There Was You

Holding her hair tie between her teeth, Riley gathered her messy hair in her hands, pulling it into a ponytail before she tied it in place, allowing her to refocus her attention on the half-packed box which sat in the space in front of her. She had been at it for a while, with her having finished work early that afternoon, she had opted to make the most of the time off by packing up a few more of her things, but still she hadn’t made much of a dent in packing up her apartment, even if the boxes were starting to pile up. There was still a lot of stuff that needed to be put in boxes. She knew that there was no hurry on it, like everything else between her and Iker, her moving out of her apartment and into his place was something they’d agreed to take slowly, but Riley didn’t want to hang around too much, eager for the two of them to take the next step forwards.

Ensuring that her hair was pushed off of her face, she gently slipped her glasses back up her nose before the sound of the doorbell reached her ears, something which caused her to groan quietly to herself. Standing up, she wiped some dust off of the pair of leggings that she wore before she padded down the hall, pulling the door open.

Iker, who was stood on the other side, looked up, a small furrow appearing in his forehead. “Is that what you’re wearing?” he asked.

Riley blinked a couple of times, glancing down at the t-shirt and leggings that she wore, before looked up, a frown on her face. “Wearing for what?” she asked.

“The dinner plans we made” Iker replied “I mean, you do know what today is, right?” he prodded.

Riley stared at him for a second, her eyes searching his expression for the answer, before she let out a soft gasp, her eyes widening. “Oh my god” she murmured softly “It’s...It’s our anniversary and I forgot it. How could I...I am so sorry, Iker” she stumbled out.

Iker quirked a faint smile, shaking his head a little. “It’s Ok” he noted.

“It is not” Riley argued “I just need a few minutes. I can pull on a nice dress and run a brush through my hair and then we can go” she insisted, turning to walk back into the apartment.

Iker, however, was a fraction quicker, his fingers gently curving around her wrist. “We could do that” he noted “Or, I could take a walk to that supermarket down the street and pick us up something for dinner and a lovely bottle of wine. I mean, dinner is dinner, no?” he prodded, a slightly impish smile on his lips.

Riley shook her head. “We had plans” she mumbled.

“We can change them” Iker countered easily.

Riley opened her mouth to object, but stopped herself as Iker stepped a little closer, dipping his head so that he could steal a quick kiss. “I’m going to go” he mumbled between kisses “No matter what you say” he added, an impish smile visible on his lips.

Riley glanced up at him through her eyelashes before she shook her head, a small smile twitching at the corner of her lips. “Gracias” she murmured.

Iker stole another quick kiss before he leant past Riley, collecting her keys from their spot on the hook. “I’ll be right back” he chirped before he ducked out of the apartment, pulling the door closed with a soft thump behind himself.

~#~
“When was this one taken?”

Riley, who was finishing up her glass of wine, wrinkled her nose a little, her eyes studying the photograph that Iker held up. It had been a good night, despite the sudden change of plans, their night had been romantic and relaxed, and Riley had enjoyed it, even if she did still feel guilty for having forgotten that that night was their first anniversary. Iker hadn’t let her dwell on it.

“Where did you find that?” Riley asked.

“There’s an album of them over here” Iker quipped “How old were you?” he added, turning the picture around so that he could look at it again.

Riley shook her head, her cheeks glowing with a familiar pink hue. “Fifteen, maybe?” she replied “I’d made a pact with Marisol. She wanted to see what she’d look like as a brunette so I agreed that I would dye my hair blonde. Needless to say, I went home looking like that and my parents threw a fit and grounded me for over a month” she quipped.

Iker laughed into his drink. “You look good as a blonde” he noted.

Riley smirked. “Better?” she prodded.

Iker scoffed playfully. “Of course not” he noted “You’re just beautiful, Ry” he added warmly.

Riley’s teasing smile softened a little before she shook her head, diverting her stare down towards the empty glass in her hand. Messing with the glass, she was quiet for a few seconds before she gently lifted her hand, tucking her hair behind her ear. “One year” she mumbled “Can you quite believe that?” she asked, a shy laugh tumbling out of her mouth.

Iker, who’d been perusing the photo album in his lap, quirked a half-smile to himself. “The first of many” he quipped “Though, we should probably mark it on a calendar for next year so someone doesn’t forget” he teased, playfully stressing the word ‘someone’ with a pointed glance at Riley.

Riley tossed a ball of bubble wrap at him, shaking her head amusedly. “I’ve got a lot on my mind” she countered “I mean, between work, packing up my stuff to move in with you and thinking over wedding plans, there’s a lot to think about. It just slipped my mind, but I promise, next year, we’ll do the fancy dinner and stuff you had planned for tonight” she insisted.

“No, we won’t” Iker countered “This time next year, we’ll be on our honeymoon” he added enthusiastically.

Riley couldn’t stop her grin growing. “Yeah?” she prodded.

“Somewhere quiet” Iker mused “Romantic...private” he added with an exaggerated wink.

Riley squeaked with laughter before she grimaced, noticing how loud it was. “You’re the worst at flirting” she noted.

Iker lifted an amused eyebrow. “Are you a little drunk, Munuera?” he asked.

Riley feigned shock. “Me?” she asked impishly “Of course not” she added.

Iker laughed. “Marisol was right about one thing” he noted “You’re fun when you’re drunk” he added.

Riley scoffed. “Are you saying that I am not fun usually?” she asked.

Iker offered her a non-committal shrug, his impish grin still stuck to his face.

“I’m fun” Riley insisted “Drunk or not, I am a lot of fun” she added, a pout on her features.

Iker watched her for a moment, his eyes studying the expression on her face, before he shuffled the photo album out of his lap, allowing him to push himself to his feet. Shuffling across the room, he plopped down onto the coffee table which sat ahead of where Riley sat before he cupped her chin, guiding her eyes upwards to meet his. “You’re amazing” he mused gently “You’re fun. You’re clever. You’re just the right amount of shy. You’re gorgeous. You’re wonderful, Riley, and I love every little bit of you, you know that?” he murmured, a softer smile on his face.

Riley’s eyes searched his for a second before she nodded. “Of course I do” she murmured “I mean, you’ve definitely seen my worst. If that wasn’t enough to shake you...” she trailed off, a faint smile passing over her lips.

Iker laughed gently before he dipped forwards, kissing her sweetly for a few seconds before Riley reached a hand up, gripping the front of his shirt to keep him from pulling away too far. Smiling against her lips, he allowed the kiss to linger for a few more seconds before he shuffled back to his feet, offering his hand out towards her. Riley eyed it for a second, a faint blush on her cheeks, before she took a hold of it, allowing him to lead her through the apartment towards her bedroom.