Kina's POV
"I've never been here on Valentines day before" Erika's eyes lit up as she took in the pink and red of the highly decorated boardwalk.
I took her hand in mine as I led her to the end of the walk to watch the sunset. When the glow of the sun's golden rays hit her eyes they turned a gorgeous shade of amber. Her eyes sparkled even more in the light and I found myself falling deeper into her soul.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she giggled. I snapped back to reality.
"Looking at you like what?" I asked.
"You know what I'm talking about. You're staring at me"
"Because you're beautiful"
"Stop it" she giggled again. The sound I loved hearing. I draped my arm over her shoulder as the sun continued to dip below the horizon.
"Last call for volunteers for the open mic competition. Winner gets $1000" a lady dressed head to toe in pink shouted from the makeshift stage that was in the middle of the walk.
Erika and I shared a look.
"I'm doing it" she stated excitedly. I shrugged and followed her to the stage.
"You volunteering?" the lady in pink asked. Erika nodded.
The lady handed Erika a clipboard.
"Name, age, song, original artist and whether or not you need an instrument" the lady said.
Erika scribbled down the required information and handed the clipboard back. The lady gave her a thumbs up and we walked away.
"So what are you singing?" I questioned
"Monster by Henry" she answered. I pulled out my phone to find the song on Spotify.
"There are like three different versions of this song" I raised an eyebrow at her.
"I only know the English version off by heart" she explained. The pink lady approached us again with a guitar. Erika thanked her and tested the strings.
"Okay is there anything you can't do?" I questioned in awe.
"I have and Asian father. If you find something I can't do chances are he's going to force me to learn that skill too" she joked.
"In all honesty I wanted to be an idol when I was younger so I taught myself how to play the piano and the guitar off of YouTube and I did vocal coaching with my sister. Then I decided I wanted to be a writer" she explained.
"A writer? What does that look like for you?"
"Well either scriptwriting or song-writing" she blushed.
"Erika you're on in five" the pink lady interrupted before I could say anything.
"Wish me luck" Erika smiled before walking with the pink lady to the stairs behind the stage.
"Our next performance is from fourteen year old Erika Park who will be singing Monster by Henry" the pink lady announced before Erika walked onto the stage. Erika took a deep breath before starting the song.
She played the intro chords to the song and my jaw dropped. Erika's eyes met mine and I felt a tingle flow down my spine.
Kiss Me
Tell me all those lies like when you miss me
My heart raced as I heard her angelic voice come through the microphone.
Open up your heart and let your love touch me
I just need it all, I've been so patient, waiting for you so long
Her eyes never left mine as she sang softly. I felt myself zoning out with her voice being the background to my daydream. My mind went back to the dance. How I would have done things so much differently.
I don't wanna be a monster
But I've been here for days
How I would have kissed her that night.
Drinking too much now I want you
Can't get you off my brain
I won't be the one to tell you things
And lie to you if you wont listen
She paused and stopped playing for a few seconds. She smiled slightly at me.
I'm not a monster, monster, no
She played the final chords of the song and finished with a flourish. Erika walked off the stage and returned the guitar to its owner.
She ran over to me and wrapped her arms around me.
"That made me feel so alive" she exclaimed. I chuckled and held her tight.
"Alright everyone that was our last performance for this evening. We're going to judge this the way we always do" the pink lady said into the mic.
"Make some noise if you think Steven won" the pink lady said.
The silence was deafening.
"Make some noise if you think Veronica won"
There was a few claps from the crowd.
"Make some noise if you think Erika won"
There were a few seconds of silence before the crowd roared with screams and applause.
"That means the winner is Erika Park!" The pink lady screamed into the mic.
Erika went back onto the stage to collect her prize. She ran back to me and wrapped her arms around me once again.
"We did it" she cheered.
"No you did it" I corrected.
I took her hand in mine and we walked up the walk again towards the indie tattoo shop.
"How dead do you think I would be if I got a tattoo?" I chuckled.
"You wouldn't" Erika shook her head.
I pushed the door of the tattoo shop open and pulled her in with me.
"You wanna get something done?" a girl draped in tattoos asked. I nodded. She handed me a form and a book of designs.
I filled out the form as Erika watched me with wide eyes.
"Are you sure about this?" she whispered. I nodded as I scribbled my signature on the little line in the bottom left corner.
"Don't worry Erika. Help me pick one" I reassured her.
We flipped through the book until we settled on a design I liked the most. The tattoo was of a black rose. Simple yet it conveyed my personality perfectly.
"Alright I'll just get everything ready for you but you can take a seat right over there and your girlfriend can sit next to you on the left side" the tattoo artist explained. I took Erika's hand in mine as we walked to the other side of the studio.
