Honeymoon Rebound

by Eddie Cleveland

  “There you are.” His brown eyes glance back and forth between us. “Sorry to interrupt, but our parking spot is only free for five more minutes, man. We’ve gotta get a move on if you don’t want another ticket.”

  “Shit,” Cohen growls, his eyebrows knit together as he moves away from me. The moment we shared, whatever it was, it’s shattered. And I want it back. “I’ve gotta go, here gimme your phone.” He holds out his hand and I slide it out of my yoga pants pocket. Cohen quickly puts his number in and hands it back to me. “Let me know. The stargazing starts at nine, but I’ll be there at eight.”

  I swallow hard and wordlessly watch him cross the patio over to the exit. He looks back at me. “Either way, you should go. It’ll be a good time.” He smiles and I nod, still holding my phone with both hands.

  He disappears through the door with the other guy and I still don’t move until I can’t see them through the glass anymore. Finally, the spell is broken and I move like a statue coming to life after hundreds of years of being a prisoner of stone. I look down at the cell phone in my hands and smirk at the contact information he typed in:

  Wild Cohen: (808) 235-5972

  Laughing, I hit the button to send him a message and open up a text:

  It’s a date.

  I don’t need to think about it. There’s no dramatic pause. I just hit send as quickly as my fingers possibly can.

  After all I’ve been through, I could use a walk on the wild side.

  5

  Finn

  “Every fucking time.” I glare up at the clock on the wall. One thirty. An hour and a half after I told these two princess types to have their surfboards back. Normally, I don’t close the shop at noon, but on Tuesdays, I’ve got no choice. There’s another job I have to get to and I still have to stop by the Tiki Shack because I need a beer first.

  Okay, so I don’t have to go to the bar. I don’t really need the beer.

  “I know we’re a bit late, but surfing is like, hard.” The chick with more makeup than I’ve ever seen on a human face blinks at me.

  “Right?” her friend with hair the color of a brass doorknob agrees.

  “You know what else is hard?” the dye-job-gone-wrong continues chatting.

  “What?” princess number one answers.

  “Getting a good selfie with those huge boards. Like, you think ‘Hawaii is gonna be so many amazing pics for my social,’ right?”

  “Totally,” princess number two agrees.

  “But, it’s really hard to get the lighting right. It’s like, how do you turn down the sun?”

  On second thought, I do need that beer.

  “Right, so you’re over the rental time by an hour and a half,” I cut in, “and you’re walking into my shop with,” I look from one girl’s hands to the other, “zero boards in your hands. What’s going on here?” I’m trying not to snarl. My business partner is always telling me to be friendlier to the customers. Apparently, my temper is getting us bad reviews on Yelp.

  I get it; I do. I’m here to serve the people. If I lose my patience with every entitled idiot who shows zero respect for my business or my time, I’d have died from a rage heart attack years ago.

  To the people who rent my boards, this is a fun tack-on experience to their vacation. Maybe surfing is something on their bucket list. Maybe it’s something their buddy dared them to try. Whatever their reasons are for getting out there, whatever motivates them to face their fears, to find balance on a shaky board slicing across waves, I support it.

  To me, getting out on the water, hearing the roar of the ocean rushing around me, sucking salty air into my lungs, it’s as close to being a god on earth as you can come. It literally feels like flying across the top of the water. And, like a god, I choose to spend my time in paradise, which is why I made Hawaii my home.

  “Those boards you gave us were so big,” the brassy blonde complains and gives me a pouty face.

  “And heavy,” the other one chirps in.

  “Exactly. So, we had to leave them on the path, they’re not far.” She says it like she thinks she did me a favor.

  “Get out.” My lips curl and my nostrils flare.

  “Hey, you don’t have to be rude!” princess number one gets haughty.

  “Yeah, we did the best we could. Don’t get mad at us. You’re the one who gave us the wrong sized boards.” The sidekick perches her hands above the bows on her string bikini.

  “Go.” I point to the door, my eyes are slits and my jaw steel. I struggle to keep my voice even, I don’t want to scare them.

