06/30/2013
"Max." I'm scooping the last of the strawberry ice cream into my cone when I hear the whisper. "Maxie, over here." I turn slow enough so my bare feet don't squeak on the floor and I silently thank grandpa for not letting us wear shoes in the dojo. Just before the kitchen branches off into the hallway I grab a bowl and carefully place my cone inside.
I bounce around on my heels for a little bit to prepare myself for whatever I'm about to find. The nail on the doorframe jingles when I slide the door open, but it stops when I carefully push it back into place. The part of me that's nervous reminds me how much of an idiot I am, because Tyson and I have watched enough horror movies to know that you should never follow the sounds you hear.
I'm already halfway down the hallway when I hear the wood creaking on my right.
"Max!"
"Oh my god!" The whole bowl almost smashes into the floor, and I just barely catch it in time. Tyson's staring at me when I look up, like he can't understand why I just almost had a heart attack. "What is the matter with you?" Tyson shakes his head and steps closer.
"Forget that right now. I want to go to the beach."
"Um," A little voice tells me that I should just walk away now, because by the time I figure out what's actually happening my ice cream will be melted. "I just- I don't. What?" I don't pretend that I'm not a little offended when Tyson rolls his eye and huffs.
"I want to go to the beach, but Kai's saying that we should train a little bit more today." I look down at my ice cream and wonder if it's too late to walk away.
"And?"
"And, you know." He shifts uncomfortable, but I stare at him expectantly because I don't know. "You and Kai are…. You know." When Tyson blushes I try not to laugh.
"You can say 'dating.' It's not a bad word or anything."
"I know that." Tyson says, but even I can tell that he's embarrassed. "It's just… weird. My best friend and my biggest rival together." He smooshes his hands together in what I assume is his interpretation of Kai and I kissing, so I dip my finger into the ice cream and carefully flick some at him. It's worth it to see him look so surprised when it smacks him in the face.
"He's not just your biggest rival, Tyson. He's you team captain too." He stares are me blankly while he wipes the ice cream off.
"Whatever comfort I was supposed to find in that really didn't work." I know my smile's sheepish, and I really do mean it when I mutter a "Sorry."
"No, Max." Tyson says. "You just seriously made everything, like, ten times worse." I roll my eyes, because I couldn't have made it that bad.
"Tyson! Back to whole beach thing please."
"Right," he nods and looks a little relieved at the sudden topic change. "So I need you to ask Kai if we can go to the beach." My eyebrows scrunch together when I frown.
"But he said no." Tyson looks at my ice cream like he's contemplating just taking it and walking away, so I clutch the bowl a little tighter.
"But if you ask," he says, like it's obvious. "He'll say yes." As soon as he says it I scoff, and Tyson glares at me like I'm being obnoxious.
"That's ridiculous." I yelp when Tyson smacks me on the back of the head. If I wasn't his best friend I would have thought it was because of what I said and not because I threw the ice cream at him.
"No, you're ridiculous. Will you just ask him?"
"Fine." And I only agree because my ice cream isn't really ice cream anymore.
The door is closed, just like how it was when I left. I tap twice before I open it.
"Hey." I can see Kai watching me while I close the door, but then again it wasn't like he was being discreet.
"What happened earlier?" The bowl makes a quiet clang when I place it on his desk.
"Huh?" He eyes the ice cream, raises his eyebrows but other than that doesn't react.
"I heard you scream." Kai says, and the way he looks at me makes me feel like I'm being accused of something.
"Tyson wanted to talk for a little bit." I pick up the spoon and scoop the ice cream into my mouth. It tastes so good that I hum. Out of the corner of my eye I can see him shaking his head at me, and it's just a little bit hilarious. The way he backs up when I offer him a spoonful is even funnier though, because he eyes the ice cream like it's going to jump up and attack. "Want some?"
"It's melted." He points it out like I can't see it myself, so I shrug.
"We had a long conversation." Kai's eyes never leave mine when he leans forward and eats the ice cream off the spoon.
"About what?" He asks, a little after he's swallowed.
"You I guess." I look over at his desk. Dranzer's lying there, along with some polish and a cloth. It's nearly two in the afternoon now, and I frown when I realize that it means Kai's been working in here for more than five hours.
"You talked to Tyson about me?" I don't look away from his desk when I shake my head.
"No, well, yeah sort of. Technically Tyson talked to me about you. Kai," I turn to look at him. "You've been in here since eight." The way he nods so easily, like it's nothing, makes my guts twist. "You need to get some rest. Get out of this room."
"I'm fine." Kai looks away, and he doesn't look back until I brush my fingers against his shoulder.
"Tyson wanted to go to the beach. I think you should go." I can feel it when Kai tenses up.
"Is that what you and Tyson talked about?"
"Yeah." I say, and I look him in the eyes because I feel like he's expecting me to lie to him.
"So are you telling me as Tyson's friend because he asked you to, or as my boyfriend." I carefully stand up and move behind him.
"I'm telling you as your boyfriend," I gently massage his shoulders, and any tension he has just leaves. "And your teammate, and your friend." When he leans his head back to look at me I quickly work my fingers to the newly exposed muscles. "You really should relax more." Kai groans, and even though it sounds like he did it on accident, he looks far from embarrassed.
"And what if I'm terrified of beaches?" I scoff.
"We've been dating for five months and I've known you for four years; I think I'd know if you were." He doesn't say anything for a while, so I keep talking. "Come on Kai, you don't even have to go to the beach, you can stay here. Just stop working yourself so hard." I stop massaging him, but lean a little closer to get a good look at his face. "Please." Kai sighs.
"Fine." He says, and I hum when he dips his head just enough to kiss me on the mouth. Kai taste like strawberry ice cream and the tea that I brought him earlier. There's something else too, something spicy. It takes me longer to figure out what it is, but when I do I pull back.
"Rei made you dumplings?" The smirk on Kai's face is smug when he asks,
"Are you jealous." I nod.
"Yeah." I look down at him, just so he knows that I'm serious. "He didn't make me any dumplings."
"Shut up, Max." And he kisses me again.
It's not actually my fault when we stop again. The door slams open and Tyson stares at us like we're about to steal Dragoon from him. Instead of thinking of something to say all I can think of is Tyson imitating Kai and I kissing with his hands and I end up laughing instead.
"Oh come on!" I'm sure that everyone in the dojo can hear it when he stomps away.
"You should go see if he's alright." I shake my head and turn back to Kai.
"Nah, he'll be fine. Besides, now he gets to go to the beach."