer. That was when she knew that there was no point fighting it and that if there was a risk worth taking it would be with Ricky Underwood.
Turning to look back toward the tall Boykewich Butchers Headquarters she bit her lip and shook her head, the strange vision of a building built of meat crossing her mind for only a second before she shook it away. She stifled a laugh and sighed, slipping her wallet back into her purse. Heading toward the glass revolving door she slipped her hands into her coat pockets and pushed through, walking to the front desk.
The guard directed her to take the elevator to the twenty-third floor and she thanked him, slightly in awe of the fact that there were twenty three floors to begin with. She knew BB was a big company, but not that big. She squished herself into the corner of the elevator as other people filed in behind her and leaned against the wall. The elevator music was light and soothing, almost making her sleepy, but every ding of the doors opening kept her from dozing off. Soon enough she found herself to be the only one left to head up to the twenty third floor and took a huge breath, feeling less claustrophobic.
Finally the elevator doors dinged on 23 and she straightened her outfit once more. Stepping out of the elevator she slowly took in her surroundings, the sound of ringing telephones and office chatter filling the air. The elevator hallway led right to a reception desk and Amy cautiously approached, hoping that she had heard the guard right and didn't somehow end up on the wrong floor. The lady sitting at the desk was busy typing away and Amy bit her lip as she took notice to her. "Can I help you?" she asked, tilting her head with a standard corporate smile. Amy smiled politely back and nodded.
"Uh, yes," she sighed, "I'm here to see Ricky Underwood, do you know where I could find him?"
The receptionist nodded and stood from her seat, "Oh you must be Amy, Ricky mentioned you would stop by." Amy tried not to look confused as the woman came around her desk and slipped a hand onto her shoulder, leading her further down the hall passed a mass of cubicles. "He and Mr. Giuseppe are still in their meeting, but he said if you showed up to just let you into his office."
Amy's brow furrowed in confusion, "Office? I-"
"Oh Karlee!" The receptionist had turned her attention away from Amy and looked to be beckoning someone over, "could you please show Miss Juergens to Mr. Giuseppe's office, she's to wait there for Mr. Underwood."
Amy turned just in time to see the leggy brunette that Ricky had been getting out of the cab with a few days prior to, runway walking toward her. She felt something inside her shift uncomfortably. "Why, of course, Linda. I'd be happy to."
Amy forced a smile as Karlee motioned her forward, suddenly feeling incredibly out of place beside Karlee's tight black pencil skirt and blue top that did wonders for her figure. Amy felt clunky and misshapen next to her and all of the confidence she had felt earlier was slowly slipping away from her. "Thank you," she said, both to Linda and to Karlee before following after the young intern. She forced herself to remain calm and instead focused on the incredible view the 23rd floor had over the city.
"So, you must be a friend of Ricky's," Karlee said, her voice dripping with a tone that Amy could not exactly place, but couldn't exactly enjoy either.
"Something like that," She said, choosing instead to not comment. She didn't actually know what to term she and Ricky, but thought it best to not engage. The girl clearly had her ideas for Ricky, but Amy didn't want to get sucked into that kind of downward spiral. After all, she couldn't control it if other girls were attracted to him, as long as he said true to his word to her they would be fine.
"You were the one we ran into the other night on our way to dinner right? What was your name again? Annie? Allie?"
"Amy," she sighed, picking up her pace so that she would stay in step with the brunette. Being led like a child did not sit well with her. "My name is Amy," she said again, "and yes, that was me. And you're…." She honestly couldn't remember the girl's name.
"Karlee," she supplied, "With two e's at the end. Nice to meet you officially, though to be honest, I didn't know you existed until Ricky and I bumped into you." Amy didn't like the way she said, "Ricky and I". She didn't like the implication of it, like they were one unit.
"Well," Amy sighed, "He didn't mention you either so I guess we're even." Amy bit her tongue as she thought of Ashley and how she would respond to such a girl. Clearly, sarcasm with indifference was the best form of defense. 'Never let 'em see you sweat" and all.
Karlee practically sneered at her, but said nothing as they came up to a big office. "Mr. Underwood will be with you in a moment," she hissed, opening the door to let Amy in.
Amy smiled brightly and nodded, "Thanks again," then closed the door on her, letting out a sigh as she turned to the office. There was a roaring in her chest that was difficult to ignore; a nagging sensation that seemed to bubble within her until she could nearly taste the revulsion she had for the leggy intern on her tongue. "Karlee," Amy breathed. "What kind of a name is Karlee? And with two e's?" She rolled her eyes and strode forward into the office, taking in her surroundings so as to hopefully distract from the encounter.