  Since I can remember, I’ve been the biggest guy out of my friends. Six foot four doesn’t sound like giant stature, if you grew up in a family of basketball pros, but in most crowds around most people, I’m like a tower.

  Obviously, I’m not too threatening because the girls both roll their eyes at me in unison. “Whatever.” One scoffs and they nonchalantly exit my shop.

  I shake my head and imagine the stupid reviews those two are going to leave for our shop later today. Who am I kidding? It’ll take them longer than a day for those two to construct a proper sentence. I probably don’t have to worry about it until next week … at least.

  I hurry out and grab the boards the girls left on the path to the beach beside my shop. It takes a bit to get them inside and put away but I still have enough time to grab my cold one if I scoot over to the Tiki bar right now.

  Why do I need a beer so bad? Well, I came to Hawaii for two things, the first was surfing. It’s the first thing on my mind when I open my eyes and the last thing before I drift off to sleep. I’ve had more than one girlfriend complain that I didn’t love them as much as hitting the waves… and they were right. The second thing is to enjoy the simple life.

  Between teaching lessons and early morning time I make for myself on the waves, I get plenty of surfing in. Working two jobs doesn’t leave much time for the simple things though. As stupid as it sounds, things like a cold beer on a hot day don’t happen unless you make them. Making time for little moments, to me, that’s the meaning of life right there. I don’t give two shits about money or looking fancy, but when you live here, you’ve gotta care. Living in heaven on earth doesn’t come cheap.

  I double-check the door before I pocket the keys and jog as well as anyone in sandals can across the sand to the bar. I rush around the corner of the hut and chest bump right into some dude, his blue drink goes flying, and he lands on his ass.

  “Oof!” He goes down hard. The guy is jacked, he looks like he spends serious time in the gym. Here we go, this guy is gonna chew me out. Just what I need, another tourist fiasco.

  “Hey man, sorry. Let me help you up.” I offer my hand and expect him to hop up swinging, but he surprises me and grabs it.

  “No, that was on me. I wasn’t looking where I was going. I’m so nervous, I wasn’t paying attention.” He gets his feet under him and wipes at the blue drink soaking into his shirt.

  I’m so surprised with how cool he’s being about the whole thing. I guess I need to stop painting all the tourists with the same brush. “Sorry you’re wearing your drink. Here’s let me get you another one.” I clap his back and lead him to the bar. “Hey, Linda?” I catch the eye of my friend working.

  “Let me guess, a pint of house lager?”

  “Yeah, and a … sorry,” I turn to the guy I bulldozed, “what are you drinking?”

  “A blue Hawaiian.” He stares off like his drink is the last thing on a long list of things on his mind.

  “And a blue Hawaiian too, please.”

  “You got it, a regular and a double D.” She starts mixing the cocktail.

  “Double D?” The tourist’s eyebrows shoot up quizzically.

  “Yeah that’s bartender code.” I look over my shoulder at him.

  “For what?”

  “Drunk diabetes, I think. ’Cause of all the shots and all the sugar. You got a strong drink.” I turn and face him. He looks flustered and I don’t think it’s onl
y because I plowed into him.

  “That’s why I ordered it. The only way I can drink so much booze at once is if it’s super sweet. Anyway, thanks for getting me a new one.”

  “Yeah, of course. Sorry, I ruined your shirt.” I point to the blue streak blooming into a tidal wave across his top.

  “It’s fine.” He shrugs. “I’m Benji, by the way.”

  “Finn.” I shake his hand.

  “Here you go,” Linda interrupts us, sliding our drinks across the bar. “That’ll put you back twenty-five bucks, Finn.” She rings me up and almost looks like she’s taking joy out of the shock on my face.

  “Twenty-five?” I run my hand through my long hair and straighten up with surprise. “My beer is usually four bucks!”

  “Yep, those DDs aren’t cheap, so quit complaining and pay up.” She holds out her hand, her brown eyes twinkling gleefully.

  “If those girls would’ve returned their boards on time, none of this would’ve happened,” I grumble as I pull out my wallet.

