He put his all into getting me walking and then gliding and soon, I didn't feel as if I was making a spectacle of myself. Kofi was a patient teacher and after a while, I relaxed and enjoyed this new experience.
Racing was next and right up my street. When we emerged from our individual Go-Karts, I had adrenalin zapping through my veins.
"Why doesn't it surprise me that you're a speed demon?" Kofi said.
Hand to my chest, I opened my eyes to their limit. "Who me?"
He laughed, a booming, joyous sound that was irresistible. If he noticed that I went as stiff as a statue when his arm went around me, I couldn't be sure. From there, we started looking for a place to have dinner and had ended up here.
As I watched him eat, a question occurred to me. "How did you learn to skate?"
"From YouTube videos and watching other people."
His intense eyes met mine. "Why d'you ask?"
"You're good at it."
He smiled and picked up his glass of water. "Yes, and I am good at many other things."
My gaze moved from his hand surrounding the glass and trailed back to meet his eyes. From his accent it was hard to tell whether he was joking or serious and if there was a double entendre somewhere in his words. Just when I convinced myself he was as straight as an arrow, his lips slowly curved and he smiled. He said something, which I missed because I was too busy staring at his mouth enclosed in the designer stubble I badly wanted to touch.
I dragged my gaze from his lips long enough to ask. "You're good at mini golf. D'you play golf, too?"
"Yes, college team."
"So, were you playing while in Ghana?"
He shook his head. "Back then I only played basketball and football. It was all fun and games, as you say in this part of the world. Tiger Woods put a different spin on things for a black boy like me. Besides that, I seem to have an aptitude for sports."
"How did you come to America?"
"School is the short answer."
"And the long one?"
He smiled again, then said, "It would take too long to tell you. Anyway, like many other African students, I wanted to see something of the world and better myself, so I studied hard and did well on my SATs."
"So, you got a scholarship."
He nodded.
The music came to a crescendo, but I stayed focus on getting as much information out of Kofi as possible. "What did you major in?"
When he told me, I raised both eyebrows. "Really?"
"Do I have a reason to lie?"
His words sounded matter of fact rather than offensive, but my stomach tightened. "Did my question offend you?"
"No, I am asking a simple question."
I swallowed Pepsi before trying to yank my foot out of my mouth, where I had wedged it with my insensitivity. "Um, well, I was wondering why you're working at the gym if you have all these qualifications."
"I never said I was working there."
"You didn't?"
I searched my mind, realizing he'd never told me he was employed there. Since he was always around and he was friends with the owner, I assumed he was an employee.