The office was a large one, set up with an imposing, mahogany desk, in front of a grand window. There were two loveseats facing each other, separated by a coffee table and a mini bar up against the wall. It was furnished in dark palate, deep brown woods and garnet reds, and the walls were adorned with old black and white photos of the first Boykewich Butchers, along with, what Amy guessed to be, family photos. Right above the mini bar beside a large picture of the first Boykewich Butchers' store front was a picture of a man in his early forties, flanked by two thirteen year old boys. The three seemed incredibly happy as they laughed at some unknown joke to each other and Amy recognized the thick coif of Ricky. She couldn't keep from smiling as she mused over how adorable he was five years younger.
A gruff cough prompted her to turn in surprise, an elderly gentleman in a suit watching her from the doorway. "Oh," she said in a breathy tone, her shoulders beginning to tense, "Sorry…I was told to wait-"
"My nephew will only be a moment longer," the man said in a deep voice, closing the door behind him and striding toward the desk. He set his briefcase down and unbuttoned his jacket; leaving Amy to do nothing more than watch as he situated himself. "So, you must be the girl he's been daydreaming about all day."
Amy bit her lip and felt her face grow warm, "I should hope so." The old man let out a laugh and nodded, taking off his jacket and draping it over the back of the chair. "I'm Amy," she said, stepping forward and reaching her hand over his desk. The man grasped it in a firm handshake and nodded with a tight nod.
"Benjamin Giuseppe, pleasure to make your acquaintance." He crossed from behind his desk and motioned towards the couch closest to the pictures, "So, tell me a little bit about yourself Amy. Ricky's told me you work for Margaret and Shakur?"
Amy nodded, following the man as he took a seat and followed suit. "Yes, I'm a day camp counselor for the Foundation, have been for the passed few years."
"And you're in incoming senior?"
"Junior," Amy corrected.
"Ah," Giuseppe nodded, "Have you thought about college options?"
Amy nodded, relaxing into the conversation and understanding why Ricky loved his uncle so much. He may be an impressive man, most likely intimidating in a business setting, but he was polite and engaging, much like Ricky was, "A bit. I've made a list of schools that I want to look into this coming year, but they're pretty spread out. I suppose wherever the scholarships come from is where I'll end up going."
"That's smart. And what do you want to do?"
Amy smiled and brushed her hair back from her face, "I want to teach. I haven't decided what grade yet, but I know that I want to teach."
"So you like kids then?"
Amy nodded and leaned back into leather cushion of her seat, "Yeah, the love for them and for teaching kind of snuck up on me. I used to dream of playing with the New York Philharmonic, but musicians tend to be too much sometimes."
Mr. Giuseppe laughed and nodded, leaning forward on his knees, "I know what you mean. Back when I around your age I used to play the saxophone. Had this idea of being in a jazz band for the rest of my life."
Amy smiled, "So what changed?"
"Well," Mr. Giuseppe sighed, "I was in this band playing at some smoky jazz club out in Jersey, when our piano player pitched a fit over some chord progression he claimed I was getting wrong. We ended up getting into this huge argument and I ended up punching his lights out. We didn't make our show." He laughed and shook his head. "At the time we were trying to make it big and I think that's precisely what killed the love for it. It stopped being fun and become more about being famous. I didn't want that life so I ended up returning home and getting a job in my best friend's father's butcher shop. I've never looked back. Still play the sax though, from time to time."
Amy chuckled and nodded, resting her bag in her lap, "So were you wrong?" The old man furrowed his brow and Amy tilted her head to the side, "About the chord progression. Were you wrong?"
Mr. Giuseppe eyed her with an amused glint and chuckled, "Girl, best learn now that I am never wrong."
The two shared a bout of laughter as the door swung open, revealing Ricky, taking in the sight of the two of them. "Well, hello. And what are we talking about?"
"Music," Amy supplied, glancing at Mr. Giuseppe with a smile, "Your uncle just told me he used to play the saxophone. I can see where your love for jazz obviously came from."
Ricky smiled and nodded, stepping forward toward the pair. Amy stood to meet him and allowed her eyes to flutter shut as he placed a kiss on her cheek. "Well," Ricky said, slipping an arm around her waist and turning to his uncle, "Thank you for being...strangely hospitable Uncle Ben, I'll see you in the morning?"
Giuseppe grunted and stood, his expression turning back to business as he nodded at the two, "Bright and early. Don't be late." He turned to Amy and sent her a tight-lipped smile, "Good to meet you Amy, hope to see you again soon."
Amy nodded back and waved, "Nice to meet you, Sir."
And with that Ricky guided her out of the office, letting his hand fall to catch hers. He intertwined his fingers with hers and fell in step as they walked through the office. "You're Uncle is nice," she said as they passed through the cubicles and passed Karlee who was fixing Amy with a calculating glare. She smiled politely back and waved, Ricky catching the action and smirking, pressing a kiss to Amy's temple as he too nodded at Karlee. Amy bit her lip and pulled Ricky into the elevator, sequestering them into a corner as the doors closed in front of them. She pressed the ground floor button before leaning up for a kiss. He laughed against her lips as his arm slipped to her waist.
