Ricky nearly snorted, rolling his eyes as her “insecure” jab hit him, not quite as deep as she’d probably hoped. He leaned in, a smirk tugging at his mouth. “Insecure? Nah. Bored. Very. And you, Miss Annie Williams, just happened to scare away my entertainment for the night. So blame yourself for that one,” he fired back, tossing his hands up in mock surrender. Without missing a beat, he took a swig from his bottle, the burn reminding him of exactly how loose he felt right now.
As she did her exaggerated imitation of him, Ricky only sighed, amused but not about to let her get the last laugh. “Oh, please, hold on a second,” he shot back, straightening up and switching to his best Annie voice, chin tilted just so. “‘Look at me, I’m Annie freakin’ Williams." he slurred, waving his hands in the air for effect, almost like he was conducting some invisible orchestra. “My mom’s on world tour, my dad’s…I don’t know, getting his heart broken in tabloids or something” he half-muttered, almost like he was making it up on the spot. “And I’m soooo… damaged,” he paused, blinking at her as if just realizing what he was saying. “But hey, don’t worry—‘damaged’ only goes so far, right? Still too good to talk to the one and only Enrique Montoya, right?”
He stumbled through the last part with a mockingly grand gesture, almost knocking over his cup before he caught himself, a laugh bubbling out that was a little too loud. Taking another shot, he felt his mind buzz with a careless energy, his gaze fixed back on her, almost challenging.
“Oh man, you’re funny, I’ll give you that,” he said, his grin turning a bit lopsided. “But for real—are you always this defensive? Or is this just for me?” He leaned in, taking another sip, feeling bolder by the second. “Come on, Annie, lighten up! You’re at a party. Take a shot or two, relax a little. Or hey, if you’d rather, take a shot at me. I’ll survive,” he added with a shrug, taking another swig himself. “Either way, I’m not even gonna remember this whole thing tomorrow.” He finished with a lazy grin, looking her up and down, trying to read her expression but also too buzzed to focus entirely.
@novella