Chapter 5
FIVE
KAIRI
“Is it possible to look overdressed in black?” I mutter, eyeing my reflection.
I’m wearing a black dress that hugs every curve, and falls to mid-shin, paired with black strappy heels that make me feel just a little too put together for a practice date. I straightened my hair, and I went with a clear lip gloss tint close to my natural colour.
My heart jumps into my throat when a knock comes from my bedroom door.
I rush over and pull it open finding Colton standing in my doorway wearing a white long-sleeve polo, dark jeans, and clean sneakers that somehow look expensive without trying.
His blond waves are pulled back in a half-up style, a few pieces falling loose around his face, and my eyes widen slightly as I take him in.
“You look nice,” I say, though that feels like an understatement because Colton looks hotter than ever tonight.
He doesn’t answer right away, as his eyes drag slowly from my face down to my heels, like he’s committing every detail to memory.
“You do too,” he finally says, his voice rougher than usual. “Ready to go?”
He offers his arm, and I slip mine through it, letting him guide me out of my room and down the stairs.
I should have known better than to expect the house to be empty though. Griffin, Eliana, Koa, Maliah, Zale—and of course, Alessia—are all crowded in the kitchen around what looks like one of Griffin’s famous dinner spreads.
Eliana is the first to spot us and her jaw drops before she immediately lifts her phone and snaps a picture. Maliah follows her gaze and gasps loud enough to turn every head in the room, including Zale’s.
His eyes land on me and Colton and I watch his expression shift as his eyes skim my outfit…and the way my hand tightens around Colton’s bicep.
“Where are you two going, all dressed up like that?” Griffin asks, his gaze bouncing between us with a knowing smirk.
I open my mouth, but Colton answers first.
“Dinner,” he says smoothly, his arm tightening just slightly as we continue walking toward the front door.
“Like…a date?” Maliah calls, voice vibrating with excitement.
I hesitate for half a second before tugging gently on Colton’s arm, stopping us before we reach the door. I turn back and find Zale is still watching, so I hold his gaze when I answer.
“Yeah,” I say, lifting my chin. “A date.”
Maliah and Eliana squeal, grabbing at each other excitedly. I wink at them before letting Colton pull me outside, the door clicking shut behind us. Cool air hits my skin, but my pulse is still racing as Colton helps me into the passenger seat before circling around to the driver’s side.
“God,” I breathe, laughing as adrenaline buzzes through me. “That felt so good to say out loud. Did you see Zale’s face?”
Colton chuckles as he starts the engine. “I did. But I also saw Alessia noticing how pissed he was.” He glances at me briefly. “Wish we could be a fly on the wall for that conversation.”
I shouldn’t feel this satisfied, but I do. Maybe she’ll go back to Italy now.
“Where are we going?” I ask as we pull out of the driveway and head toward the road out of Saltwater Springs.
“I made a reservation in the next town over,” he says.
I frown. “Why there?”
He glances at me, confused. “I figured you wouldn’t want everyone here talking about our date and having it get back to Brandon.”
Right.
“Good thinking,” I say, turning toward the window.
He nods, then his gaze flicks over me again.
“The gloss is nice,” he says. “I never see you wear that.”
“It’s new,” I admit, squeezing the clutch in my hands where the tube of gloss is tucked away. “I thought it might…help”
“Help?” he repeats, one brow lifting.
“You know…keep my date looking at my lips,” I say, trying to sound nonchalant. “I was planning to test it out on you.”
His mouth curves into a smile, but it doesn’t meet his eyes. “It’s a good idea,” he says. “But don’t do it on a real date.”
I blink. “What? Why not?”
“For starters, it’ll smear when you eat,” he says, gesturing vaguely. “And if he wants to kiss you, he might not do it if he doesn’t want gloss all over his face.”
“Oh.” Heat creeps up my neck. “I guess that makes sense.”
He glances at me again, softer this time. “But it does look nice.”
