how you get the girl

chapter nine
( takes place in 1x07 'thanksgiving' )

"there's something about you that makes me want to open up and that's slightly terrifying for me."

- SIMON VS. THE HOMO-SAPIENS AGENDA

If everything were perfect, the way it was in a romcom, then Izzy Cortez would be good at baking. The idea of wearing a cute apron, having flour sprinkled around, and pulling something delicious out of the oven the way that Lara Jean Covey would was incredibly appealing, but unfortunately, Izzy was only hitting two out of the three objectives.

The larger issue was that this dessert wasn't just for her mom and Camilla, who would lie to her and tell her it was delicious even if it fell apart in their hands; this dessert was for Ashlyn's Thanksgiving party. The gathering had started off as a small hangout for a few of the kids in the musical, but it hadn't been long before Carlos had invited all of the theatre kids to a party at Ashlyn's after dinner.

Izzy had sensed Ashlyn's anxiety from across the room and had approached her after rehearsal to ask if there was anything she could do to help, and had found herself promising to be the sole person responsible for the dessert. Looking back, this seemed incredibly stupid on Izzy's part. She should've volunteered for something easier, like ordering the pizza, and should've left the baking to Ashlyn, who was a part of East High's baking club.

The doorbell ringing pulled Izzy out of her thoughts and away from her questionable-looking batter. She hastily wiped her hands on her already filthy apron before pulling the door open for Ricky, who bit back a smile at the sight of her.

"Hey, Iz. You've got a little something there," Ricky said, gesturing along her face and neck area, and Izzy sighed.

"You should come in. I'm going to need a minute," Izzy said as she blindly wiped at her face and neck.

Ricky followed her into the house to the kitchen, and she heard his sharp intake of breath when he caught sight of the mess she had made.

"I take it, it's going well?" Ricky asked as he walked over to the bowl of batter and looked inside.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not a very talented baker," Izzy said, and Ricky bit back a smile.

"What were you trying to make?" Ricky asked, and Izzy sighed.

"Cupcakes," She admitted, and Ricky nodded slowly.

"Well, the batter has an...interesting consistency, but I think it's salvageable. Do you want some help? I am weirdly good at baking, in case you forgot." Ricky said, referring to the cookies he had made her a few weeks ago.

"Yes, please," Izzy said, and Ricky grinned.

"Okay, but let's get you a little cleaned up first. How did you manage to get batter on your neck and face?" Ricky asked with a small laugh.

"I think I was whisking too hard and it kind of splattered everywhere," Izzy said, wiping her face self-consciously.

"Come here, I'll help," Ricky said, and Izzy followed him over to the sink. While she rinsed her hands, he put a small washcloth under the water and began to wipe off the batter on her face and neck.

"Thanks," Izzy said once he set the washcloth down.

"I missed a spot," He said quietly, and gently reached forward to swipe at her bottom lip with his thumb. He held it up for her to see the batter.

"Of course, that was the spot you missed with the washcloth," Izzy teased, although her rapid heart rate didn't match her casual tone.

"Yeah, well, I was thinking of kissing it off, but no one's around to see, so..." Ricky trailed off with a shrug, and Izzy struggled to keep her mouth from falling open in shock. What did that mean?

"Well, we should get started on fixing the batter," Izzy said, brushing past him to walk over to the counter.

"Right," Ricky said, following close behind.

They worked in silence after that, although it was mainly Ricky doing the work and Izzy watching over his shoulder, trying not to get too close. However, once the cupcakes were safely in the oven, Izzy took the lead with the cleaning.

The kitchen had turned into such a nightmare during their baking that by the time it was finally clean, the cupcakes were ready to come out of the oven, and Ricky set them on the counter to cool before frosting them. Izzy set a timer and Ricky pulled the frosting out of the fridge where it had been sitting.

"So, how was your Thanksgiving?" Izzy asked once everything had been set up.

"It was whatever. You?" Ricky asked, but Izzy noticed his complete evasion of her question.

"Did something happen?" She asked gently, hopping up on the counter in front of him. Ricky hesitated for a moment and Izzy gently took one of his hands in her own, holding it in her lap, conscious of Ricky's eyes trailing her movements.

"It's just that it's my first Thanksgiving without both my parents. It's weird," Ricky said quietly, and Izzy nodded.

