Splash part 6

Kei couldn’t keep the girl off his mind. Thats all his be able to think about for the past several days. He couldn’t believe it. She was finally out of the hospital. Now he could spend all the time with her he could. The girl’s conversation broke Kei’s train of thought.1

“So you don’t remember anything. You can’t remember your name?”2

“No I can’t.”3

“I’m sorry. We’re going to have to come up with something to call you until you remember. Have you thought of anything.”4

“No. I really haven’t.”5

“Hey Kaela, how about Lani?” Kei spoke up. Lani meant beautiful sky. Kei thought it fit because she was as beautiful as the sky.6

“I like it. What do you think?”7

“Lani.” Laura tried it out. For some reason part of it seemed familiar.8

“I like it.” 9

Kaela led the way to her room. The house was empty so introductions would have to wait until later. Kei went to his room to change. Lani sat on Kaela’s bed while Kaela dug around in some drawers.10

“Ummm… How about this one or this one?... No this one.” Kaela had thrown three different swim suits at Lani. All were bikinis. Each covered a little less than the one before.11

“I don’t know...” Lani started to say. She stopped. For all she knew these were descent to what she typically wears. She looked the three over. The first one she had been tossed was a dark green. It was very pretty and modest for a bikini. The second one was a light blue and shimmered in the light. The last one, the one Kaela had said was the one, was a mixture of two colors. Red and yellow. To Laura, it almost seemed like the flaming sun.12

Kaela watched Lani’s eyes inspect each swim suit in turn. When they fell ont the red and yellow one, Kaela knew she had made the right choice. Kaela picked up the green one and headed to the bathroom.13

After a few minutes, Kaela came back into the room. The green color looked radiant against her island tan. Laura was still sitting on the bed, looking at the bikini.14

“Do you need help putting it on?”15

“I don’t know. I don’t know if I have ever worn a bakini before.”16

“It’s ok. I’ll help you.” Kaela helped her into the swimsuit. It fit Laura so well it acted almsot like a second skin. Kaela pulled out a couple of shirts for Laura and her to wear over the bakini. Kei was waiting for them outside. He had a pair of navy blue trunks on with a white tank top.17

“Took you long enough. What? Couldn’t find one to match your shoes?” Kei laughed. His eyes dancing at the joke. 18

“Of course not. We had to find one that matched our eyes.” Kaela remarked back. She stepped down off of the porch. Laura had been standinging in the shadow of the door frame. As she stepped out onto the porch, Kei’s eyes were instantly drawn to her. Kaela couldn’t help but to notice the look that had come over her brother’s face.19

“Kei...”20

The first thing Kei did when he entered the house was to see if the old woman was home. Luckily, she wasn’t. He stopped and watched Kaela and the girl disappear into Kaela’s bedroom. ‘Lani.’ The name fit her. She was as beautiful as the sky. Ke walked into his room to find a pair of swim shorts. The whole time, all he could think about was Lani. The time he was going to spend with her over the next several months. Hopefully, she would regain hermemory before he went back to college.21

Throwing a tank top on, Kei headed outside. He sat down on the steps and waited. He wasn’t sitting for very long before he heard the door open.22

“Took you long enough. What? Couldn’t find one to match your shoes?” 23

“Of course not. We had to find one that matched our eyes.”24

Kei laughed. He had meant to tease his sister but the joke was on him. He started to ask where Lani was when she stepped out on the porch. Kei’s mind went blank. Even though she was wearing a shirt over her swimsuit, the actuality of her wearing an outfit that showed skin hit. He couldn’t wait to get to the beach and see what his “girl” looked like under the sun. His girl. ‘No. I can’t be thinking this.’ He thought. ‘She’s under my care. I can’t even think about flirting with her much less date her.’ The realiization of his duty struck him like a bucket of cold water. All thoughts of her and him on anything other than a friendship bases would have to stop. He couldn’t think of them.25

Kaela watched as her brother’s face and eyes showed the struggle. She didn’t know what he was fighting himself about, but she did see his look of longing and his smile disappear. He jsut turned around and started towards the beach. Kaela looked up at Lani. Her head was down as she stared at the floor. Lani had no idea of what had just happened.26

“Are you ready to go? It looks like Kei’s in a hurry and won’t even wait for us.”27

Lani looked up at Kaela. She was a little scared and nervous. Her eyes went from Kaela to Kei’s back. She was disappointed. He hadn’t said a word to her. Maybe once she got this shirt off, she would grab his attention.28

“Yeah. I’m ready. Is your brother ok?”29

“Don’t worry about him. He’s just anxious to get to the beach. He hasn’t really had a chance to swim much this summer.”30

“I’m sorry I’ve been such a burden.”31

“Oh no it’s not your fault. OUr grandfather is the chief of this island, and Kei is his heir. THere’s alot for Kei to know and learn before he can inherit. So he has been busy with that. The day we found you, was his first day off. Beacuse of his status, its expected of him to care for you while you are on this island and until you remember.”32

“So I’m just a duty to him.”33

Kaela saw the pain in Lani’s eyes. She hadn’t meant to make it sound like Kei was forced to be with her. She had just tried to make an excuse for his behavior.34

“No, you’re not another duty. He wants to help you. It was a choise, not an order..” Kaela said. She had tried to solce the problem, but the hurt was still done.35

What she said made Lani think about things. Until she regained her memory, she would probably be on this island. Unless someone came looking for her and could prove they knew knew her. Because she couldn’t remember whether she had a significant other or not, she would have to stay her distance from Kei and the other men on the island. By the time they had reached the spot, she had come to the conclusion that she would be friends with Kei and nothing more. She wouln’t even think of the possibilties.36