Valentine’s Day Contest 2019 – 1st Place Winner
Little Steps To The Beat
“Wow, he sucks.”
“What are you talking about?”
“That guy was clearly open to score a three point, but nope. Kendrick thought he could score when four people are blocking him.”
“Like you would’ve done that?”
“Uhm, I always pass the ball.”
“Oh, really? How many passes you made last game?”
“Come on, they didn’t want to pass me the ball, so why should I?”
“All you needed was time to be recognized. You didn’t listen and look what happened,” she scolded me and looked at my damaged ankle. “It’s a minor injury, I told you not to worry about it.”
Before she could interject, practice was wrapping up and the noise became unbearable. “We should get going.” She nodded as she started to push the wheels of her wheelchair to move. Before she could do that, I was already pushing her.
“Cayden, you’re so stubborn!” she spat out. “Let me move myself for once while you heal!”
“I told you I’m fine!” I grumbled and poked her head lightly. “It’s only fair for both of us.”
“What are you talking about?” It took her a minute before she understood what I was saying.
“Cayden, that was two years ago.”
“But Kitana—”
“We moved on from this, why can’t you? I’ve never blamed you for this, neither did my mother.”
“How can you say that?” I rested my hand on her thigh. “When I look at you, all I see is the guilt.” I let out a deep sigh and I couldn’t bare to look at her.
“Why do you feel guilt?” Kitana asked. “I told you, I never blamed you for anything—”
“That’s exactly the reason! How can I live with myself knowing I destroyed all nerves on your legs?” I cried lightly as I kept punching her leg lightly in frustration. “Do you even feel what I’m doing to you?” I asked, putting more pressure on her thigh.
“Please stop hurting yourself!”
“No! I’m hurting you! I’m hurting you!” I yelled uncontrollably. “Why can’t you just be selfish just this once!” I cried out as my vision blurred.
“If you were, I wouldn’t have loved you so much.”
I drew little circles on the ground and sighed deeply. “Remember the dance club we wanted to join? I only agreed, because I needed a good reason to hold your hand and keep you close to me,” I let out a pained chuckle. “I ruined that for both of us.” Suddenly, I felt my cheeks being grabbed and, in a flash, I felt her lips on mine. She had her eyes closed and I realized that she was crying as well. Kitana pulled away and held my hands.
“I love you, too.”
Before I could start a mental celebration, I hear, “only as a friend.”
My eyes widened. “E-Excuse me?”
“Only as a friend,” she repeated and winked at me playfully. I laughed while wiping the remaining tears on my eyes. “I think you missed the ‘boy’ part in friend.”
“I think I said it correctly,” Kitana sniffled a bit before letting out a chuckle.
“What kind of friend kisses their ‘friend’ that passionately?” I asked as I subconsciously shorten the distance between our faces. “A bad one,” she whispered softly with a sly smirk. Her hot breath felt tingly on my lips, her tone sending shivers down my spine. I kissed her this time, wrapping my arms around her waist. I pulled away after a little bit, but still kept her close.
Her blue eyes locked eyes in mine’s, “You mean everything you said?”
“I would recite it again in a heartbeat,” I replied with a small smile, patting her thigh.
I smiled as I browsed through my playlist before putting a song as we walked together. Kitana quickly turned to me. “Bee Gees?”
“Yeah.”
“Cayden, you hate disco,” Kitana said, surprised.
“I never hated it, I was just jealous of couples that danced to disco,” I admitted and chuckled. Kitana stayed silent for a minute, before she pounced on me.
“Woah! We’re doing it here?”
“Shut up,” she laughed and shook her head. She pointed to an empty dance room and looked at me with a small smile. “Let’s do it.”
I gently carried her as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I spun us together as we rested our foreheads against each other, not caring about anything else but the moment.
-Alternate version on Wattpad @ArisaKai
Written by: Alyssa S. Calvero