Since completing rehab, waking up every morning feels like a new start for Ricardo. He sits on the side of the bed, twirling his chip between his fingers as Alicia hums behind him, wrapping an arm around him. "I'm so proud of you," she mumbles, kissing his sleep-warmed shoulder.
"Thank you," he sighs, putting the chip down on the bedside table. "So," he says, twisting to hold her close. "What do you want to do this holiday? What do you feel up to?"
She mulls it over and kisses him lazily. "Well, I wasn't sure what all there was to do around here, but there' a firework display at the park. What do you think?"
"I think it sounds great," he says, stroking her jaw. "But, I think Andre is still a little too young for fireworks. So I think I'll ask Sofia if she's ok with staying with him, so you and I can enjoy a little time by ourselves. Maybe a picnic. We can bring our own food, or eat whatever concessions they have there. How does that sound?"
"It sounds great," she murmurs, tracing her fingers through his hair. "But maybe first..."
He laughs as she whispers in his ear, hands warm as they tease under his shirt. "Yeah, sounds great," he agrees, sprawling his hand out over the curve of her back. "Perfect start to the holiday..."
Alicia giggles too, and he hums appreciatively as she kisses him deep, the two of them pressing into the pillows as they explore and tease each other.
-x
Later, after getting the go-ahead from Sofia and kissing Andre good night, they walk hand in hand through one of the sprawling parks they were directed to online, Alicia looking around. "wow, this place is huge," she muses. "A lot of activities for when Andre is old enough to enjoy it too."
He grins. "Yeah." Guiding her towards the grass, he sprawls out the blanket they'd brought and a couple of pillows in case she gets uncomfortable on the ground. "Go get comfortable, and I'll go get some food for us."
"Ok," Alicia says, leaning in to kiss him. "I'll be right here waiting."
He chases her for another kiss, then turns to rush over to the concessions stand before lines get worse. He's a little impressed by all of the choices, deciding to order one of pretty much everything in case Alicia wants to split. He mulls over the ice cream before ordering two of them just to make sure they don't sell out before he comes back, deciding they can eat dessert and main course at the same time, or backwards, whichever Alicia wants. "Pregnant lady prerogative," he murmurs as he walks back through the growing crowd of people to find Alicia once more.
He smiles and hands over one of the piles of food, watching her eyes widen as she takes it all in. "You got ice cream?!"
"Yeah," he laughs. "They were talking about it selling out, so I decided to grab a couple while I could."
"Good planning," she hums happily, already digging into the chocolate sundae.
He laughs a little and unwraps one of the cheeseburgers, humming as he takes a bite. "Damn," he sighs. "That's pretty good."
Alicia hums and alternates between the chili dog and ice cream, toes curling in pleasure. "I love this," she sighs. "The food, the fireworks, the warm weather. It's just great."
He beams at her. "It does feel different, celebrating this year in Pennsylvania, huh?"
"It does," she says once she swallows down her mouthful. "I like it though."
Ricardo hums and looks around at the families surrounding them, kids playing around and parents doing their best to keep things under some control. "You know, I do too," he says. "It's gonna be even better when Andre is old enough to properly enjoy it as well."
Alicia beams at him. "Yeah," she says. "It really, really will be." Leaning in, she kisses him, tasting like chocolate. "I can't wait."
Ricardo cups her face and kisses her again, nodding. "Me neither," he says softly.
