The Summer of Ryland

19. Black Eye

Kai's POV

I sat in the booth playing with the straw wrapper. The condensation on the glass of water is started to make a puddle on the old brown table. Looking around, I tried to find a girl in a red dress. She wasn't there. She was ten minutes late and I was getting anxious. 

Pulling out my phone I went to text Kyle but a woman's voice cut me off. I look up to see her standing by the table. She smiled at me like she wasn't late at all.

"Are you Kai?" I nodded my head and she entered the booth on the opposite side of me. She laid her purse on the table and started drinking the water that I ordered for her. After she was done she looked at me.

"Hi. I'm Maria." She extended her hand and I took it. She clasped her hands together and looked at me with a straight face.

"I'm sorry that I am late. I got off of work late and I had to change cause I doubt going in my uniform would've been appropriate for our date." I laughed at her last statement and took a sip of the water.

"It's cool." 

"So how was your day?" she asked me. I looked at her had dark brown eyes. Her hair was straight, long, and brown. She was really pretty.

"It was cool. I had work as well." This caught her interest.

"Oh. Where do you work?"

"The bookstore in the shopping center."

"Little Stories?"

"Yep that's the one."

"Ha. There's this one blue haired guy who works there. Does he still work there? He was an interesting character."

"Josh? He still works there."

"I've been there recently. Why haven't I seen you?" 

"I usually don't work at the front. It's the interesting character who does." She breathed out a little laugh then started playing with her straw.

"Kyle didn't tell me you were cute and funny," Maria said.

"It would be weird if he said that about me," I responded. She blushed and nodded in agreement with me. Shortly after that, the waitress came to take our order.

The dinner was nice. Despite Maria being late she was good company. Attractive, pretty, and funny. Meeting someone like her rarely happens on a blind date. After dinner, we went on a walk around the plaza. Christmas lights decorate the trees making the night bright. 

I take her hand in mine and she leans on me. I sigh in happiness as I have this beautiful girl next to me. All of a sudden I hear a man's voice, shouting.

"MARIA!" The girl beside me stiffens up and she looks at me in sadness. I don't know if it was for me or for her. She lets go of my hand and moves away from me.

"Is this why you left in such a hurry?" the man questioned. He was taller than me with a little chub on his belly. 

"Anthony, I was just hanging out with a friend," Maria lied. I looked at her and finally realized what was happening.

"So you hold hands with all of you guy friends?"

"Yes. Anthony lets go." She then reaches for his arm. He flings his arm away from her, sort of hitting her in the process.

"Don't touch me slut," he spat. I walk in front of her to protect her.

"Hey man," I said. He narrowed his eyes at me and that's when it happened. He sucker punched me in the eye. Is stumbled back and felt rage build up in my body. I tried to push it down. I haven't been in a fight in about two years and I didn't want one with this beast. Done with the conversation I began to walk away.

"Pussy!" he yelled at me. Not being able to hold back my anger I went up to him and pushed him to the ground. When he hit the floor, I instantly went down to punch him a couple of times. Maria started screaming a little bit. 

When I got up she came towards me. I shrugged her off and made my way home.

When I got home I looked in the mirror to see a black eye forming. 

I'm pissed at her. I'm pissed at Kyle.

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Kai can never be happy can he? Well that was this part. It was a little shorter than I would normally post, so sorry. Also, you have been killing it in the comment section and because of that I'm posting another chapter today! With love.

Is Kai going to ever be happy?