The Neighbor

Chapter 13: Crazy Not Date

"You look beautiful, "Kahoni said.

"I'd be careful what you say, "I said, "your girlfriend could be anywhere."

"Very funny, "he said, "ready to go?"

"I'm always ready to go surfing, "I said. I was surprised how well I was doing. I figured I was going to freak out and just make random sounds the entire time.

"Let me take your board, "he said, interrupting my thoughts.

"That's really sweet, but I got it, "I said.

"You can't let me have anything, can you?" he joked.

"No, "I said, "you can have my chores."

"Oh yeah I'd love to do your chores, "he laughed. We got to the wet shore and sat down to wax our boards. The wet sand was gritty and uncomfortable to sit on, but I couldn't think about that. All I could think about was Kahoni.

Here we were, all alone, surfing together. I couldn't decide how I feel about it. On one hand I had always wanted to date Kahoni. On the other he had a girlfriend.

"So, how are things with Savannah?" I asked.

He took a deep breath before saying, "Fine."

"Your pretty good friends with Jace, "I said, "how long have you two been friends?"

"Five years, "he said, "since fifth grade."

Finally I couldn't wait, he obviously wasn't going to tell me any time soon. "Why did you want to go surfing with me instead of your friends?"

"We're friends, "he said.

"You know what I mean."

"I don't know, "he said, "I like you."

"You barely know me, "I said.

"I know you, "he said.

"Oh yeah?" I said, "What's my favorite color?"

"Um, green?" he guessed.

"You see what I mean, "I said, "We know nothing about eachother. Your the big popular kid, I'm the shy nobody. So what are you doing here with me?"

"Look, yes your right, "he said, "I'm popular, but I didn't ask to be. I don't like constantly being surrounded by large groups of people. I don't like being expected to always be with the popular kids. You seem like an interesting person, so why not get to know you?"

"Interesting? Why, 'cause I wear all black?"

"Because you don't let anyone pick on anyone else, "he said, "you stand up for every one even though no one stands up for you. There aren't very many kids that would do that. So if you ask me, your pretty cool."

"You know what?" I said.

"What?"

"You should be a motivational speaker."

He laughed then said, "See there's another thing, your hilarious."

"Yeah sure, "I said sarcastically.

"OK before I go into full on crazy mode, "he said, "let's get out there." We paddled out into the warm salty water. It was a beautiful sunny day. The water was clear and at the moment there were no waves. It was quite relaxing.

Kahoni and I sat and joked around for a few moments. Then I spotted a wave coming. I started to paddle out to it and Kahoni followed. I couldn't believe he was paddle battling me, but I couldn't break my focus. We were neck and neck until we got to the wave. I sped up and beat him getting up on my board.

It was amazing being up on that wave. It was what I always imagined freedom to feel like. The warm breeze on my face drying my face. I could faintly hear Kahoni cheering my name.

At the end of the wave I reluctantly dived off. Kahoni swam over to me when I resurfaced.

"How was it?" he asked.

"Amazing!" I shouted.

"Ready to go again?" he said, gesturing towards the horizon. A bunch of waves were heading towards us.

"Let's do this, "I said. We must have surfed for hours and they were the best hours of my life.

"I think it's time we went in, "Kahoni said hours later.

"One more, "I begged.

"All right, "he said. I looked out and saw one particularly large wave. I paddled out and as I got closer the wave began to look larger and larger. But I kept paddling until I was close enough to jump up.

I tried to get up but I slipped. I fell under the waves and spun around. I couldn't tell which way was up. I just spun around and around until finally everything went black.

----------------------------------------------------

I had to blink a few times to realize I wasn't dead. The sun shined in my eyes. Then something appeared above me; it took me a while to realize it was Kahoni.

"Danny? Are you okay?" he asked.

"What happened?" I whispered.

"You almost drowned, "he said.

"Can you help me up?" I asked. He helped me sit up in the sand. I saw my broken board a little ways down the beach and frowned.

"There's something else, "Kahoni said, "I had to give you mouth to mouth."

"Thanks, "I said, not really understanding the big deal about it, "you saved my life."

"No problem, "he said. He stared at me and for the first time I realized it wasn't Kahoni's face I loved so much. It was his heart. It was the fact that he would do anything to save anyone. It was the fact that he cared about me.

I realized our faces had been closer and closer to each others. Before I knew what was happening he was kissing me. We sat there for a moment in complete heaven. When he pulled away he smiled at me, that beautiful smile.

And then I did the worse possible thing I could have done. I got up and ran away.