Amanda swerved, her Toyota Corolla shrieking from one hairpin turn to the next. The cool breeze rushing from the ocean and the spike of adrenaline created a perfect cocktail to keep her restless mind at bay.
She looked forward to tonight, wondering what Kai would do, but she was also fearful. What if her anticipation didn't match what he had planned for the night? 'Don't worry, Babe. I got us covered.' That's all he would say last night when they cuddled to watch Iron Man 2. Couldn't he have at least given her a hint to ease her anxiety?
That was the problem with Valentine's Day. It created excitement, but that excitement had this tendency to snowball into unfulfilled expectation.
Amanda gasped, swerving to avoid a flicker of movement darting across the pavement. Feeling guilty, she eased up on the gas. Amanda loved animals of every shape, size, and hue, even icky ones. That meant no killing. She was absolutely a Buddhist-level fanatic on that one point.
The girl driving the Corolla was a sophomore at the University of Hawaii. For nearly 9 months now she'd been dating Kai, her handsome, Hawaiian hunk. Kai's ancestors had lived on the island for generations beyond memory, and Amanda liked to tease Kai by claiming that he was a distant descendent of Kamehameha I, Hawaii's famous first ruler.
Kai had the physique of a ruler, or a football player at the very least. Amanda grinned, picturing his well-sculpted jaw and those sparkling eyes which shimmered like the water along the Kona coast. His biceps were as big as tree trunks, or at least a close runner-up. He was if anything too hot for her, she sometimes worried.
Dating a Junior made Amanda feel even a little insecure now and then. Despite the merely one year age gap, he seemed so much more mature, so worldly, that sometimes she couldn't be sure if they really belonged together at all.
And yet, here they were, 9 months later. The time had slipped through their fingers like sand, and now their first Valentine's Day date loomed. But despite how much Amanda felt for Kai, she had yet to hear those magic words. The big three words that frightened some males almost as much as the word 'pregnant.'
Three simple words: 'I love you.'
Would she hear them today, on Valentine's Day of all days? That's what she hoped, but part of her warned not to get too hopeful. He had, after all, been left in emotional ruins after dating Carly last year. They'd agreed to take things slow, and they hadn't even had sex yet, just some heavy petting.
Amanda was happy, but she wanted more. This Valentine's Day seemed like the perfect opportunity. Was it unreasonable to build up expectations after all their time together?
She pulled into the parking lot at the apartment complex outside of Hilo. The sunset was a flaming orange disc about to be dunked deeper into the water like a giant donut.
Kai stood in front of her dorm room, waiting. He drank up the curves of her body. Amanda was about 5'7, slender with medium-sized breasts and luxuriant brown hair that cascaded past her bare shoulders.
"Kai! You're early. Not acceptable!" she squealed, giving him a hug and a kiss as he twirled her in circles, laughing all the while.
"Excuse me for being anxious to see the girl of my dreams. You ready for a big night?" His eyes glinted mischievously. She gave his butt a playful slap and ducked out of the way before he could retaliate.
"That depends. Are you going to take me someplace special?"
"Define 'special.'
She clapped her hands and smiled. "Expensive."
The 6'3 Hawaiian stud gave his girlfriend a hard look. "You really do enjoy tormenting me, don't you?"
Surprising herself, Amanda stroked her hand down the front of Kai's pants, looking at him intently. "Does that answer your question?"
She smiled impishly, told him to wait right there, and proceeded to spend all of 15 minutes in her dorm room getting ready.
When she emerged Kai's mouth went noticeably dry. He stared at her like a man lost. Like he'd forgotten that the rest of the world still existed. She wore a skin-tight black dress, short-sleeved and with a zipper down the front. It was partially unzipped, leaving just enough cleavage to be enticing without being indecent. Kai opened the door to the midnight blue Camaro he drove.
"After you, my Lady."
"Thank you, Sir Knight." She always called him that whenever he was being chivalrous.
They drove silently, the sun finally sinking into the ocean, purple clouds rippling across the whole horizon. Amanda thought it was beautiful, and the light glinted off of her jade necklace.
Amanda's cell rang, and she picked it up. It was her best friend, Stacey.
"Hey girl. What's up?"
"Kai and I are going out on our V-day date. I don't have much time to talk."
