Chapter 19
NINETEEN
KAIRI
“He left?” Eliana gasps. “Just like that?”
I nod and take another sip of my mojito, the bass from the music at The Kooky Coconut vibrating through the booth beneath us. Neon lights flash across the crowded bar, shifting shades of pink and blue all over the place while two servers weave through packed tables balancing trays of drinks.
“Just like that,” I confirm.
Eliana winces. “God, I forgot how exhausting men can be.”
“I’d be lying if I said I was surprised.”
I turn at the familiar voice and nearly choke on my drink. Maliah stands beside the booth holding three shot glasses between her fingers, one perfectly groomed brow arched as she studies me carefully.
“You came,” I breathe, my throat instantly tightening with emotion.
Her face softens. “Of course I came.” She slides into the booth beside me and sets the shots down on the sticky table. “You said you needed me. But if you ever keep something this big from us again, I swear I’m blocking your number for real this time.”
I laugh weakly, tearing up as she pulls me into a hug.
“Please tell me those aren’t tequila shots,” Eliana mutters, eyeing the glasses.
Maliah and I break into snort-laughs, Eliana joining in.
“Grab a glass, ladies,” Maliah says, wiping happy tears from the corner of her eyes as she pushes a glass toward each of us. “Tonight we’re yapping until we forget how to speak.”
Eliana groans but she grabs her shot anyway and we clink the glasses together.
“To emotionally unstable women,” Maliah says.
“And bad decisions,” I add.
We throw back the shots and Eliana coughs so hard her whole body jerks forward. “You forgot the salt and lime,” she rasps in the voice of a lifelong chain smoker.
Maliah gasps. “Oh my God, you’re right.”
“It’s a little late now!” Eliana wheezes as Maliah disappears toward the bar.
I laugh so hard tears blur my vision by the time she returns, not only with salt and lime, but an entire new round of shots balanced expertly in her hands.
Eliana stares at them in horror. “You two are drinking all of those yourself, right?”
“Relax,” Maliah says, sliding back into the booth. “We’ll pace ourselves.”
She does not sound convincing though, and Eliana groans before throwing herself back against the backrest.
“Now,” Maliah says, folding one leg beneath her. “Tell us everything.”
So I take a deep breath and fill them in on everything starting from the love coach agreement, the tension with Zale, the fight, the weird sponsor situation, and ending with Colton storming out tonight.
By the end of it, Eliana lets out a low whistle while Maliah stares thoughtfully at the shot glass.
“So,” Maliah says slowly, “what I’m hearing is that both Zale and Colton are into you.”
I nearly choke on my beer. “That’s not—”
“And,” she continues over me, “they’re both being idiots about it.”
“Eliana?” I ask desperately.
She shrugs apologetically. “I fear she may be correct.”
“No,” I argue. “Colton literally told me from the beginning nothing could happen between us.”
“And yet you two fooled around after you got stood up,” Maliah points out.
“Okay, yes that happened,” I groan frustratedly, “but then he said it couldn’t happen again.”
Maliah reaches for the next round of shots. “That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have feelings for you, babe.” She slides a glass toward me. “That just means he thinks he’s permanently trapped in the friend zone.”
“Exactly,” Eliana agrees, pouring salt onto our hands. “He’s probably waiting for you to realize you like him back.”
I shake my head. “No. If Colton had feelings for me, there’s no way he’d help me get with Zale. They hate each other.”
Maliah slams her shot glass down. “Personally, I think you should forget both Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumbass and focus on coffee shop guy.”
Despite everything I’m feeling, I laugh. “Wait, which one’s the dumbass?”
“Depends on the day.”
Eliana perks up. “Have you read the book he gave you yet?”
I shake my head. “Not yet. I’m planning to get to that this weekend.”
“That’s perfect,” Maliah says, eyes lighting up mischievously. “Read it, text him, and go on a real date with someone you don’t have a complicated past with.”
“Almost sounds too good to be true,” I mutter.
“It probably is,” Eliana agrees.
We all laugh again, but eventually the conversation turns more serious.
Maliah studies me for a while. “I do want to talk about what happened at the competition today though.”
The joy I was feeling drains from my body almost instantly, and I sink back against the booth cushion with a long sigh. “I’m still trying to process all of it.”
