Gender Blind

Chapter Five

I wake up at 8 and start getting ready for swimming with Kaia.
I stand and look in the mirror, shaking out my hair. I got in the shower, using my blackberry body wash. I get out and blow-dry my hair. I put it in a tight bun and go to my closet to pick out a swimsuit. I decide on my watermelon two-piece and some sky blue flip flops with small salmon colored hearts on them. By then it's about 9:45 so I start packing my bag. I bring sunscreen, my gray beach towel, and a pair of Ray bans. Glance at the clock again and it's 9:49. I turn to my shelves and get my small silver money clip with an engraving of my iniatials on it. M. D. R. Moxxi Diana Rose. I clip in a ten, a twenty, a five, and the rest in one's. I throw it in my bag and head up to Kaia's apartment. I run up the stairs wearing my black Jean shorts over my swimsuit bottoms. I knock hard three times on her door. I wait a minute before knocking one more time. Just before my fist hits the door it opens fast. I jerk my hand back in surprise and look up at Kaia. She's wearing a simple green bikini with small pink flowers on it. "Ready to go?" I ask smiling. She turns her head slightly down, blushing she nods. "I love your hair" I say referring to her fishtail braid with a thin blue ribbon woven through it. "Thanks, Ryan actually did it for me" I tilt my head. "Really? I didn't know he could braid" after walking for a minute I notice Kaia glancing at my chest every now and then. I decide to break the silence. "What kind of music do you listen to?" I say, making Kaia jump little bit. "I don't really listen to a specific genre but I really like panic! At the disco" I stop for a minute before walking. "Oh I love them! What's your favorite song?" She smiles slightly down at me. "Hallelujah, or miss Jackson" she says blushing. I smile. "You blush so much" she blushes again, laughing. "Have you ever been swimming at Greenlake?" I ask walking along the paved path, bikes and strollers passing on either side. "Ya, me and Kai used to come here all the time when we were kids" I look around and see so many couples, out on boats, having picnics, swimming, etc. I turn to Kaia. She walks with such confidence. With her head held high, and pride in every stride she takes, strutting her legs. When she walks her hair blows back behind her ever so slightly. She's never frowning. It's like her happiest dreams play on repeat throughout her day. She glances at me and worry flashes across her face. "Mo? Are you OK?" I snap out of my daze and smile at her. She smiles back, her eyes sparkling. We walk for another 2 or 3 minutes when we come to the swimming area. I look around and see mostly younger kids, haven't even passed the swimming test. Kaia starts walking down to the water but I grab her arm to stop her. She looks to me with confusion written on her face. "Hang on" I let go and motion for her to follow me. We walk over to the lifegaurd tower and see someone sitting at the bottom in red swimming trunks. "Will!" I say holding my arms out for a hug. He looks towards me. "Hey Mo! How are you?" He asks, hugging me tight. I smile wide. "Good, good, this is Kaia! She's new to Seattle" he turns to her and smiles, holding his hand out. "Hi, I'm Will" she flashes her perfect smile, "Kaia" the unclasp hands both still smiling. "So, Will, do me and Kaia have to take the swimming test?" He laughs, "dude that's not even special treatment It's a hassle for me too!" I grin. "Thanks will!" We turn and walk down to the water. I set down my bag and slip my sandals off, stuffing them in my bag. Then I remove my shorts putting them in my bag as well. I pull out my sunscreen and apply a generous amount. I turn to Kaia and we both have the same look. "Turn" I say to her. She turns and I finish rubbing the su screen onto her shoulder blades. Then I turn and she returns the favor. I smile at her and start waking out into the water. I turn and notice Kaia wasn't following me. "Come on Kaia!" I say, dunking underwater then standing, loose strands of hair plasters to my face. She walks over to me with a smile on my face. We swim out till we're on the docks waiting in line for the diving board. We both decide to do the smaller one first and warm up to it. When it's my turn I jump and cannon-ball in. I resurface, giving Kaia a big thumbs up. She jumps in, and resurfaces with a smile. "Wanna go on the taller one?" I ask, helping her climb the ladder. She nods. We line up and for a while we're the last one in line. Then a when we are halfway to the front, a group of boys about our age climb up on the dock. Pushing and shoving each other to no end. I hear them snickering at something from behind us and then I hear a loud snap. I jerk my head around and one if the boys behind us snapped Kaia's bikini. I glare at them and drop my arm across her waist, holding her against me. We get up and I'm up before Kaia. She nods to me, telling me she's fine. I nod back and do a simple flip off the board. I resurface in the water quickly and as I'm swimming out of the way I watch Kaia climb the ladder. I smile at her when she glances down. She smiles back and jumps. She cannon-balls in, making a huge splash. She resurfaces holding a hand against her chest. I looks at me with worry in her eyes and I know exactly what happened. I take a large breath and dive down, diving deep and finally grasping her bikini top, I swim back up frantically. I surface, gasping for air and Kaia is immediately swimming up next to me. I help her fasten her top back on and while my arms are still draped on her shoulders, she looks up into my eyes and straight into my eyes. Without thinking I lean in and kiss her roughly. Her lips as soft as silk, I don't want to but I pull away. Looking into her eyes I detest she wanted this just as much as I did, for just as long. I hear clapping in the distance but nothing else exists right now. It's just me, Kaia, and the smooth, slow, water surrounding us.