"So you're really going to withhold such important information from me?" Kai wined from behind the blackboard sign sitting in front of his shop. He stood up, dropped the world's smallest sliver of chalk into a plastic container full of other tiny, colorfully broken pieces, and kicked it towards my seat on the edge of the patio.
I sent my feet further into the warm sand below me. "It's not like anything's changed since you asked me yesterday," I groaned, turning my attention away from Kai and towards the empty beach. "Like I said, I don't remember any of it."
The sun was shining in the sky, clouds nowhere to be seen. Summer was nearing its end, but the heat didn't feel like it was going anywhere. The air was still thick and sticky, especially so close to the beach. Crystal blue waves crashed in the background as a gentle sea breeze flowed from the shore. It was ungodly hot, and the way that the water was glimmering in the sun made me wish I was wearing literally anything other than my work clothes.
I sighed and checked my watch for the millionth time that day. If it were a few weeks ago, I would still be at the library. I shook the thought from my brain; Mary was the last thing I needed to be thinking about. It'd been over two weeks since we broke up, and I had managed to keep my distance, despite how painfully small the town was. Avoiding her made it easier to manage the pain, but it ended up leaving me with a lot of free time on my hands.
"Here's the thing," Kai started, pulling me out of my own head, "you keep saying that, but I don't know if I believe you." A hint of a smirk grew on his mouth. "If you were so drunk that you don't remember such a," he paused as if trying to find the right words, " significant event, how'd you manage to... perform?"
I reached a hand up to fiddle with my cap as I replied, "I've been wondering the same damn thing. If Cliff wouldn't have told me that he actually walked in on it happening, I'm not sure I would have believed him." As the words came out, I realized that I'd possibly said too much. The look of amusement on Kai's face confirmed this.
"No, he didn't," Kai insisted with a wide grin before breaking out into a hearty guffaw. He placed his hand on the top of the sign to brace himself as he gripped his side in laughter.
After he calmed down, Kai wiped a tear from his eye. "That's amazing, really. Wow. I'm so glad you told me that." He dusted off the excess chalk from his hands on his pants and brought a finger up to his chin in a mock-thoughtful manner, "Hmm. I guess I know who to go to for the info I want, though..."
"No!" I shouted without thinking, almost snapping my neck to turn back to Kai. When he cocked an entertained eyebrow at me in response, I quickly spoke again, "It's just, Cliff was really embarrassed when he told me, and I feel bad about it. I don't know if he wants me broadcasting that, especially to you."
The conversation I had with Claire two weeks prior came to mind too. She probably didn't want me broadcasting that to anybody either, and if anything, I'd agreed that I wouldn't. Cliff and Kai technically had found out on their own, so I wasn't entirely at fault there. I planned on keeping my promise to the farmer, just as I expected her to do the same for me. However, I knew that keeping our secret wasn't entirely up to the two of us. I trusted my roommates, but I wasn't sure that they were the only other people that knew anything about that night.
The idea of this getting back to Mary fucking terrified me. I already felt awful about how I left things and didn't want to hurt her even more than I already had. There was already a surplus of guilt and heartache lingering in my chest; I wasn't really up for feeling anything else. The only reassurance I had was that I hadn't been stopped by any members of the Gossip Squad to make a statement.
"It's not like I'm going to tell him you told me, calm down," Kai replied with his signature, care-free smile, interrupting my worries from replaying in my head.
I narrowed my eyes at Kai. "How else would you know if I didn't tell you? Dumbass." I was surprised when his toothy grin remained plastered on his face, unaffected by my jab.
"I'll get it out of him the same way I got you: a careful observation and strategic questioning," Kai said, as a matter of fact, crossing his arms over his chest.
It was the truth, unfortunately. Kai had seen Claire sneaking back to her farm the next morning when he was sneaking out of Popuri's window. Go figure. That observation, coupled with seeing Claire and me leave his party together the night before, gave him more than enough ammo to get the information he wanted.
Kai was usually pretty harmless, but his persistence was unmatched when he set his mind to something. I was sure that I hadn't been his only victim and knew I wouldn't be the last. The gossiping moms of Mineral Town worked hard. But Kai? He worked even harder.
"Can we just stop talking about it?" I asked, pulling down my hat. "I told Claire I wouldn't tell anybody, and I'm not really keeping up my end of the deal too well right now."
"How cute," Kai teased with a laugh. "Come on. You worry too much, dude!"
I didn't respond, but it didn't seem like Kai was looking for one anyway. He grabbed a new, somehow even smaller, piece of chalk from the plastic bucket and walked to the blank side of the sign.
Kai didn't look up from his writing as he started again, "So on the topic of Cliff, how are you liking him so far?"
I shrugged. "He's cool. No complaints. A little shy, but he's a good guy."