"I get it," Izzy said, and Ricky's eyes immediately flew to hers.

"I'm sorry, Iz, I didn't mean-" Ricky began, but Izzy quickly cut him off.

"Don't apologize. Just because our situations are different doesn't mean yours isn't difficult as well. I meant that I understand the weird feeling that comes with the first holiday without a parent. I don't completely understand your situation, but I'm familiar with it. And I'm always open to hearing about it," Izzy said gently, and Ricky frowned.

"I feel selfish complaining about it to you, though," Ricky said, and Izzy gave his hand, which was still sitting in her lap, a gentle squeeze.

"I promise it's okay, Ricky. I always want to hear what you have to say," Izzy said, and Ricky nodded hesitantly.

"Okay, well, it's my first Thanksgiving without my mom, and I'm not sure how to go about it. Like I don't know if I should call her or not," Ricky said, keeping his eyes trained on their entwined hands rather than looking at Izzy as he spoke.

"I don't think you should do anything you're uncomfortable with, Ricky. You are your parents' first priority, and your mom will understand if you're not ready to speak to her yet. And your dad will also understand if you do want to speak to her because she's your mom. It's a confusing situation, but it isn't one you should be feeling guilty about," Izzy said, trying not to notice when Ricky began tracing circles on her hand.

"Yeah, I guess. I just...I don't know." Ricky said, and Izzy gently reached out to tilt his head up so that he was looking at her rather than their hands.

"I think that right now you should just try to focus on the party and your friends, and if at the end of the night you're still thinking about this, then maybe you should give her a call," Izzy said, letting her hand linger along Ricky's jawline. He nodded before turning into her hand and pressing a soft kiss to her palm. The intimacy of the gesture made Izzy's stomach drop and her cheeks heat up, and they only turned brighter when Ricky shifted to face her. Neither of them spoke as they simply stared at each other.

"I don't know how, but talking to you is so easy. It's always been hard for me to open up, especially about this stuff. It's like I have all the words before, but I couldn't make sense of them, but with you, it just all falls into place," Ricky said, and Izzy felt her blush return slightly.

"You make me feel that way too. I'm glad we have that with each other," Izzy said softly, and Ricky nodded.

"This year has been a really weird and difficult one so far, but going through it with you has made everything more manageable," Ricky said, and Izzy smiled.

"I'm really glad, Ricky," Izzy said, and once again she noticed how close they had gotten. She was still seated on top of the counter, but Ricky had settled in between her legs and was leaning against the counter slightly, with her hand that he had kissed trapped underneath his.

Silence fell over them once again as they stared at each other. It felt so strange that a face she had grown so accustomed to had been one that she'd barely known only a few short months ago. Back in September, Izzy hadn't seen how Ricky's eyes brightened and crinkled up when he laughed, she hadn't noticed the small scar near his bottom lip, hadn't known how those lips felt against her own.

The sound of Izzy's timer going off pulled both of them out of their thoughts, and Ricky let go of her hand, seemingly reluctantly, to check on the cupcakes.

"Should we frost one and try it first?" Ricky asked, and Izzy nodded. She watched as he picked up the piping bag full of frosting and carefully covered the top of the cupcake. He brought the cupcake back over to her on the counter and held it out to her.

"You want the first bite?" He asked, but Izzy shook her head.
"You should have it. It's thanks to you we even have cupcakes right now," Izzy said, and Ricky grinned a bit bashfully before taking a large bite of the cupcake.

"It's good," Ricky said, his mouth full, and Izzy laughed. He had managed to get the frosting all over his lips and a bit on his nose too. Before Izzy could talk herself out of the intrusive thought, she reached forward and swiped some of the frosting off of his lips and onto her pointer finger, before popping it into her mouth.

"You're right, it is good," Izzy said with a small smile, and she felt her stomach flutter slightly at the look on Ricky's face. He had swallowed his bite of the cupcake, and his lips were parted slightly, with his eyes were trained on her.

"Sorry," Izzy said, the apology coming out in a whisper as she blushed under his intense gaze. She wasn't sure why she'd done it, but she had felt the urge to push the boundaries a little and make him as flustered as he so often made her.

"Don't apologize," Ricky said, just as quietly, and he swayed closer to her, as if she was tugging him toward her on a string or hypnotizing him.