"That's okay, Sweetie. I just wanted to check up on you. Are you excited about tonight? Do you know what he's got cooked up?"
Amanda laughed. The thought of Kai cooking anything was hilarious. "No clue, not yet. You'll know when I know."
"I'll hold you to that!" Stacey laughed. "I want all the juicy details, especially if you...you know."
Amanda blushed, hoping that Kai couldn't hear the seduction in her best friend's voice. "Stacey, shut up! He's right here next to me, driving!" Was it just Amanda's imagination, or was there a bulge showing underneath Kai's slacks?
"I'm just saying, honey. You know that every Best Friend Forever contract has fine print about sharing all that good stuff. You better not hold out on me."
"Fine, fine. Listen, I've got to get going." Amanda hung up on her before she could say anything else mortifying. Amanda looked at Kai out of the corner of her eye, wondering how much he had heard. Kai's hand found her arm and began stroking it as he drove with just one hand on the steering wheel. It was very distracting.
"Don't you need to drive with two hands?" she asked innocently.
"Nah, I'm good," he replied, but he gave the brunette's hand a soft squeeze before acceding to her not-so-subtle hint.
A half hour later they arrived at a pricey seafood restaurant. The swordfish was amazing and so was everything else. Amanda managed to limit herself to one glass of wine...Pinot Grigio, her favorite. Soon they were headed along the coast as dusk settled in, and with her belly pleasantly content Amanda wondered what could be next in the works.
"Listen, I hope you aren't scared of monsters," Kai warned.
Amanda smiled sweetly at him. "You know I like monsters. Monsters count as animals, and I like all animals," she continued firmly.
Kai laughed, and then tossed the tickets on her lap.
"Night time snorkeling with giant manta rays! Awww...this is the best Valentine's Day present ever!" Amanda gushed. She loved snorkeling, but she'd never been in the water at night. This would be pure awesomeness.
And it was. Two and a half hours later they were back in the car after enjoying all the sea creatures and each showering separately on the ship. Amanda had made Kai buy her at least two dozen very over-priced pictures courtesy of the ship's professional underwater video array, but Kai didn't seem to mind.
When they began heading further away from Hilo rather than back toward Amanda's dorm room or Kai's place, Amanda began to get fidgety.
"Kai."
"Yes?"
"Where are we going?"
"I rented out this sweet little villa by the beach. I thought we could, you know, spend a nice night with the waves and the smell of the ocean to keep us company. You down with that?"
Amanda's whole body became electrified. Suddenly her knees went weak. She thought, 'Oh wow, he definitely wants to take our relationship to the next level. Am I ready for this? She heard a million tiny yeses shouting in her head like smurfs on steroids.
Finally they pulled into the secluded drive that wound up to the beach house. The night was pitch black now, and Kai had to drive carefully to keep them from going off road. When at last they reached the beach house, Amanda smiled. It was huge, made to imitate a Roman villa. The well-lit exterior looked gorgeous and ornate but earthy at the same time.
"It's beautiful Kai. How did you pay for all this?" she gasped.
Kai took her hand and gave her a gentle tug. "Babe, you're worth it."
She blushed. Damn him, he had her whole body tingling.
But as promising as the night had started, things didn't go the way Amanda had hoped. Kai turned on some salsa music and for a while they danced in the living room. Then they talked about future hopes and dreams, what they would do after graduating. Kai gave Amanda a chocolate-frosted cupcake crowned with a heart of red frosting. She split it with him, insisting on a 50-50 cut.
Kai gave Amanda a lingering kiss, his hands gently cupping her buttocks through the tight dress. They made out like that, sitting on the sofa, until finally Kai disengaged, his hand lovingly sliding against her cheek.
"We should go to sleep, Babe. You take the master bed. I'll crash on the couch."
Amanda was stunned. All of this, he had gone to all this trouble to show how much he loved her, and now this? She was ready to take that next step. Amanda tried to hide the hurt in her eyes, turning away and plopping on the bed, not bothering to take off her dress as Kai turned off the lights. She heard him get into his boxers and grab a spare blanket before settling on the sofa. For a half hour she lay awake, wondering what she'd done wrong. Had she given him the wrong signals?
Suddenly out of nowhere the furtive sounds of rushing, sound-dampened footsteps jolted her back to reality.
