Who wants a romance o/o? (OPEN)

Renee was snickering, so Lilly answered. "It seems to be a family trait."

"Oh, I see," Laura replied, a small smile beginning to spread on her lips.

Renee was about to deny it, but stopped, thinking, and nodded. "No, yeah, it is. Mom was the same way."

Laura wanted to ask about their mother, but her phone buzzed in her back pocket. She had completely forgot about it. It was a miracle that it stayed dry. She slipped it out and looked at the screen. The effect was nearly instant – her entire body froze and her heart started to race.

Nicky had just come back out with a stack of towels, and frowned when he saw Laura. "Hey, what's wrong?" He set the towels on a chair and came over to her, tentatively placing a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up quickly. "Oh, nothing."

"Laura." He said softly, meeting her eyes. "You can talk to me."

"Really, i-it's fine," she said quietly. "I mean, it's nothing…"

He studied her for a moment before gently pulling her into a hug. "If you say so."

She relaxed a little in his arms.

Nicky held her there, humming softly as his sister and Lilly shared a look, getting up and heading inside.

Laura sighed quietly. "I didn't scare you, did I?"

"You kinda did." He admitted, looking down at her.

"I'm sorry," she apologized softly.

"Don't apologize." He pressed a kiss to her hair. "It's cool. I kinda wish you'd talk to me, but only when you're comfortable with it."

"Why do you love me?" she whispered.

"Because you're adorable, and sweet, and amazingly talented." Nicky said softly, looking down at her. "You're smile lights up a room, and you make people happy just by being you. And you're pretty good at making lemonade, too."

She blushed shyly. "You hardly know anything about me…"

"Yeah, true, but I love what I've seen so far. And I can't see any other result than me falling more and more in love with you as time goes on." He kissed her nose, smiling.

Her blush grew. "R-Really?"

"Yup!" He smiled brightly, squeezing her gently.

She let out a small "Eep!" and turned the crimson.

He laughed, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. "Guess what?"

"What?" she asked, a blush spreading quickly on her face.

"The ice cream truck should be coming by soon, if you wanna keep feeling like a little kid." He suggested, a bright smile on his face.

She giggled shyly. "I'm going to write a poem about tonight."

"Oooh, you gotta let me read that!" He said, smile goofy as he took her hand.

"I will," she promised happily, ignoring the sinking feeling that stayed in her heart since she got the text.

He was still curious what had upset her so much earlier, but the sound of an ice cream truck offered up a distraction.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked, squeezing his hand.