"What time are you kids going to the party?" Izzy's mom's voice came from the kitchen doorway just as Ricky found himself between Izzy's legs again, and they both spun around to face her mom.

"Uh, we were just about to leave, Mom. We were just going to frost the rest of the cupcakes," Izzy said as Ricky gave her a mom a weak wave in greeting, which she returned with an amused smile.

"Okay, just don't stay out too late," Izzy's mom said before disappearing from the kitchen, and Izzy let out some of the air she'd been holding in before turning back to Ricky. He had moved back a little when her mom entered the kitchen, leaving a bit of room for Izzy to hop down from the counter. However, she seemed to have misjudged the distance and bumped his chest against hers as she landed snugly in between his body and the counter. Silence fell over them once again as they stared at each other.

"We should probably frost the cupcakes," Izzy said, and Ricky nodded slowly, as if coming out of a trance.

"Yeah, right, we should," Ricky said, taking a step back and turning toward the rest of the cupcakes.

They worked in silence after that. (Although Izzy could still hear her heartbeat thrumming in her ears.).

.⋅ ✯ ⋅.

They arrived at the party slightly later than everyone else, with the cupcakes in tow. Due to the awkwardness still lingering between the two of them, Izzy offered to get the pair of them some snacks while Ricky saved her a seat. She was loading up her plate in the kitchen when she felt a pair of eyes on her, and she turned to find EJ, who looked wary.

"Hey, I didn't want to bother you. I was just getting a soda," EJ said, and Izzy offered him a small smile.

"Don't worry, you're not bothering me," Izzy said, moving to the side so he could reach the drinks at the end of the table.

"I saw you and Ricky walking in together, and he seems nice. You...you guys seem good together." EJ said, and Izzy turned to him in surprise.

"Thanks, that's sweet of you, EJ," Izzy said, and he nodded.

"I just wanted to apologize again. For everything. I've been treating you terribly since the year started, and I really want to put an end to that. Maybe we can't be friends, but I hope we can be cordial." EJ said, and Izzy nodded slowly.

"Cordial is good. And maybe friends would be good too, if we give it time," Izzy offered kindly, and a small smile appeared on EJ's face. "How was your Thanksgiving?" Izzy asked tentatively, and EJ's smile dropped.

"It was what it was," EJ said, and Izzy nodded. She knew that EJ's dad had a talent for making any holiday a miserable one for his son, which was why EJ had been having Thanksgiving dinner at her house since they had started dating. "I missed being with you and your family. I especially missed your mom and her mashed potatoes," EJ admitted, and Izzy laughed.

"She missed you too," Izzy said, and EJ's expression notably brightened.

"Really?" He asked and she hesitated, not wanting to crush his excitement.

"Well, no, not really. It's hard to miss the guy who broke her daughter's heart. She kind of wants to throw the mashed potatoes in your face rather than have you eat them," Izzy said lightly, and although his expression dimmed, his smile remained.

"That's completely justified," He said as the pair of them made their way back to the living room, where Carlos had set up a game.

Izzy paused in the doorway when she noticed Nini sitting beside Ricky in the seat Izzy had assumed was hers. The two of them were laughing together, and the smile on Ricky's face made Izzy falter slightly as an uneasy feeling settled in her stomach.

"Do you want to sit beside me, Iz?" EJ asked, making Izzy turn to face him. The expression on his face was earnest, and Izzy hesitated slightly before nodding and joining him on one of Ashlyn's armchairs, which was big enough to seat them both. She balanced her plate between them on their knees and tried not to think too hard about the fact that she and EJ were eating a plate of food meant for her and Ricky, while Ricky and Nini were having a conversation on a pair of seats meant for Ricky and Izzy.

This was what they had wanted. This was how they had planned it, and things were finally falling into place. However, a small part of Izzy, a part that she had pushed deep down, seemed to feel that things were starting to fall apart, rather than into place.

.⋅ ✯ ⋅.

author's note!

back with another chapter! this one is a lot shorter and mainly just a filler and hopefully the next few chapters will be longer and more drama filled. the season is almost over and i can't wait even though i still have to work through planning season two. can't wait for more  izzy and ricky pining!

as always thank you so much for reading and i can't wait to see you all in the next chapter!

- maya 🤍