Finding Me

Tournament Day

Tournament day, my stomach churns as I wait for Kai to come pick me up. I watch the breeze sway the flowers growing at the end of the driveway, it calms my excitement slightly, but not by much. I get to see my hottie of a boyfriend compete in a surf competition. I play with the end of my braid, as I watch a beautiful bird fly past me. I can hear my aunt and uncle laughing from the front door, it makes me smile, I listen to my aunts gentle laughter, and my uncles hoarse laugh as I wait for Kai, and I can't keep the smile off my face.
"Hey!" Someone yells breaking me from my trance. My vision focuses, and I see the car in the driveway, and Kalani sticking her head out the window, smirking. I stand quickly, rushing to the car door, as Kai whistles making me blush.
"You excited?" I ask, as I buckle my seat belt, and kiss his cheek.
"Yeah I guess" he says shrugging, I stare at him confused.
"I'm more excited than you... why?" I ask, making him laugh, as well as Kalani.
"I'm excited, I'm excited that you're gonna be there" he says, smiling, at me.
"Are you nervous, is that why?" I ask, pulling my bag onto my lap to grab something from inside. I pull out a sign that's folded in half, it reads, yup that's my boyfriend. He looks at it quickly, and laughs loudly, his eyes tearing up.
"Thats very cute" he says
"Well I thought I'd be cute for once" I tell him tucking my sign into my bag.
"You're always cute, more than cute" he says, his eyes burning into mine, I smile.
"Get a room" Kalani yells between us, making me laugh.
"Maybe after he wins, didn't you know I'm only attracted to winners" I say, making Kalani laugh loudly, she hold her stomach, twisting in her seat.
"Well then I better win" he says, smirking. A single butterfly flutters in my stomach, as my face heats up.
Finally we get to the tournament, my excitement rises instantly! I hop out, and inhale the ocean breeze, that's filled with the smell of hotdogs!
"Okay so I'm on at 3, and it's not almost 1, so we have some time" he says, as he pulls his board off the roof of his car. I look around at the crowded beach, filled with a lot of people, my stomach twists with anxiety. Kai squeezes my hand, and smiles, which measurably calms me down. We watch as other competitors race through the water, there's a lot of talented people here. Kai's waxing down his board, his eyes peeled on the water. I always love the way he admires the water, it's another thing we have in common. I notice him wince, as someone gets knocked off their board, and slammed into the water, my nerves start growing. I know how good he is, I watch him surf all the time, I just haven't seen the waves this big before, and I'm scared he might get hurt.
"Hey you Okay?" He asks, I smile instantly trying to keep my face normal.
"Yeah! I'm excited" I say he smiles.
"You Okay" I ask noticing his smile isn't as big.
"I'm.... nervous. It's just my mom is always here for these competition, she's kind of like my good luck charm, my dad to" he says, his eyes downcast. I grab his hand, and intertwine our fingers. I know his grandparents aren't doing so well, so his parents are staying with them for a couple weeks, I know he's afraid.
"I'm sorry they couldn't be here, but I'm here, Kalani's here, and we know that your going to do amazing because let's face it you're fucking amazing!" I tell him, he smiles, and I kiss his cheek.
"I know how hard it is to not have your parents here, cheering you on, but I'm sure that your parents, and grandparents are cheering right now!" I say, he laughs now, his chuckle vibrating through me.
"Well I don't think they're cheering, right at this moment, but..." he cuts off, smiling
"Yes they are, they're probably all like, go Kai, go Kai" I say the last part in a cheer, raising my hands in a fist bump, he laughs harder.
"Oh really" he says, I nod, my face serious.
"Yup" I say with confidence, he leans in now kissing me firmly.
"Thank you" he says, and my heart melts, at how sincere he sounds.
"Your welcome, now come on finish waxing your board, you're almost up" I say pushing the block of wax in his hand, he nods. I look out at the water, as it engulfs someone, and their surfboard, and my stomach flips violently. I turn back to Kai, who's finished waxing his board, and is now putting on his wet suit.
"Hey can you get the zipper" he asks turning to me, I nod, and stand from the sand. My fingers tremble suddenly, as I zip him up, but he doesn't notice, thank god! Kalani suddenly shows up, Haku in tow.
"You ready?" She asks excitedly, he nods, his eyes finding mine, I smile.
"You better win, I can't be seen with you after if you don't win, I don't care if we're family I have a reputation" she says, throwing her hair over her shoulders, making us all laugh.
"Oh I'm gonna win" he says, now he looks at me, his eyes intense, and filled with something I haven't seen in him before, it's insanely attractive.
"Yeah you are" I say, as he pulls me against his chest. I look up at him surprised at his quick movements, he smirks, and my body heats. He leans down kissing me slowly at first, but it builds quickly, as his hand grips my hair, I swoon. We finally break apart, my body missing his contact, he smirks now. The announcer calls Kai's name, as well as many others, he grabs his board, his smile intense, and set.
"Ill see you after" he says, I nod, unable to speak, still loopy from the kiss. He winks, and then he's off running towards the water, his arms tense around his board. He's in the water now, paddling toward the first wave, I haven't seen him move this fast before, and that's when I know he's going to win, I can feel it.