"Yes, my uncle is a nice man, but only to those he likes. Consider yourself lucky."
Amy kissed him once more, her own hands sliding up to rest on the lapels of his jacket. The elevator let out a soft ping, signaling the arrival of other people entering and Amy quickly pulled away, squeezing herself closer to Ricky as the elevator filled up.
"Do you?" she asked, her voice just above a whisper.
"Hmm?" The scent of her shampoo was distracting him as he rested his forehead against the top of her head.
"Do you consider yourself lucky?"
He chuckled into her hair, ghosting another kiss on the edge of her forehead as he shook his head, "Dumb question." Amy laughed and leaned back. Soon enough they found themselves on the ground floor, Ricky waving goodbye to the guard at the reception area and then leading her across the street to a local market. They teased each other all through the pasta aisle, debating on the type of pasta and the type of sauce to get. Eventually they settled on spaghetti while Ricky promised to make Margaret's special meat sauce recipe. Amy in return would take care of the dessert. They parted ways in the produce section, Amy charging Ricky with finding acceptable lemons while she backtracked to the baking aisle. She returned just as he was sorting through the tomatoes with an assortment of baking necessities that Ricky hadn't been sure of if he had at home.
"Did you get them?" she asked as she slid a hand around his back and leaned into his shoulder. He nodded toward the bag holding three lemons in the shopping cart and she reached out for them, checking their firmness and then their smell.
"So, how'd I do?"
She tossed him a mocking glance, watching as his smirk only grew instead of faded and shrugged, "Alright, I guess," she turned to move away, but he was quick to weave an arm around her waist and pull her back, placing a chaste kiss on the point where her shoulder and neck met. She giggled and pushed him away, "Are you ready to go?"
He nodded and slipped his hand into hers, "Come on." He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and quickly paid for the groceries before Amy could protest, shaking his head at her. "It's fine Amy, you paid for lunch, let me worry about dinner alright?" She pouted for only a moment before he kissed it away, chuckling against her lips, then turning to hail a cab.
Once they had slipped inside, he intertwined their fingers once again and told the driver his address. Once the cab had pulled into traffic Ricky turned back to Amy and they shared a smile. "I'm really glad you're here,' he whispered, brushing her hair back from her face. She leaned into his hand and nodded.
"I'm really glad I'm here too."
He leaned forward and placed one last kiss before shifting back into his seat and pulling her in with him. Her head found it's place in the crook of his neck and she sighed into his embrace. They stayed in relative silence as the cab moved slowly through the city traffic. There was a gentle lull of the radio in the background, working in tandem with the twinkling lights outside that were slowly starting to blink into existence. But neither took much notice, instead reveling in the warmth of each other.
Amy traced circles on the "v" below his neck where he had unbuttoned the top two buttons of his white shirt. She fingered the material and snuggled closer to him, her mind replaying everything that had happened that day. It was all so much, almost too much. "Promise me," she sighed, turning ever so slightly to look up at him, "Promise me that every day we have together will be like this. That you won't let me worry about what will happen once your internship ends and you have to go back home. That you won't let me push you away."
His forehead creased in concern, obviously uncertain of where this was all coming from, but Amy gripped his shirt and fixed him with a steady gaze. "Please? Promise me you won't let me ruin this."
Ricky took a minute to respond, his eyes tracing over the entirety of her face before reaching a hand up again to cup her cheek, "Okay," he sighed, dragging his thumb across her cheek. "I promise.
AN: So, first off. Again, apologies. I had planned to finish this story in it's entirety back in May, but packing up my whole life and moving over 7000 miles away from home proved to be more time consuming and rattling than I had thought. Also, the news that I would have internet while I'm here put me at ease. At least I would still have access to my stories and I wouldn't have to force out this story to the point of poor form. But anyway, the facts are that I moved here, to the Philippines, back in May for a job that I then lost upon arrival due to changes in the education system. They added 7th & 8th grade to the school system so all of those extra jobs being made were to be given to teachers who were waiting for jobs before going to volunteer teachers like me.
So...I lost my job, was separated by an ocean from my family, and sitting in limbo unsure of what I was going to do. And then, Praise the Lord, another job came through. An English speaking teacher looking for work gets noticed here in Samar so, the local University asked if I would teach some English subject classes. Boom. Job. The only thing was that I got about three days notice and have been scrambling to put together my lesson plans while, at the same time, trying to produce an atmosphere of professionalism seeing as many of my students are older than me and/or married, and/or with kids. That and I just graduated college. Now I'm supposed to teach it? Strange things are afoot at the circle k my friends. Strange, wonderful, and scary things.
Thankfully, I have been able to adjust and balance myself to the point where I could write and this is the first of many chapters that I have actually written already. So keep a look out for more frequent updates. I hope you're all still out there. If not well...if ever you decide to come back. I'll be here. Updating.
-scribbling wordsmith