"Yeah," Kai agreed with a subtle head-nod, "he can be a little boring sometimes… but I think that he balances us out." The chalk clacked loudly on the board as Kai continued writing. "I'll be honest, I want to see what the guy's like when he completely lets loose. I've never seen him drink more than like... a beer."
Kai had a point. And I had to admit, I was pretty curious too. Cliff rarely drank, and when he did, it was minimal. While I respected his self-control, I couldn't help but wonder why he was like that in the first place.
"Yeah," I offered, not really sure how to respond. I knew I had my own reasoning for drinking the way I did; I'm sure he had his own for drinking the way he did.
When he finished his work on the sign, Kai stood up and tossed the sliver of chalk in the container. He took a few steps over towards my seat and turned back to admire his work. After inspecting the chalk-covered blackboard for a minute or so, he looked over his shoulder at me, "How does it look?"
"Fine."
"Bro. You didn't even look," Kai responded, giving my right arm a soft kick.
I looked over at the sign, scanned the crudely written specials, and then shifted back to the beach. "Like I said, it's fine. It does the job."
"Just fine?" Kai asked with a hint of sadness in his voice. I couldn't tell if it was feigned or not, though.
"Yeah. You should've had Popuri do it," I returned with a chuckle, giving the sign a final once-over. "You're just lucky you're a damn good cook."
For a few moments, the only sounds that filled the air between us was that of thrashing waves and screeching cicadas. Kai turned around to stand over me, an unusually thoughtful expression on his face.
"So, is that why you've been spending so much time here lately?" Kai asked after a few moments. His posture was uncharacteristically stiff as he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his linen pants.
I didn't immediately respond. What do you say to that? I'd figured that it didn't even need to be said out loud. The fact that I was at the beach every day for over a week straight instead of the library spoke louder than words ever could.
"Don't get me wrong," Kai continued after clearing his throat, "I love that you're spending so much more time here, and especially spending money, but… it kinda feels like you're just here to avoid dealing with your problems." He paused and looked back out at the beach with a forced laugh. "I mean, no judgment, I'm doing the same thing here, but…" he trailed off.
I fought back the overwhelming urge to roll my eyes into the back of my skull and took a deep breath. "I thought it was obvious enough that we didn't need to talk about it," I muttered, looking down at my lap. My hands had unconsciously gripped the fabric above my knees, so I released and stretched out my fingers.
"Alright, fair enough," Kai said with a typical, lighthearted laugh. "But if you want to talk about it, I'm all ears."
"I won't." I looked over my shoulder at Kai and offered a weak shrug, "But thanks."
It was still too fresh to talk about, and even then, talking about Mary somehow seemed worse than thinking about her. Even though I'd convinced myself I didn't want to be with Mary anymore, part of me missed her and the good times we'd shared. I missed the company, the connection, and feeling like I had somewhere that I belonged. Now it just felt like I was wandering aimlessly, spending copious amounts of time dwelling on the past. I just didn't understand why everybody in my life was so keen on exclusively bringing up topics that I had no interest in talking about.
"Well, I'm not just going to let you sit here and brood in front of my shop," Kai joked. "It's bad for business."
"You're not even open right now," I said after a glance at my watch.
"Wanna swim?" Kai suggested, completely ignoring my comment. "We can have a rematch of our race last year. Who knows, some friendly competition might lift your spirits."
"Do I look like I'm dressed to swim?" I scoffed. "Plus, no. You're a fucking fish, dude its not even a competition."
Kai sighed. "Ugh, you're so lame sometimes." I pretended not to hear him and began relacing up my work boots.
Out of nowhere, Kai snapped his fingers with excitement. He pointed a finger-gun towards me and spoke with enthusiasm, "Listen, I think I know something that might cheer you up. I've got something new I want you to try. You mind putting those city tastebuds to work for me?"
I let out an amused chuckle and pushed up from my seat, "I don't mind." After a few steps, I was standing beside Kai. "They might be a little rusty, though."
It had been years since I had tasted anything from home, let alone visited, but Kai's food was a close comparison, at least in memory.
"I'm sure they're just fine!" He gave me an enthusiastic pat on the back and ushered me towards the door of The Snack Shack.
It wasn't long before the entire shack was filled with the aroma of barbeque and, of course, pineapple. Kai didn't tell me what he was making. He just commanded me to take a seat at the counter and wait. He swiftly got to work on the grill, and I got to enjoy a prolonged silence in the air conditioning.
In an attempt to distract me from my own thoughts, I intently watched as Kai tended to the meat and pineapples on his grill. I had always been amazed at the speed Kai possessed when he cooked, despite how laid-back he was otherwise. His back was to me, but I could hear the sizzling as Kai delicately flipped each piece of food. Soon enough, my stomach was growling at the thought of eating whatever it was he was preparing.
