The Tour

thirty / the show and the tour

"How could you not tell me the second that you kissed?" Alani started screaming the second that she got out of her car. She came running at me with her arms outstretched, squeezing me tightly while continuing to babble into my ear.

"There was a lot going on," I laughed.

"I've been here for years, waiting for something to happen between you, mentioning it every time he had a high school dance, every time anyone we knew got engaged, any time he so much as looked at you I would say that you guys were going to get married, and you always said that I was wrong!"

"Wait, how did you even find out?" I asked as she began to grab her board from the back of her car.

"That's the problem, I, your best friend after the Sanders boys, have to find out through my own boyfriend because you didn't even think to tell me days after you sucked each other's faces!" Alani exclaimed, clearly slightly disappointed but still altogether thrilled at the development.

"Okay, okay," I paused to laugh again, "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. I wasn't sure if it was going to be official until yesterday, which before you ask, it is now. There's just been a lot going on lately."

We began to walk down the path that was worn through trees and underbrush to get to the beach. "I know it had been a lot since the accident, so I'll let it slide this time," Alani smiled.

Alani had tried to reach out twice since the accident, but I had just been so preoccupied with Will that I had let the texts go unread. It wasn't the best move, because I definitely had time to answer them, I was just too consumed with worry to respond. And then I was consumed with the potential of romance, which was a less legitimate excuse.

"Girls, I need less screaming and gossiping and more paddling, hurry it up," Coach John's shout echoed up the hill that we were walking down, and we stepped our walk up to a jog. Coach ended up being the one that brought me away from Will and back to Alani, which may have been for the best.

There wasn't much time to talk once we were in the water and trying to pay attention to Coach John's directions, but Alani felt free to send suggestive smirks my way. New relationships were always exciting to her, but the fact that this one included two people that she had been pushing together since the beginning of time ensured that she would be stuck on this for awhile.

We spent an hour and a half in the water, but the waves were sub-par. The wind had picked up in the morning and the waves were choppier than ideal, so other than Alani landing a nice air, the day was pretty boring. I would probably have to go on a run later to make up for the shorter session, but you could only surf what the ocean provided.

"Hey, do you want to go grab food or something?" Alani asked as we loaded the gear back into our cars.

I glanced at my phone, noting the time. "Um, when do you leave next?"

She pursed her lips and thought for a second before answering, "My next comp is January 3-8th, so around then?"

"Could you text me the day before you leave and we'll go get shaved ice then, I promise that I will respond? I just told Will that I'd watch a movie with him this afternoon and I'm trying to make the most of the time we have before one of us leaves," I smiled apologetically.

"Girl all that you needed to say was Will and you had a free pass," she winked, "I'll see you on New Year's day for the shaved ice then. Or before if you want to hang."

By the time that I got home and had showered and changed, it was early evening. Will handed me a plate of leftover spaghetti when I walked into his house before he sat down on the couch in front of the television. "So, I think that I have two great options for tonight," he announced with a suspicious grin. I nodded at him to proceed.