i dare you / chapter 10
It's been weeks since I first heard that name.
Three weeks of careful politeness. Three weeks of professional distance at work. Three weeks of neutral mentor-mentee dynamics. Of coffee handoffs without lingering eye contact, of 'good mornings' without the weight behind it, of Kira sleeping in the guest house, and me pretending that was always the plan. Three weeks of Kira asking, 'Do you need help with anything?' in the same tone she'd use with a stranger. Three weeks of me saying 'I'm fine' when I wasn't.
I felt the frustration creeping in. The house was awkward. Work was awkward. Everything felt uncomfortable. But I didn't want to demand anything from her. After all, we weren't anything to each other. Or, did I dream all of it?
Because the Kira I was slowly uncovering felt so far away now.
So when I heard the soft knock on my door at six o’clock on a Saturday, I almost didn't answer. Three weeks of distance had taught me not to hope.
"Are you up?" I heard her ask through the door.
I threw the pillow to my side and called out, "Come in."
She appeared holding two cups of coffee, looking uncharacteristically nervous. "I know it's early."
"Aren't you supposed to be running?" I sat up, trying to read her face.
"I was thinking..." She placed my coffee on the nightstand, avoiding my eyes. "Maybe we could stay in bed today instead."
I blinked. After three weeks of polite small talk, this felt like whiplash. "Both of us?"
"If you want." She finally looked at me. "I mean, I brought coffee. And I was thinking we could... talk."
"About?"
She took a breath. "About how I've been an ass for three weeks."
I almost smiled. "You haven't been an ass. You've been... distant."
"Same thing." She sat on the edge of my bed, still holding her coffee like a shield. "I freaked out. After the nightmare. I didn't know how to... be normal after that."
"So you decided to be a stranger instead?"
"It felt safer." She looked down. "But it's been driving me crazy."
The honesty in her voice made my chest tight. "It's been driving me crazy too."
"I kept wanting to come back to your room. Every night. But I didn't know if..." She trailed off.
"If what?"
"If you'd still want me to." She met my eyes. "After seeing me like that."
"Kira." I reached for her hand. "That night didn't scare me away. You disappearing on me did."
She squeezed my fingers. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry. Just... don't do it again."
"I can't promise that." Her voice was quiet. "But I can promise to try."
I studied her face. "Is that why you're here? To try?"
"Actually..." She set down her coffee and looked at me with something that might have been determination. "I'm here because I still want to take you out. On a proper date."
My heart did something complicated. "After three weeks of treating me like a nobody?"
"Because of three weeks of treating you like a nobody." She ran a hand through her hair. "I hated every minute of it. And I realized something."
"What?"
"I don't want to go back to before. Before we..." She gestured between us. "Whatever this is."
"What is this?"
"I don't know yet. But I want to find out." She looked vulnerable in a way that made me want to protect her. "So, will you still let me take you out? Properly?"
I couldn't hold back my smile anymore. "You're redoing asking me on a date."
"I'm redoing asking you on a date."
"After three weeks of pretending I don't exist."
"After three weeks of being an idiot, yes."
"And you have a plan?"
She laughed, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. "I have the beginning of a plan."
"Which is?"
"Coffee. Breakfast. And figuring out the rest as we go."
I looked at her - nervous, hopeful, trying so hard to be brave. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"Okay, it’s still a yes. But first..." I patted the space next to me. "Come back to bed. We have planning to do."
To my surprise, she actually climbed in beside me, careful to leave space between us.
"This is nice," I said softly.
"Don't get used to it," she replied, but she was smiling.
"Too late."
She turned to look at me. "You know this is terrifying for me, right?"
"I know."
"I haven't done this in... a long time."
"I know that too."
"And I'm probably going to mess it up."
"Probably." I grinned. "But I'm pretty fond of your particular brand of disaster."
She laughed, and for the first time in three weeks, it felt real. "You don't know what you're getting into."
"Maybe not. But I want to find out."
She was quiet for a moment. "I made breakfast. Just in case you said yes."
"You made breakfast?"
"I may have been up since 4 AM stress-baking." She looked embarrassed. "There are muffins. And those little egg cup things."
"You stress-bake?"
"Apparently, I do now." She stood up. "I'll go get the tray."
"Kira."
She turned back.
"Thank you. For choosing to try."
Her smile was small but genuine. "Thank you for letting me."
The sun was just beginning to set when we arrived at the pier. It was the perfect time to enjoy the view. The last time I was here, Mom was still with us. Visiting the pier meant family time. Always. But the tradition died along with her. The thought of driving here, strolling around, and going to our favorite spots without her was too painful. Tristan and I never dared to come back here for the past two years.
Yet here I was. At Mom's favorite restaurant. Eating her favorite dish. Seated at our favorite spot overlooking the ocean. With Kira. A small part of me wanted to run home and cry my eyes out. But the bigger part wanted to stay and make new memories. With Kira. I was both happy and sad. Or more on the happy side than sad.
"You're unusually quiet," she said as we ate.
"I'm just... You picked Mom's favorite restaurant." I smiled.
"Yeah. I know," she said casually before she sipped her beer.
I observed her. "What do you mean you know?"
"I mean, I know." She smiled. "We had dinner here before."
"We? Who's we?"
"Your mom and I. Plus Gab."
I dropped my fork. "What?"
"Surprise." She let out a soft laugh.
It took me a while to digest what she just said. "How did that even happen?"
"She held this workshop for the science teachers at our school."
"Will you explain?"