After what felt like an eternity but was probably only twenty minutes, Kai pulled the food off the grill and placed it on a dish to his right. He turned back to me with a satisfied smile, patting the sweat that had built up on his brow with a handkerchief. I noticed that he'd unzipped his sleeveless hoodie too, and for a split second, I finally understood how he was able to pull so many girls so easily. The ability to cook delicious food probably helped too.
"We gotta let it rest for a sec, but I'm excited for you to try this, bro," Kai said, looking proudly over the plated food.
I was too. On the plate sat a few sauced cuts of chicken and pineapple with textbook char marks.
Kai noticed how intently I was watching the food and let out a chuckle. "It's my take on a Hawaiian barbecue chicken. I have so much extra pineapple this year. I'm just trying to find a good way to make sure I use up all my stock before the end of the season. I had to improvise a little on the sauce… so you'll have to let me know what you think."
I nodded and watched as Kai began expertly slicing the meat. He scooped up a large helping of chicken and neatly arranged it on a new plate with a couple of slices of pineapple and a scoop of rice. It was almost laughable how much better his presentation was on a dish than on a blackboard. After giving the plate of food one last look-over, he set it on the countertop and pushed it my way. His brown eyes intently watched me as he waited for me to take my first bite.
It was a bit nerve-wracking having somebody observe me while I ate, but as the food's aroma got closer, the feeling quickly waned. I reached for my fork and promptly dug into the meal, savoring the first sweet and savory bite. When I noticed Kai's eyes still on me, I gave him a quick thumbs-up, slightly embarrassed by how much I enjoyed the flavors. The food around town was great, but it had been too long since I'd tasted something new, and it was showing.
"Pretty good, huh?" Kai asked with a laugh, knowing the speed at which I was inhaling the food said more than enough.
I nodded with my mouth full and hastily swallowed. "Really good. You should put this on the menu."
"It was written on the specials list," Kai pouted as he motioned towards the door where the world's most illegible chalk sign sat outside.
"Yeah, I couldn't read that shit," I said before stuffing my mouth with another bite.
Kai let out a sigh and stared out the front window thoughtfully. "Maybe I should have Popuri rewrite it for me," he wondered out loud. His eyes seemed to catch something outside as he let out a barely audible, "Oh shit."
"What?" I tried to get out through a mouthful of food. As I went to look over my shoulder, Kai caught my attention by slapping one hand down on the counter.
"It's just, I... have a beer that will pair really well with this dish, I just remembered!" Kai said abruptly before crouching down to the mini-fridge. He placed the decorated green can in front of me with excitement. "Jalapeño IPA!"
"Jalapeño?" I asked, wondering why that would ever be anyone's first choice in beer, let alone why they would buy it in the first place. I couldn't imagine how that flavor could ever compliment pineapple and barbeque, but knowing Kai, I wasn't necessarily surprised by the suggestion. He always brought back the weirdest shit in the summer. Over half of it was actually good, the rest… not so much.
I looked back at the can and remembered that the best kind of beer was a free one, the next best being a cold one. This happened to be both, so I shrugged and opened the can, "What time is it?"
My question seemed to bring Kai out of whatever he had been so fixated on outside. He looked back at me and shrugged, "Almost four? I don't know. You have a watch, don't you? It's five o'clock somewhere, man. Just try it."
Not wanting to be rude, I took a bite and sipped the beverage. It was an interesting combination. There was a strong floral taste of jalapeño, but the spicy edge was balanced with the pineapple's sweetness and the tanginess of the sauce. While the pairing seemed so incredibly random, it worked. It perfectly represented Kai, almost to the point of making me chuckle to myself.
After finishing the meal, I pushed my plate towards Kai and sat back in my seat. "That was amazing, honestly. How much do I owe you?"
"Nothing," he said, turning his attention back to me. A playful grin grew on his face. "Just consider us squared away on our bet."
I wiped my mouth and took another sip of the beer. "What bet?"
"Oh, you know," Kai said with a playful wink. "Our bet? Remember? When we made a bet to see who could sleep—"
"I never made that bet with you," I interrupted, glaring up at him.
"I definitely remember making that bet with you," Kai lied. He obviously had forgotten that I'd helped get his drunk ass to bed that night. There was no way he could have remembered me agreeing to that bet, even if I had accepted in the first place.
"You made that bet with yourself when you were piss-drunk," I said through gritted teeth. "I had nothing to do with that shit, not that you'd remember or anything."
"Well, but you won the bet. So the least I could do is hold up my end of the bargain," Kai said in mock exasperation. "The least you can do is just accept the free food and my envy."
Envying something I felt so guilty about didn't really sit right with me, but I held my tongue. I knew better than to bite the hand that had just fed me. While the thought of accepting food in return for winning a bet that I wanted no part in was irritating, I didn't hate the idea of a free meal, a delicious one at that.