“I wish you’d told us what you’ve been going through sooner,” Eliana says gently. “We want to show up for you, Kai.”
“Seriously,” Maliah adds, frowning. “I’m pissed Colton got to protect you before I did. I would’ve fought everybody.”
I snort. “At least if you punched someone, Gabriel wouldn’t have been so angry.”
“Exactly.” She crosses her arms. “Me starting the fights doesn’t affect the team rankings, because I’m not on the team anymore.”
“But we all know Koa would jump in, and he’s technically just on a hiatus until next year.”
Her nose wrinkles. “Ugh. He’s always getting in the way of my worst plans.”
I trace the rim of my beer bottle thoughtfully. “Gabriel admitted he’s been trying to get Stephen removed from the judging panel for a few years now.”
Eliana blinks. “Wait. Seriously?”
I nod slowly. “Apparently he noticed the scoring difference too.”
Maliah’s jaw tightens. “I’m digging into that judge. Someone in town is bound to have some dirt on him in exchange for cupcakes.”
“You can’t interrogate people with baked goods,” I laugh weakly.
“Watch me.”
Eliana reaches across the table and places a hand over mine. “Can I ask you something?”
I nod carefully.
“Why do you seem so okay being called a… well, a half-breed? That’s a racial slur, Kairi.”
I look down at my hands in my lap. “Aren’t I though?”
They both gasp with horrified expressions. “Kairi!”
I lean my head back against the booth and stare up at the ceiling lights.
“I can’t call myself White, because nobody looks at me and sees a White girl.
” My throat tightens. “And I’ve been told enough times that I can’t call myself Black because I’m mixed.
” I laugh quietly, but it sounds hollow even to my own ears.
“You guys can’t possibly understand how confusing it feels to be both a product of your parents, but also different when it comes to race.
It feels like I exist in this weird middle ground where nobody fully claims me. ”
They’re both quiet, but when I finally look back at them, Eliana’s wiping at her eyes and Maliah looks furious.
“Kai,” Maliah says carefully, voice trembling slightly, “I know I won’t ever truly know what it feels like for you, but being mixed doesn’t make you a half-breed. That’s not a description, it’s a slur. It’s meant to dehumanize you.”
Eliana nods quickly. “It’s disgusting, Kairi.”
I press my lips together as hard as I can as my emotions try to pour out of me.
“I’m just tired,” I whisper. “I’m so tired of constantly having to prove I deserve to exist in spaces everyone else gets handed so easily.”
Eliana reaches for my hand immediately. “Then let us fight beside you.”
“Seriously,” Maliah says. “I will throw hands for you.”
I blink at them both. “You’d actually do that?”
They both stare at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“You’re our best friend,” Maliah says.
“We’d help you hide a body if you needed us to,” Eliana nods solemnly before her eyes widen. “Hypothetically, of course.”
I burst into laughter so hard my stomach hurts. Maliah nearly falls sideways into me laughing too, and the heaviness in my chest eases for the first time all day.
“I missed this,” I admit quietly once we calm down. “I’ve really missed you guys.”
Eliana’s face softens. “I’m sorry I’ve been so absent lately. With all the wedding planning and everything, I’ve sucked as a friend.”
“Me too,” Maliah adds. “I’ve been so focused on my bakery, I’ve put everyone on the backburner—even Koa.”
“What if we commit to a weekly girls night again?” Eliana suggests, holding out her pinky finger. “I’ll need the help of my maids of honour to plan my bachelorette party anyway.”
Maliah gasps so loudly people nearby look over. “We’re your maids of honour?” she whisper-shouts.
Eliana rolls her eyes. “Obviously. I couldn’t choose between you two so I said screw having bridesmaids, I’ll just have two maids of honour instead.”
“I’m honoured,” I say softly.
“Me too,” Maliah says, pulling us both into an awkward booth hug before she grabs the final round of shots.
Eliana physically recoils. “Please no.”
“A toast,” Maliah declares, lifting her glass. “To the future bride.”
“And to the best friends a girl could ask for,” I add.
We clink our glasses together and take the shots, Eliana subtly gagging next to me.
“We forgot to get new salt and limes again,” she coughs.
Maliah and I collapse into laughter and an overwhelming feeling of gratitude courses through me because I don’t feel so alone anymore. I don’t know what I’d do without these girls.