"Girlfriend" she whispered.
"How does that make you feel?" I asked
"Official" she giggled.
"Do you want it to be official?" I smirked
"Unofficially" she covered her face with her hands. I chuckled and pried her hands from her face.
"It's unofficially official we're dating. I decided for you" I placed a kiss on her hand which caused her cheeks to flush pink.
The tattoo artist came back with her supplies.
"Okay. I'm Jules. My pronouns are she/her and I'm really gay. Your turn" she said.
"I'm Kina, she/her and I'm also really gay" I laughed.
"I'm Erika, she/her and I'm a baby gay" Erika said
"Cool so we're all gay here. Now Kina where do you want the tattoo?" Jules asked.
I pulled my sleeve up to reveal my right forearm.
"I remember when my forearms were still bare" Jules sighed.
She got to work with applying the stencil to my arm. I looked at Erika who was looking at me with eyes filled with worry.
"Don't worry I have a really high pain tolerance" I tried to reassure. Erika rolled her eyes.
"I'm going to do the first line so you can see that there's nothing to worry about" Jules explained. She started up her machine and carefully traced the first line.
"It's not all that bad" I reassured Erika. She chuckled and shook her head.
"Let's just say I don't believe a word you say right now" she placed a kiss on my cheek.
For the next hour and a half the room was filled with light conversation and the buzz of the tattoo machine.
"That was the last line we're all done" Jules admired her work. She cleaned the tattoo and covered it before going back to her backroom to fetch something.
"How do you feel?" Erika asked.
"Light headed" I sighed.
"That's normal. Just eat some ice cream from the store next door and you'll feel better" Jules said. She gave me a small box with the words 'aftercare' printed on it.
"The instructions on how to care for your tattoo are inside" she said handing me the box. Erika got up and walked with Jules to the front desk.
"It's $50 love" Jules said. Erika handed her the money with no hesitation.
"Are you two actually dating? I just assumed earlier but I really want to know" Jules lowered her voice thinking I couldn't hear. I focused my attention to my wrapped arm pretending not to listen to their conversation.
"Yeah. Yeah we are unofficially official" Erika said dreamily. I felt her eyes on me.
"We're gonna get going. I have to get this one some ice-cream before she faints" Erika joked. Jules handed Erika her card.
"In case you change your mind about not wanting a tattoo" Jules winked. Erika smiled politely and came to help me up.
We left the tattoo shop and walked right into the ice-cream store.
"What can I get for you two?" the guy at the register asked. I watched his eyes travel up and down Erika's body before meeting her eyes. I snaked my arm around Erika's waist and pulled her closer to me.
The guy made eye contact with me and I gave him a cold hard stare. He blinked rapidly and looked away.
"One scoop of mint chocolate ice-cream with chocolate chips" Erika replied politely. He pressed a few buttons on his computer before looking to me.
"A-and for you?" he stuttered as he turned tome.
"Vanilla" I smirked . Erika's eyes widened and she looked at me in awe.
"What's wrong?" I questioned. She shook her head and smiled to herself. Something about it made my stomach flip.
I paid for the ice cream and we went outside together.
"And what were you giggling to yourself about?" I asked her. Erika smiled and looked at me cheekily.
"Well I only know two people who like vanilla ice cream. You being one of them" she answered.
"And the other being?"
"Tabitha. One of my best friends"
Then there was silence as Erika and I walked to the end of the walk once more. When we got there Erika looked out at the sea and sighed blissfully. I took this moment to secretly take a photo of her.
"We have ten minutes till my mom gets here so I have something to ask" I paused when we got to the end of the walk.
"Will there be a second date?" I asked hopefully.
Erika chuckled and ate a spoonful of her ice-cream.
"I thought we were unofficially official" she raised an eyebrow.
"Wait you were being serious about that?"
"Aren't you the one who suggested it?" she giggled.
"Right I'm sorry" I scratched the nape of my neck.
When we had finished our ice cream we took one last look across the ocean before walking to the car lot to wait for my mother.
She arrived at ten on the dot as always. Erika and I got into the back and my mom drove off.
"So where do you live Erika?" my mom asked.
"I live fifteen minutes away from here. I'll direct you" Erika said.
My mom listened to Erika's directions and soon enough we were outside Erika's house.
"Well then I suppose this is the end of our date" I said. Erika pulled me in for a short hug before walking towards her front door.
"Second date. Next weekend. Meet at my house at twelve noon" she said before disappearing inside.
I got into the front seat and my mom drove us home.
"And?" she asked when we were sitting at the traffic lights at a busy intersection.
"I got a second date"