Still Waters

Chapter 19

The next night, I went to Shipwreck with Kenney. I decided not to say anything to him about meeting up with Collin later on that night, since I figured we'd be finished in plenty of time for me to get back without causing any more unnecessary beef between the two. Plus, for some reason, Kenney was in a better mood than usual and I didn't want to ruin it for him.

On the way to the club he turned the radio all the way up and sang to me at the top of his lungs. He killed me knowing every word to any song on the radio, no matter what station. I looked over at him and couldn't help but grin back as he dimpled up and changed to an oldies station and started singing the Marvin classic, "What's Goin' On." With the windows rolled down and the salty ocean air whipping through my hair as we sped down the street, his good mood was contagious.

"What are you so happy about anyway?" I asked when he finally turned the radio down and pulled into the parking lot.

Kenney didn't answer, but grinned at me again and turned the car off. "You ready?" he asked, almost bouncing out of his seat. "I can't wait to see you read." When we got up to the building and he pulled the heavy wooden door open for me, Kenney sucked in his breath and said "umph," as I walked past and into the dark, underwater illusion that was Shipwreck. "Lookin' good there, darlin'."

I knew he was looking at the way my butt sat up in my brand new Baby Phat jeans - which, by the way, was exactly why I bought them - but I was too embarrassed to turn around and answer him. When Drama saw us walk in, he grinned at me and waved from the stage. Kenney must have told him ahead of time that I'd be "blessing the mic" that night. It seemed like we didn't even have time to get fully settled in our seats before Drama bopped back onto the stage with the same goofy grin that Kenney was rocking and introduced me. He made a real big deal of my being a "virgin to the mic" and said that they were in for a real treat because I was one of his "personal favorites."

No pressure.

As I made my way to the front, I took a deep breath and noticed that the door wasn't so far away from the stage. I could make a quick run for it before anyone even had a chance to realize that I'd cut out. But then Drama held out his hand to help me up the steps and the pride that actually beamed across his face was enough to make me woman up and tread confidently toward the mic. After the welcoming applause died down, I began.

"Can I be your first kiss..." I said weakly, making the poem sound a lot sweeter than it was meant to be. The shy girl act must have worked with the rhythm of the piece though, because before long I had people "awing" at me like I was just the cutest little thing they'd ever seen.

I couldn't really picture myself being the adorable type, but hey, whatever worked. It must have done a number on Kenney too because by the time I made it back to the table, he had long since stopped smiling and now gazed at me with an openness that I had never seen in him before.

When I finally looked away, embarrassed, Kenney regained his composure.

"Dang girl!" he exclaimed. "You just inspired me!"

We both laughed, but suddenly I remembered the time and looked down at my watch. "Aw man, Kenney," I said reluctantly. "I have to go."

He looked at me for a long, long time - I'm sure trying to decide if he should let me know that he knew I was ditching him for Collin or if he should just let it ride. Finally he shrugged and said, "Ok. But can you hold on for a sec? I told my boy I'd do this new thing right quick that I laid on him yesterday." He smiled at me. "I think you'll like it."