by Marika Ray
Even so, my traitorous heart skipped a beat as it counted the minutes until our meeting.
It was a rush, but I stopped by my house to change and still made it to Lifeguard Headquarters in time to meet Kai at five o'clock. I was a stickler for punctuality and he didn't disappoint. He was standing outside the front door, spotting me as I pulled into the parking lot. He came over and opened my car door for me, which spoke to my heart, a sentimental lover of all things chivalrous and old fashioned.
"Kai." I stood, tugging my shirt down, trying to cover the glorious ass that was on display in these tight workout pants. Time to practice my self-love, a' la Beach Squad.
"Hessa." He put a hand on my lower back and steered me down the ramp leading to the beach. "Let's stretch."
We sat down on a cement half wall and he proceeded to put me through a series of stretches.
"Did you forget your shoes?" I asked, not hiding the snark in my tone. The man was barefoot, which seemed weird when everyone around us had on either flip-flops or tennis shoes.
"No." He didn't seem perturbed by my question at all. In fact, his smirk seemed to speak volumes, mocking me for being the one in footwear.
"What are we doing here?" I had a bad feeling about this. Anything that required this much stretching was bound to be a level of strenuous beyond my capabilities.
"This is what I do after work most days of the week. I go for a run. Today, you get to join me." Kai actually gave me a look that was supposed to be magnanimous, but little did he know I had no intention of taking him up on this running 'gift'.
"Oh, I'm not a runner. How about I stay here and grade some papers while you go on your run? We'll talk after."
"Hessa." He glared at me with a hint of a smile, like I was a petulant child who would change her mind.
"Kai." I put my hands on my hips and stood my ground. I was still recovering from shin splints from my run with the Beach Squad two days ago. I wasn't doing that again.
"We'll go slow. Take breaks. You'll love it." He lost the glare and smiled at me instead, showing off that dimple. The dimple with powers over my cognitive ability.
"We better check the weather report. I think it's supposed to rain this evening." My excuses were getting weak, but a girl had to try, right?
Kai spread his hands out, palms up, tipping his head back and scanning the sky. "Look up. Check out that blue sky. See any dark clouds?"
"Well, I don't see them right now, but the weather report said--"
"Hessa. We don't need a little app to tell us what the weather is. Just take a look outside. Don't let that app control your life." Kai stepped closer and cupped my face with his two hands, tilting my head back, forcing me to look up at the clear blue sky.
"Hmm..." I wasn't sure if I was commenting on the sky or merely moaning my appreciation of his hands on my face.
He brought my face back to meet his gaze, thumb sweeping back and forth across my cheek. He had a patient smile and his eyes had gone soft. "Come with me, Ono," he whispered.
It was the whispered nickname that threw all my excuses out the window. When one quietly spoken word can make your stomach melt and your heart glow, you shouldn't fight it. I'd never felt this way before and I was curious and tempted enough to go with it to see where it would lead.
I nodded my acceptance, earning me another dimpled smile. I burned that look into my brain to help me endure the next thirty minutes of torture. When his hand slid away from my face and grabbed ahold of my hand, I was ready to sign up to do this every day.
We walked out onto the sand, just steps away from the retreating water's edge. He kept his hand around mine, swinging our joined arms as we walked. True to his word, we never ran, just walked in comfortable silence, taking in the peacefulness of the beach at this hour. Only a few people were out enjoying this paradise. The sun was close to setting and I wondered if we looked like a couple in love, going for a romantic walk on the beach. The thought was more appealing than I would ever admit.
"So, you wanna tell me what's going on? What's got you worried?" Kai broke the silence, giving me an encouraging look.
I shook myself out of my love-sick daydream and focused on what I came here for. "Let me just preface this by saying I don't think what I have to tell you has anything to do with my program, but in case it does, I wanted to be on the safe side." I looked over at him out of the corner of my eye to see him nodding that he understood. "When I got to school this morning, some of my students ran in and showed me my account on Instabook. My profile had been hacked and my cover photo was now a dare, just for me. I've been dared to sing one of my songs in public."
