Page 72 of Between the Boards
COLTON
It’s beentwo whole weeks since Kairi broke up with me—or rather,fakebroke up with me since we were never really dating. The first few days were the hardest. I wanted to stay locked away in my room and wallow, but Gabriel doesn’t allow sick days, so I forced myself to keep showing up for practice and talking to her between sets as if nothing changed.
I’ve given myself a hard time every single day since admitting to her how I feel. I shouldn’t have risked it; I don’t even know why I did. But Kairi was clear from the very beginning that we couldn’t be more than friends, and I still allowed myself to be selfish by wanting more.
Now all I want is to repair everything that I broke between us, because I refuse to lose Kairi, even if that means I’ll only ever get to have her as a friend. I’ll learn to live with it. It’s better than not having her at all.
And the only way I know how to repair things, is to help her get who she’s wanted all along—Zale. The idea makes me sick to my stomach, but I know it’s the only way to show her that I can put my personal feelings aside and still show up as her friend.
I want Kairi to be happy, even if it’s not with me. But unfortunately, she won’t be able to find true happiness with Zaleshadowing over all the potential matches. So, while I plan to help her win him over, it’s only so that she can see with her own eyes that he isn’t at all the person she’s looking for.
It’d be easier to tell her all the reasons why I don’t think he’s right for her, but seeing as I don’t like the guyandI just recently confessed my own feelings for her, I can see how my opinion might come off as biased.
This is the only way, I think to myself.It’s now or never.
“I have a date tonight,” I announce nonchalantly, rubbing my towel against my wet hair.
We’ve just finished a gruelling surf practice with Gabriel to prepare us for the competition in two weeks. A few feet away, Kairi stops drying herself and looks over to me with a shocked expression.
“With who?” Koa asks, roughly drying his own hair after crashing our practice today.
“Some girl I matched with on a dating app last night,” I shrug.
Kairi stands up straighter and I instantly feel like an ass for lying, but this is all part of my big plan to win her back.
“Wait,” Zale says with a frown as he joins me and Koa. “You and Kairi broke up?”
His eyes narrow as they bounce between me and her suspiciously.
I nod. “Kairi broke up with me two weeks ago.”
“Two weeks?” He looks so happy it makes me want to smack that smirk right off his face. “I knew she’d come to her senses soon enough!”
I force a laugh. “You were right,” I say. “She really is too good for me.”
“Colton,” she hisses, and I finally allow myself to look at her, seeing the hurt and the guilt reflected in her eyes.
“I just meant that you deserve someone better than me, Kai,” I say gently. “And definitely someone better than this guy.” I jerk my thumb at Zale.
“The hell does that mean?” he snaps, smacking my thumb away. “If anyone is good enough for Kairi between the two of us, it’s me.”
I look at him with a smirk. “Prove it.”
He frowns as he stares at me, but I see the suspicious confusion in his eyes and I wonder if he’s catching on to what I’m really trying to do here.
I don’t think he’s good enough for Kairi, not in the slightest, and I doubt he ever will be. He loves being single too much, and he’s even gone as far as declaring that being single and childless is his life plan.
Once Kairi learns about that, I don’t think she’ll stick around long. She wants a husband, a litter of children, and the white picket fence life. But according to Zale, that would be his nightmare.
“Kairi,” he calls out to her, falling for my bait. “Are you busy tomorrow night?”
She looks at him, stunned. “N-no, I’m not busy.”
“Great,” he says, brightening as he looks from her to me. “Let’s go on a date.”
She doesn’t answer right away, returning her gaze back to me. I give her a small, discrete nod and her eyes widen just a fraction.
“Okay,” she says, turning her attention back to Zale with a small forced smile.