  “Here, it’s no biggie, I’ll pay for it.” Benji pulls out his bank card and tries to grab the interact hand-held.

  “No, I’ve got it. I knocked you over, it’s my fault.” I hold up my hand and he stops cold. I realize I might be doing that intimidating thing again so I force myself to smile but it feels phony. I hand my cash over to Linda and tell her to keep the change.

  “Come on, have a seat with me.” I nod to the barstools and we sit down together. Benji sucks back an enormous amount of the slushy drink and I sip my beer. He suddenly stops and squeezes his eyes shut, dropping the straw free from his mouth and presses his hands into his temples.

  “Ahh, brain freeze.” He leans forward.

  “Yeah, you might want to ease up a bit there, man. Let me guess, you’ve got cold feet?” I size him up. He looks about the age of most of the guys who get dragged here for destination weddings.

  “I guess so.” He looks down.

  “Ah, don’t sweat it.” I clap him on the shoulder. “It’s only committing to one chick for the rest of your days on earth. No biggie, right?” I rib him.

  “What?” He blinks. At least his eyes are open again. “Oh, you think I’m getting married. No, I haven’t found the right guy. I don’t know if I even believe in marriage, to be honest.” He takes another drink and looks up at me.

  “I hear ya. It’s hard to imagine there’s just one girl out there, or guy,” I nod at him, “who could make the no-strings thing worth giving up,” I agree.

  “Exactly.” Benji nods.

  “If it’s not a wedding, why do you have cold feet?” I take another swig and watch as Benji squirms a little.

  “I’m supposed to go parasailing with a friend in a bit and, it sounds stupid, but I’m afraid of heights.” He lowers his voice like he’s telling me something scandalous. He is not.

  “And?”

  “And nothing. I’m a ball of nerves. I don’t think I can do it.” He sighs.

  “Well, why did you book the thing if it bothers you so much?” I run my hand over my beard and glance down at my watch. I’ve gotta get going soon or I’m gonna catch shit at my next job.

  “I didn’t book it. I’m doing it as a favor to my friend.” He looks up over my shoulder and a big smile exposes his blue-stained teeth. “Speaking of.” He stands up and holds out his hands to someone behind my back.

  I turn around and am struck dumb with a slack jaw for the second time today. This time it isn’t because of my tight wallet, it’s because a girl with green-brown eyes and thick curls walks up to him with open arms.

  I try to take another swig of my beer and check her out from behind the mug, discreetly. My eyes slide down her dewy skin. She has little blond hairs standing up on her arms, does she feel the charge in the air? The one snapping me like a taser.

  “This is my friend, Joss. And this,” he points at me, “is Finn.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Her smile is soft and warm.

  “Same.” I stand up next to them.

  “I can see I’m interrupting, sorry,” she looks at her friend, “but we’ve gotta get going. Everyone has to meet on the dock in fifteen minutes.

  “Fifteen?” Benji squeaks and suddenly grabs his drink and chugs back the entire thing. I practically get brain freeze from watching. “Make them wait, I’ll be right back. I’ve gotta change.” He rushes off and leaves a confused looking Joss behind.

  “I accidentally rammed into him and knocked his drink into his shirt,” I explain.

  “Oh, um, okay. I guess I should go try to keep them from leaving without us. Ugh, this is going to be awkward.” She cringes and her nose crinkles up. It’s pretty fucking cute.

  “Who did you book with?” I cross my arms and look down the shoreline.

  “Through the hotel.” She frowns.

  “What hotel?” I persist.

  She lifts an eyebrow like she’s not sure if she should say.

  “I’m not going to stalk you.” I laugh, but she doesn’t join in. “I know most of the guys who do the tourist stuff around here. See the surf shop over there.” I point over.

  “Uh, yeah?”

  “It’s mine. Well, half mine. I can probably get them to hold up the boat for you.”

  “Really?” Her eyes brighten; the worry disappears from her face.

  “Maybe.” I shrug.

  “We’re at the Hilton.” She nods toward the looming hotel.