I smile to myself, turning back to the window so he doesn’t see it.
I wonder what other date etiquette I’ve missed out on all my life. I thought reading romance would teach me all I need to know about dating and love. I mean, all the female characters in my books wear gloss without a problem and the male characters never complain about it.
But then again, that’s fiction.
“What about my outfit?” I ask after a moment. “And my hair?”
A small smile plays on his lips, making something in my chest tighten. “You look perfect, Kairi.”
And yet, I don’t feel like I really do. I feel like I’m trying to be someone I’m not; someone palatable.
By the time we arrive, the restaurant is just busy enough to feel alive without overwhelming me. Our waiter leads us to a table, and Colton pulls my chair out for me, waiting until I sit before sliding in.
It’s such a small thing to do, but it doesn’t feel small to me.
The waiter hands us both a menu and promises to return in a couple of minutes.
“What are you getting?” Colton asks a few minutes later.
“The truffle pasta,” I say. “What about you?”
“Same.” He glances at the drink menu. “Something to drink?”
My eyes drift to the cocktails, but maybe that’s asking too much from a first date.
“I’ll just have water,” I say, closing the menu.
He studies me for a second, then silently nods.
When the waiter returns, Colton orders for the both of us, except instead of ordering two waters, he orders himself a Mai Tai cocktail and I instantly regret not doing the same. But when the waiter returns with our drinks moments later, Colton gestures to the waiter that the cocktail is for me.
“But you ordered it,” I say, my brows furrowing.
“I ordered it because that’s what you actually wanted,” he replies simply, making my stomach flip. “Which brings us to our first lesson—don’t try to impress your date by pretending to be someone you’re not. You’ve never not ordered a cocktail or some sort of alcoholic beverage when you eat out.”
My cheeks warm and I nod. “Thanks,” I murmur, lifting the glass and taking a sip.
The citrus hits my tongue, and I close my eyes for a second, indulging in the bright sweetness of it.
“Good?” he asks.
“Very,” I reply, licking my lips.
When I open my eyes, he’s watching me and something shifts in his expression before he looks away.
“Good,” he says quietly.
He looks around, studying the restaurant. “It took me a while to find somewhere decent out of town.”
“Thanks for doing this,” I say, lowering my voice slightly. “Honestly…I’m kind of freaking out about tomorrow.”
His brow arches. “Why?”
I shrug. “What if it goes badly? What if I embarrass myself?”
“Kairi,” he huffs. “It’s Brandon Dingalo.”
I laugh despite myself.
“If anything, he’s probably more nervous than you are,” Colton adds.
I smile as I remember him running off to the restroom anytime I said hi to him, but on the dating app he looks and types so confidently, there’s surely no way he’ll still be as skittish.
“Yeah,” I say, deep in thought. “Maybe.”
“Hey,” he says softly. “Forget tomorrow. Let’s just focus on tonight.”
He sits up straighter. “So, tell me about yourself. Who is Kairi Nkosi?”
I snort. “What is this, a job interview?”
“Focus,” he says, fighting a smile. “Pretend this is real.”
“But you already know me.”
“Pretend I don’t,” he says. “Pretend I’m Brandon, or someone random.”
I study him for a moment, trying to shift my mindset and figure out how I would answer that question if he was, in fact, someone random.
“Okay,” I say slowly. “Well, I’m a professional surfer—”
“Oh, cool,” he cuts in immediately, leaning forward like this is brand new information. “What’s that like?”
“Uhm,” I hesitate.
I could say I love it, but that wouldn’t be completely true because a part of me hates it for how left out it makes me feel in the industry.
I sometimes wish I could just quit and move onto something else, but another part of me knows that would break my heart into millions of pieces with no hope of putting it back together.
Surfing is my first love, and I hate that the world makes me feel like I’ll never be good enough for it.
“It’s fun,” I finally say “I have great teammates.”