Kai looked concerned. He pulled us to a stop and faced me, letting go of my hand to fold his arms over his chest. "You have no idea who could have done that?"
"No. I mean, it may have been my sister, but she denied it when I asked today."
"Why do you think your sister would have done it?"
"Well, she and I don't have the best relationship in recent years and she was just at my house on Saturday and carelessly, I had my songs out. I thought maybe she was just being an obnoxious cow. But she didn't seem to know anything about it when I asked her."
"Who else knows you write songs?"
"No one! That's the whole thing. I write for the fun of it. It's like a quiet little hobby of mine that I don't share with anyone. I let out my stress or anger or sadness, or any emotion really, by putting it all down on paper in song form. It's highly personal. And now the whole world knows I write songs!" I was wringing my hands, shifting from side to side, wanting to outrun the discombobulating situation.
Kai grabbed my hands in his and pulled me down onto the sand. We sat facing the ocean and I wondered what we were doing.
"When I'm stressed, I like to run on the beach and then meditate as the sun sets. It's become a habit of mine that keeps me centered and focused on the things that matter. Close your eyes." Kai closed his eyes too, but kept his hand on my thigh, our knees touching.
The conversation had veered off into a direction I wasn't anticipating, but I went with it as I seemed to be unable to say no to this man. I looked around and saw that no one was in our immediate vicinity which lowered my chance of being caught looking like a hippie-dippy meditating in public. Kai squeezed my thigh, causing me to jump and then follow directions by closing my eyes.
"Take a deep breath in. And blow it out. Good. Another deep breath. Focus on filling your lungs and then exhaling all the air." Kai was speaking in a low, soothing tone. My body was following his instructions and I found myself relaxing my shoulders down, the panic leaving my body as if sucked out by the ocean breeze.
"Now just keep breathing deep and allow your mind to drift. Feel the sand on your legs, the wind in your hair, the sound of the waves crashing. Feel all that the universe has given you. Breathe in the energy of the universe, exhale the stress we've placed on ourselves." Kai's voice drifted off, leaving me to continue my breathing.
As much as I wanted to laugh at this silliness, it was working. I felt like that one time at a faculty party when I'd downed a whole glass of champagne and the room had gone pleasantly fuzzy. My limbs felt detached from my body, my head floated up in the clouds, and I'd forgotten what I was talking about earlier. The heat from the delectable man next to me kept me from completely losing touch with my surroundings.
I couldn't tell how long we sat there, just absorbing the present moment, but when Kai squeezed my knee sometime later, I wasn't ready to leave that calm cocoon. I could feel his stare on my face, but even then I didn't open my eyes. I didn't want to return to heated conversations that left me tongue-tied, a world where my private habit was publicly exposed, or a place where people were wrecking the great reputation of the Care Dare program.
I don't know how long meditation experts sat in contemplation but I was willing to run for the Guinness Book of World Records.
"Let's get you back, Ono," Kai whispered to me.
I peeped one eye open. He hopped up and hel
d out his hand. I let out a most pathetic sigh and let him help me up. He kept ahold of my hand while walking us back in the direction of the Headquarters building.
"Got plans Wednesday?" Kai wasn't looking at me and the question seemed casual enough.
"No, I don't believe I do." I reserved my enthusiasm since conversations with Kai rarely went down a normal path.
"Meet me here again at five. We'll step things up to a slow jog and do the meditation thing again. I think you like it." He winked at me before continuing. "In the meantime, I'll call my friend Jack, a police detective, and see if he has anything else about these dares. I'll need your phone number in case anything else comes up."
Smooth. That was real smooth.
"Why, Mr. Kāne. Did you just request my phone number?" I had my hand over my heart and the most innocent of shocked expressions on my face.
"Don't get excited, Ms. Woodland. I ask for all the hot English teacher's phone numbers." He smirked at me in response.
