Ricardo's excitement is almost unbearable. He bites his thumbnail and taps at the match listing with his pen, reading and rereading it to ensure that everything looks correct. He's still lost in thought when Alicia's arms appear in his line of sight, wrapping around his neck. "Hey," he says, resting his hand on her wrist.
"Hey," she says, kissing his neck. "You're, like, vibrating," she giggles. "Excited much?"
"A little," he admits with a huffed laugh. "My birthday, the show, a new recovery chip. A lot's going on this weekend."
"It is," she says, hugging him tighter. "I'm very proud of you."
"I'm glad you and Andre are going to be in the crowd," he says softly, leaning back into her warmth.
"Me too," she says. "And in two years or so, the twins will be old enough to come to the third annual show."
Ricardo peers up at her, smiling faintly. "You have so much faith in me."
"Always," she murmurs, tilting her face and kissing him on the lips. "I always, always will."
"I love you," he tells her.
"I love you too," she murmurs, nuzzling against him. "So are you done booking it or are you making last minute changes?"
"Nah, it's booked," he says. "Just needed a minute to sit and think, I guess."
"Do you want to be left alone for a bit? Give yourself some time to decompress before everything begins?"
"No, I like when you're with me," he says, wrapping his hand around her wrist and squeezing gently. "You don't have to leave."
"Alright," she hums. "I'll leave." She kisses him again before taking a seat in the chair next to him.
"Maybe if I recite the schedule for the rest of the day, it'll help my nerves a bit," he suggests.
She smiles. "Go ahead, then," she encourages him, settling back to listen.
As he begins reciting the hours leading up to the event, she takes his hand and begins to soothingly massage his knuckles, only commenting if something sounds a little wrong or contradictorary to what he'd already said.
Once he finishes, he exhales slowly and leans into her. "I don't know what I'd do without you. Thank you."
She smiles, kisses him again. "You'll never have to find out," she promises.