  “Okay, so you’re probably booked with Sky-High, right? Through Brian.” I grab my phone and hit the contact.

  “Yeah, you’re right.” She watches me.

  “Hello?” my buddy answers.

  “Brian? Hey, it’s Finn. Listen, man, I’ve got the most stunning chick I’ve ever seen in front of me right now. She’s agreed she’d go out on a date with me if I could get you to hold the boat for her and her friend for the parasail you’re heading out on.” I watch her face as her smile turns into a huge grin.

  “Is that so,” Brian answers.

  “True life,” I answer. “So, can you help me out? You owe me, man,” I remind him.

  “Are you calling this in as your favor?”

  “I am.” I nod.

  “And then we’re squared away, you never get to ask me for another thing ever, right?” Brian asks.

  “Yup, we’ll be even-Steven,” I agree.

  “How long you need me to hold the boat?”

  That’s what I thought.

  I finish making the arrangements quickly and hang up, my eyes never leave Joss’s beautiful, bemused face the whole time.

  “He’ll hold the boat until twenty after.” I grab my beer and finish it.

  “Impressive.”

  “Was it?” I answer nonchalantly.

  “You managed to save our afternoon adventure and get a date out of it.” She laughs.

  “So you’ll let me take you out tonight? I’ve got a thing until nine, but I can pick you up after.”

  “Tonight?” Her unique eyes cast to the floor and she frowns. “No, I can’t tonight.”

  “How about tomorrow then, bright and early? You meet me down here and we’ll go surfing.”

  “I don’t know how to surf.” She looks genuinely disappointed.

  “Not a problem,” I murmur. “I’ll give you your own private lesson.”

  “All set.” Benji pops up beside us and makes us both jump. His clothes are clean and it looks like his hair is freshly styled too.

  “We’ve gotta go.” She grabs his hand and starts to pull him down the beach.

  “What? But aren’t we too late?” Benji looks from Joss to me and back again.

  “No, Finn got them to hold our boat. We’ll still make it.” She tugs at him.

  “Thanks, Finn.” Benji’s face falls flat.

  “Anytime.” I laugh. “Hey, Joss, I’ll be here at six. Don’t be late,” I call out after her.

  “I’ll be here,” she calls back.

  I’ll admit it, I don’t mind watching h
er walk away. Not one bit.

  6

  Joss

  I hold Benji’s hand tight, refusing to let it go as I guide us to the dock with our parasailing crew waiting. Three guys are hanging out beside a boat with the company logo covering the side. The oldest guy, who’s at least twice the age of the other two, approaches us. There’s a sparkle in his eye when he looks me over, “You must be Joss. We held your boat.” He smirks.

  “Thank you, I really appreciate it.” I sigh, relieved. I know Benji is scared, but there’s something inside me churning.

  I need to do this today. I want to move on. From all the expectations I had about being Blair’s wife. From the cracks his absence left in my foundation. I don’t want to be defined by my fiancé’s rejection. Instead of obsessing over being ditched at the altar, I’m seriously considering going on dates with not one but two hot guys in less than twelve hours.

  The truth is, I’m scared of heights too. Like, scared shitless. But I won’t let it stop me. Not today. If I’m ever going to get over being embarrassed in front of everyone I love and care about by the man who I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with, I need to face my fears. It starts with strapping into those harnesses and sailing forty feet up over the ocean in a Hawaiian sky. I need to taste freedom.

  The thing I fear will set me free.

  Hopefully, not literally, of course. The last thing I want is for the rope to snap. Benji and I would become chum for some great whites. I almost share the thought with Benji, but one glance at his bleached out face makes me clamp my mouth shut. He doesn’t look like he needs any more ways to be freaked out right now.

  “Yeah, no problem. I can see why it’s important to Finn.” He checks me out like a classic car lover who finally gets to stand in front of the old convertible of his dreams. The look fades when he looks over at Benji. “The only thing is, we’ve got you booked in for the honeymoon package with the Hilton. Is there a mistake there, or …” He tilts his sun-weathered jaw at my best friend.