He could pretty much do anything right then and I wouldn't argue. The hottie lifeguard just called me hot. We exchanged numbers and I left, the tranquility from the meditation and Kai's deep voice carrying me all the way home.
Kai
I watched Hessa drive away, more unsure of what I was doing than ever. I told myself I'd stay away from her, but everywhere I turned, there she was.
They sure hadn't made high school English teachers like her when I was going to school. The sexy librarian look of skirts and heels and glasses. And then tonight, the tight pants that highlighted that ass of hers. I wanted to grab it, squeeze it, and hang a sign on it claiming it as mine.
Just when I thought I had her figured out, she showed me another side to her. She used brainiac words I'd never heard of, acting superior looking down her nose at us normal people. But then she melted into the sand enjoying the meditation more than I did. She argued with me and got defensive over every little thing I said, but then she'd told me she wrote songs and was embarrassed for anyone to find out.
I realized I was trying to pigeonhole her. Trying to fit her in a nice tidy box so I could understand her, reject her, and stay in my conformable little life. I hated when people did that, having been the pigeon shoved into that hole more times than I could count in my life. People had certain stereotypes in mind when you were born and raised in Hawaii.
I sighed, rubbing my hands along my cheeks, trying to clear my head of all things Hessa. I needed to put my personal feelings, as conflicted as they were, aside and focus on what was happening in my town. Someone was daring people to do reckless things and I needed to put a stop to it.
I dialed Jack's number from inside my truck. I hoped I wasn't bothering him so late in the evening, but he said to contact him immediately if anything else happened.
"Kai. What's up, man?" Jack seemed less serious than usual. I was about to ask if I was calling at a bad time when I heard a female voice laughing in the background. Clearly, I was interrupting.
"Sorry to interrupt. I'll keep this short."
"No problem at all." I heard a door slam shut and it got significantly quieter on his end of the line. "What's happening?
"You know the teacher at Surf City High that coordinates the Care Dare program we talked about? She told me she got dared this morning. Someone hacked into her social media account and dared her publicly. It's not a dangerous dare, but it is something not too many people know about and she wishes would have remained private. She's starting to wonder if it's connected to the two saves I had last week." I had no evidence to go off of, just a gut feeling that they were connected and part of something bigger.
"Hmm. That's definitely interesting. My tech guy notified me today that he's found some chatter about dares online in the area. HBPD got called out on a train jumper the other day. He got across the tracks before the train hit him, but he must have dropped something that messed with the tracks. Crew had to come out and fix it. They haven't found who did it, but we found the dare online. My tech guy's trying to trace it, but the IPs keep leading nowhere. I'd tell your friend to sit tight and don't engage if he reaches out and contacts her further."
The giggling female was back, telling Jack to hurry up. A little less giggle this time and more sass.
"Sorry, Kai. I'll call you back tomorrow, okay?"
"Sure--"
But Jack had already hung up on me. Guess I'd hang up on me too if I had an eager woman waiting for me. Which of course, just brought me back to thinking of Hessa. I wondered what her giggle sounded like. Did she actually giggle? Or was that too juvenile for her? I'd love to hear her full out laugh. Something told me it would be quite the site to see her let go of her highbrow decorum.
7
Hessa
Tuesday was a hellish day of questions from my students regarding my mystery dare. I explained over and over again that a dare from outside the program, not endorsed by the program, was not acceptable. There were rules and checks in place in the program so that dares were handled responsibly. I would not be engaging with my mystery dare partner. Period.
By last period, I was sure I'd have a mutiny on my hands soon. My students were hell-bent on making me see their side of the situation. If they had to stretch out of their comfort zones by their dares, I should have to also. The whole point of Care Dare was to stretch yourself and do something that was previously thought beyond your limits. To their minds, my song writing, something I never spoke of before, was perfect for a dare.