Colton frowns slightly. “But what about the surfing itself?”
I think back to my practices and even the competitions and I find myself mirroring his frown. It’s not fun. It feels like going out into a battlefield, and not just because it’s a competition, but because it’s usually when I receive the most negativity.
“It’s fun,” I say again.
His frown deepens. “Do you win alot?” he asks, just as our food arrives.
No.
“A decent amount,” I say instead, picking up my fork. “What about you? Who is Colton Harrison?”
He shifts in his seat and pokes at his food. “Well…I’m the youngest of four.”
I blink, because this is new.
“I have an older sister and two brothers,” he adds, watching my expression carefully.
“You have siblings?” I ask, genuinely surprised.
He chuckles, picking up his glass of water. “I sure do.”
“Tell me everything.”
He hesitates, taking a sip of water first. “My sister is a singer.”
“A singer?” I ask, tilting my head. “Like, a famous one?”
He clears his through and looks away. “She goes by Callie James.”
I gasp, and slam my fork down on the table, my cocktail swishing dangerously close to the rim.
“The Callie James? That’s your sister? I was literally watching a rerun of her superbowl performance last night. She’s one of my favourite singers.”
He winces slightly and nods. “I know,” he says, and just like that I realize she isn’t someone he loves to talk about.
“Okay,” I say quickly, reining myself in. “That’s…really cool. And what about your brothers?”
He looks taken off guard, as if he didn’t expect me to move on from him so easily.
He’s always been used to people berating him for details about his sister and that’s probably what he expected from me too.
Maybe that’s why he’s kept that information from me for so long, because I’ve definitely made it known in the house over the years that Callie is my absolute favourite musician of all time—But I refuse to come off as one of those psychotic stalker fans he’s probably seen plenty of.
Even if I am totally obsessed with his sister—in a healthy way.
“The oldest, Cade, runs the business side of our ranch,” he says. “And Cooper handles the maintenance.”
Callie, Cade, Cooper, and Colton.
I guess their parents really like names that start with the letter C.
“Do you talk to them much?”
He shakes his head. “Nah, not really.”
He looks unphased, but there’s something closed off in his tone now, like he’s being careful about what he says.
“They must’ve been happy when you were surfing for the Rip Raiders at least,” I say before I can stop myself.
The second it leaves my mouth, I know I’ve entered dangerous territory, but before I can fix the mistake, he answers me.
“They never knew,” he admits.
“What do you mean they never knew?” My chest tightens. “You never told them?”
He shakes his head, staring down at his plate. “They don’t exactly support me choosing surfing over the family business.”
“But wouldn’t they have noticed you were on their home team instead of the Saltwater Shredders when they watched your surf competitions?”
“They don’t watch my competitions.”
My heart aches for him and I have to swallow back my tears a few times before I can speak again.
“But your sister—”
“She’s the only daughter,” he says with a small, humourless smile. “She gets a free pass.”
I swallow. “But…not you?”
Colton shakes his head. “No. Not me.”
He’s trying to hide how much it breaks his heart to not have his parents support, and thinking about how alone he must have felt when he went to The Rip Raiders—no friends or family by his side—breaks my heart too.
I can’t begin to understand how hard that must’ve been on him, and I understand even more now why he wanted to come back to The Shredders so badly.
Not being accepted back by everyone on the team must be killing him too.
To be treated like someone who wasn’t here from the very beginning… and yet he still sticks around.
“You don’t need them,” I say, squeezing my fork tight as I hold his gaze. “If they can’t support you being happy, then you don’t need them, Colton.”
He smiles sadly and nods. “I know.”
“You’ve built a new family for yourself with The Shredders, and sure you’re going through a rough patch with some members while you try to repair the hurt that leaving the team caused. But,” I pause, swallowing back the tightness in my throat, “they’ll get over it in time.”
He gives me another sad smile. “Thanks Kairi,” he whispers. “I appreciate it, and I hope you’re right.”