She chuckled. "You know I'm a huge fan of hers. So I was kinda... Showing off.” She shook her head. “She noticed me…asked me to stay after the workshop. We talked about coding and all that stuff…then she—"
"Invited you to dinner with Dad. Oh my god." I sat back. "That was you."
This time, she was surprised. "She talked to you about me?"
"She wanted me to join you that night. I was around here somewhere."
"Oh. Yeah. They talked about you and Tristan a lot." She smiled.
"How are you not freaking out about this? We could've met like, three years ago."
"Yeah, and I would've met Dani sooner." She rolled her eyes.
I laughed. "We weren't even together then."
"Huh." She raised her eyebrow. "Who were you with that night?"
I let out a soft laugh. "I was with Lily."
"Oh." She smiled. "Your mom was so proud of you, you know that?"
I sighed at the thought of her. "Yeah. I miss her. Every day."
"Hey." She reached for my hand. "She's still here, I'm sure of that."
"I hope she's happy we finally met." I chuckled.
She furrowed her brows. "Finally met?"
"She wanted to set us up. She was convinced we were a good match."
She was quiet before she downed her beer. "Now I'm freaking out."
"Right?" I laughed. "I shouldn't have said no."
"But I would've," she mumbled.
I paused. "Oh…are you saying..."
She nodded. "I had someone then."
It was my turn to gulp my beer. The weight of that admission settled between us.
“Enjoying this so far?" she asked.
"I told you. I just wanna be with you." I smiled.
"Well. Uh. Stay here beside me."
I met her gaze. "Kinda enjoying the view from here. Have I told you your eyes are like the prettiest pair I've ever seen?"
She smiled. "How come?"
"They’re a different shade of green."
This time, a toothy grin formed on her face. "Let's talk about you. You're more beautiful up close. Stay here beside me."
"Wow." I chuckled and made my way beside her.
As soon as I sat down, she held my hand and turned to observe me. "Wow. See, I'm right."
I tried to look back into her eyes but she was too close. I looked away.
"How many girls fell for that on your first date?" I let out a soft laugh.
She pinched my chin and made me face her again. "They can't even have me this close on the first date. Your eyes are so blue."
I swallowed. "Okay. Maybe take it down a notch."
"Why?"
"Because if you don't stop now, I might actually just—"
"Do it." She smirked. "I dare you."
The moment hung between us, charged and perfect. But something made me hesitate.
"That's what I thought." She chuckled.
I rolled my eyes. "You might run away again."
"You know what? You might be right."
"I am." I let my head rest on my fist to look at her. "Thanks for bringing me here."
She smiled. "I was afraid it'd be hard for you. But I thought it would be special."
"Not bad for someone who didn't have a plan this morning."
"Come on. Let's get out of here."
She led me to the boardwalk, past the games and food stands. The Ferris wheel loomed ahead, all lit up against the darkening sky.
"Are we going on that?" I asked, gesturing toward it.
She stopped walking. "God, no. I don't do heights."
I laughed. "Then why are we..."
"Just wait." She pulled me to a bench positioned perfectly to watch the wheel turn, the ocean stretching out behind it. "Best view in the house."
We settled onto the bench, her arm sliding around my shoulders. The wheel turned slowly, couples and families passing by us at eye level before disappearing up into the lights.
"This is nice," I said.
"When I was a kid, I always wanted to go on that thing." She nodded toward the Ferris wheel. "But I was terrified of heights. So I'd sit here and watch other people do it instead."
"That's kind of sad."
"Nah." She pulled me closer. "Sometimes the view from the ground is better anyway."
The wheel stopped, a car suspended at the very top. We could see the couple inside, tiny figures silhouetted against the stars.
"Look at them," Kira said softly. "Probably their first kiss up there."
"Probably terrified and exhilarated at the same time."
"Yeah." She turned to look at me. "I know the feeling."
The way she was looking at me, the warmth of her arm around me, the soft sounds of the pier around us - everything felt perfectly aligned.
"Kira?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm not terrified anymore."
She smiled, leaning closer. "Neither am I."
When she kissed me, it felt like everything clicked into place. Soft and sure, no hesitation this time. I could taste the salt air on her lips, feel her fingers threading through my hair. When we broke apart, she rested her forehead against mine.
"Best decision I've made so far," she whispered.
"The kiss or the bench?"
"Both."
We stayed there until the pier started closing, watching the wheel turn and the waves crash, her hand warm in mine. When she suggested we head to the beach to watch the tide change, I knew this was more than just a first date ending.
"It's almost time," she said as we settled on the sand.
I furrowed my brows. "Time for what?"
"The tides to change." She smiled.
"Okay, and?"
"And this is my ritual for whenever something really major's about to change in my life."
"You watch the tides change along with it."
"Well, the change already happened." She put her arm around me. "But I figured we should mark it anyway."
"When we moved here, I was expecting lots of changes." She looked at me. "But I never really expected this type of change."
"Yeah? Me neither." I stroked her cheek. "Great change?"
"Just good."
"It's so much better than good."
She chuckled. "You're starting to be fluent in Kira."
"The tides have changed."
She turned to face me fully, her expression serious for a moment. "I don't usually do this."
"What, watch tides?"
"No. Let myself hope for something." She paused. "But sitting here with you, I think I'm ready to try."
When she kissed me this time, it tasted like a promise of something real. Something worth the risk. We stayed until the waves had shifted completely, talking quietly about everything and nothing. About my mother's workshop, about the guest house, about how strange it was that we'd been circling each other for three years without knowing it.
By the time we headed home, I knew things had changed. Not just the physical attraction or the careful friendship we'd been building, but something deeper. Something that felt like the beginning of everything.
See you next chapter,
Kuario