I did see their point, but beyond my fear of publicly singing my songs, I didn't feel comfortable being forced into something by a masked instigator hiding behind his or her keyboard. It was like a terror negotiation and they always say not to give in to negotiating. So there I'd stand, not giving in, but also facing the wrath of my students who felt I was holding myself to a different standard, one that had the luxury of not choosing to face fears in the form of dares. Never mind the fact that I was a teacher, not a student and therefore exempt from the dares.
A headache was brewing and I was as joyous as my students to hear the bell ring, signaling the end of the school day. All I wanted was peace and quiet. And my e-reader loaded with a good RomCom to transport me to another place, where Happy Ever Afters were guaranteed.
I jammed all my papers to grade in my tote bag and started the long trek to my car. My phone rang from somewhere in the depths of my bag. I placed my dirty travel coffee mug on my car's trunk. I rummaged around at the bottom of the bag, finally snagging the phone. I dropped my keys as I swiped to answer it before it quit ringing. I was a mess.
"Hello?" Damn, I should have checked who was calling before answering. It could have been my father, needing money from wherever he happened to be in that death trap of an RV he lived in.
"Hessa? It's Bailey. You okay?"
"Yes, hi. Sorry, dropped my keys when I answered the phone. What's up?" I swung my hefty bag onto the back seat and dropped into the driver's seat, immediately propping the phone in the crook of my neck to reach down and take my heels off. I was hoping to get feeling back in my toes sooner rather than later.
"I heard about you being dared to sing. I thought Esa and I should swing by and talk to you about it. You got plans tonight?"
"Um. No." Wait, how did she hear about it? And why did they want to talk about it?
"Okay, great. We'll be over around seven with food. You like sushi?"
"Yeah, sushi is great."
"See you soon then!" Bailey hung up on me before I even gave her my home address.
I was on my second glass of wine, which was unusual on any night, but especially on a school night. But saying no to the twin hurricane that was Bailey and Esa was nearly impossible. The sushi went down easy and I found the company stellar. I was finally seeing the benefit of being part of the Beach Squad. It wasn't all running on the beach till you thought you'd puke your guts out. It was also drinking wine and talking about anything and everything with friends who understood.
Esa droppe
d her voice way down deep to imitate Ivan, "No babe, we can't have a pig carry the rings down the aisle." Bailey and I cracked up laughing. She continued in her normal voice. "But they're so cute! Have you seen the micro pigs? I don't understand why he doesn't want that at our wedding." Esa was pouting and I felt for her, but I kinda saw where Ivan was coming from. There's a time and place for pigs and I didn't think a wedding on the beach was the right one.
"Oh girl, you gotta let that shit go. There's no pig, micro or otherwise, that's gonna hoof it through the sand to deliver your ring. Just be normal for once and borrow someone's kid to use as ring bearer." Bailey, shockingly, was the voice of reason.
"Aha! I know! How about a tortoise?" Esa jumped up from the couch, thinking her idea was the perfect solution. "I mean, they're made to trek through sand!"
Bailey and I cracked up again. This was going from bad to worse. I had to stop her and the wine in my system was going to help. "You know how slow a tortoise is, right? You'd have to start it down the aisle before you even start your vows, just to get it there in time. What if it stops to nibble on someone's dress? Or worse, takes a shit in the middle of your wedding. I love you, Esa, but you're a blithering idiot right now, fueled solely by that third glass of wine."
Esa shot me a frown, crossing her arms and sitting back down in a huff.
"While Esa gets over her snit, why don't you update us on the singing thing?" Bailey put her glass down on the coffee table, leaning closer to make sure she got the full scoop.
I sighed. Hopefully this would go better than when I talked to my students about it. I brought them up to speed on the social media hacking, the dare, and my arguments with my students.
"Ah, that's a rough situation you've been put in, Hess." Bailey looked sympathetic. Esa had dropped the pout and was now wrapped up in my predicament.
"I think you should totally do it!" Esa was back to clapping her hands and bouncing on my couch. "Practice on us. Sing a song."