I sighed and propped my elbow on the bartop. "Fine."
Kai grinned triumphantly and cleared my plate. When he returned, he leaned his body against the counter, his eyes flicking towards the front of the shop before returning to me. "So what are the chances of a second round, maybe one you can live to tell?"
I was caught off guard by my roommate's random yet direct inquiry, but then remembered who I was talking to. I shook my head a how stupid of a question it was. "It was a one-time thing. We don't really talk, and I'd prefer to keep it that way."
"You two seemed fine at the inn the other night," Kai ventured, his eyes quickly glancing over my shoulder.
"It's not like we were hanging out or anything, Karen just invited her there, and we both happened to be in the same area," I said, my voice coming out unintentionally defensive. "She's... fine, we just don't really have any reason to talk to each other."
Truthfully it had been a little weird seeing Claire around. On the one hand, you could cut the tension between us with a knife. It was even worse when we were unintentionally left alone, as brief as those moments were. I think we were both so worried about not slipping our secret that we just didn't say anything to each other at all. I'm not sure if anybody else noticed this dynamic, but I felt it enough for us all.
On the other hand, Claire and I could somewhat peacefully coexist while we were with our friends in public. We did a pretty good job of acting as if we had never shared a bed a few weeks prior, and that was a relief to me. However, I wasn't going to further complicate the situation by making a habit of seeing her like that, as Kai seemed to suggest.
"Interesting," Kai chuckled, his eyes unmoving from the front of the shop as he spoke. "This should be entertaining then."
"Huh?" I tilted my head at Kai and spun around to finally see what had been garnering so much of his attention. Before I could get the rest of the words out of my mouth, I caught a glimpse of the sight Kai had been so fixed on.
Outside of the shop, two girls stood in the sand around an outstretched umbrella. I immediately recognized Ann, who was wrapped in a colorful beach towel facing the window. The woman standing in front of her was easy to identify just by the heap of golden hair hanging down her back. I couldn't make out anything Ann was saying to Claire from that far away, but they seemed to be laughing, talking animatedly about something. Ann shimmied a pair of overalls up over her navy one-piece just as Claire bent over to dry her hair in a towel. And then I saw the red bikini. It finally made sense why Kai had spent so much time glancing out the window.
Watching Claire felt kind of wrong, but I couldn't bring myself to look away. I wasn't sure why I was so interested. It was just a swimsuit, just a... really flattering swimsuit. It was a far cry from her usual work clothes, so maybe that's why I was so curious. I'd never really noticed how strong Claire was before, though I figured that running a farm by yourself would be a pretty good way to build some muscle. Evidently, that was true.
"Don't look too hard. You might hurt yourself," Kai laughed from my side, instantly tearing my attention away from the blonde. My face felt hot as I realized how intensely I'd been eyeing Claire. Then the shame settled in. She was just trying to enjoy a day at the beach, and there I was, acting like a fucking creep.
I was silent for a moment. Knowing I'd been caught checking out Claire was embarrassing, but getting caught by Kai was even worse. "I-I was just seeing who was out there," I defended myself, gripping the brim of my hat.
"I know you weren't looking at your cousin like that," Kai jested as he tilted his head, an amused smile on his smug face. I hated when he was right.
"You were watching them for like twenty minutes straight," I accused him, eager to shift the blame from me.
Kai leaned on the counter behind him and then looked back outside. "Yeah, but at least I don't deny it like you." He paused for a few moments and then made his way behind the register, out of my line of sight. "What's wrong with enjoying a nice view? One of the many perks of beachfront property."
I didn't respond to Kai, though part of me couldn't help but wonder if enjoying the view was really all that bad.
I cautiously lifted my head back towards the window. At that point, both Claire and Ann were clothed and seemed to be packing up their area. I sighed and swiveled back around in the stool, somehow feeling even more ashamed and confused by my actions. The green can on the counter caught my eye, and I took the opportunity to finish the rest of the beer in one chug.
"Bracing yourself?" Kai asked as he tended to the area where he'd been prepping food.
"For what?" I muttered, rubbing my temples. What could I possibly have to brace for next?
He looked up from his cleaning and nodded towards the front of the store with a mischievous grin, "They're coming this way. Didn't you see?"
I glanced over my shoulder, and sure enough, Ann and Claire were no longer outside in front of the window. Before I could even pray that Kai was lying, a familiar chime rang from the front of the shack, sending every ounce of oxygen rushing from my lungs.
Almost instantly, I snapped my head around and anxiously tugged down my hat. My stomach sank as I thought about all the awful possibilities that awaited me. I had come here to hide from my problems, and now one of them was standing directly ten feet behind me. Just my fucking luck.
