Dusk was giving way to night, and a few stars flickered on like turn signals. Street lamps hovered over the sidewalks like spotlights, under which rolled a small pebble, followed by the two teenagers.
"In high school," Kai further kicked the pebble, "I had a couple of platonic male friends, and we got along really well. But most of the other guys were hitting on me, and I turned them all down. So they started the rumor that I was a hooker, even though I was still a virgin when I graduated."
"Huh," Ben remarked as she kicked the pebble over to him. "Judo must've been really handy then."
"Yeah."
"So why are you telling me this?"
"I'm just saying, I can relate. Plus, compared to the guys from high school, you were much more polite when you hit on me."
"Thanks," he replied sarcastically, "I guess."
"I mean it," she insisted. "Besides, as far as I know, you have fangirls and they don't."
"It's not what you think. They're like the press; they never leave me alone."
"Didn't you always want attention for your powers?"
"I guess this would be a case of 'be careful what you wish for'."
Ben kicked the pebble off the curb, absentmindedly walking around the street lamp to go after it.
"Maybe," he pondered, "I could get out of the spotlight, put Plumbers business aside, and just try to live normally."
"You're not legally old enough to drink alcohol, and you already want to settle down?"
"Wouldn't you?"
"Touché."
Nothing else was said for another half mile. Ben's pebble ambled along the asphalt as he tried to loosen the small patch of moss off it. Kai would periodically glance at the intricate tapestry of the night sky, which was made all the more dazzling by the full moon.
"Be careful," she teased. "You might turn into Blitzwolfer again."
"Cut it out," he countered, "or I will."
Ben reinforced his mock threat by kicking the pebble more forcefully this time. It went flying off the pavement until it landed in the grass surrounding a small pond. The two of them took off their shoes and quietly sat down beside the pond, submerging their feet in it. The moon's light and its reflection on the pond water both glistened against Kai, as if she were a diamond. And she was a gem, in Ben's eyes. She had a unique ability to, figuratively speaking, put Ben in his place. It was something she shared with two other people: Gwen (who used it on both Ben and, more profoundly, Kevin) and Julie.
"You think there might really be something between us?" he asked.
Kai pondered the question for a moment.
"Do you want there to be something between us?"
"That's not the question. Is there something between us, whether or not we want there to be?"
"I don't know," she tossed the pebble along the water's surface. "If there is, we ought to let it happen. If not, we can't force it to happen."
"You're messing with me, aren't you?"
"At least I didn't make it look so obvious."
Kai wasn't genuinely withholding judgment; but in her defense, Ben was never that good at subtlety himself. Though, that didn't stop him from splashing her.
"Hey!" she exclaimed.
"Don't tell me you didn't see that coming," he laughed.
Predictably, she splashed back. But while Ben was wiping the water away from his eyes, she pushed him completely underwater.
"Alright," he remarked, having come up for breath. "I DEFINITELY didn't see that coming."
"How about this?"
Kai hugged his neck from behind him. Apparently, she came in while he was still underwater. They both laughed as he playfully tried to get her off him, which she wouldn't do so easily. But they eventually stopped; their hands held each other's shoulders as their eyes met. She smiled at him with her glistening brown eyes, color-coordinated with her drenched hair and skin. A sudden feeling overwhelmed Ben, but it was different from the feeling of his 10-year-old self, watching Kai dance. No, it was a feeling that made something dance within him.
"You're beautiful," he heard himself say.
She felt his thumb softly trace the wet strand of hair that fell down to the corner of her mouth.
She nudged the hair aside, "Kiss me."
"Huh?"
"Kiss me alrea-"
Ben was quick to oblige, even before Kai could finish her demand. Her skin was warm to him, as if she carried the heat of the Southwest with her. Not caring that he tried to get her off him just a few minutes ago, he clung to her as tightly as he could, like a lifeline. One hand traced mazes along her upper arm, while the other hand held the hair on the back of her head. She was more than enough to quite literally make Ben melt in her embrace. Taking his cue to lead their moondance, Kai tugged on his shirt and leaned him against the edge of the pond. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he instinctively moved both his hands to hold her up by the seat of her shorts. Her hair, having been freed from Ben's amorous grip, fell down like a curtain on either side of Ben's face, blocking his peripheral vision. The kiss gradually lost its grip, and their lips stubbornly lingered against each other until Kai started laughing.
"What?" asked Ben.
"You're a really good kisser."
"So are you," he smiled.
They waded quietly and watched the stars until they were both tired enough to want to go home. Ben got out first, and then held Kai's hand as she climbed out.
With one hand still holding on to Ben, she picked up her shoes with her free hand; he did the same with his shoes.
"You want your hand back?" he teased.
"No," she moved in closer next to him. "You can have it for now."
He smiled lovingly at her, in a mirror image of her expression. Without another word, they were on their way home, drying off as they walked under the street lamps.