“Nah.” Micah chuckled. “Just my luck they’re on the mainland visiting relatives in St. Louis. I haven’t even had a chance to tell them about this.”
“Don’t worry,” she said, bumping him playfully with her shoulder since her hands were full. “Haydee’s going to record the whole deal. You can upload it later on YouTube for all of them to watch.”
“Hey, yeah. Thanks.” He smiled at her and Danica sensed real honest-to-god warmth behind it.
Warmth. As in friendly. As in good ol’ pal, chum, buddy Danica.
That’s got to change, she thought as visions of frothy ice cream drinks danced through her mind.
“Guys! Come on!” Haydee was standing several yards in front of them, wildly waving her left arm.
As they trotted down the sloping ramp into the airport’s main concourse, Danica felt a twinge in her left thigh. It was the cut she got while sitting on a broken wicker chair in Simona’s office. Seemed like months ago she had sat in that torture device of a seat listening to the C.I.T. director gripe on and on about her behavior. And now look at her. Danica was here, on Oahu, representing the camp as their winning female surfer.
Things could sure change fast. And if her luck with Simona could reverse itself, so could the situation with Micah.
“Aloha! Welcome to Oahu.” A beautiful woman with native features and a bright hibiscus-patterned dress stood greeting travelers. She leaned forward and placed a lei of purple orchids over Zeke’s head.
“Mahalo,” he said.
“And one for you.” The lady turned and draped the same style lei over Micah.
“Thanks,” he said, stepping aside so she could reach Danica.
“And for you—”
“Wait.” Danica held up her free hand. “I want one of those,” she said, gesturing to a pile of yellow leis on a nearby bench.
The woman looked confused.
Danica sighed. She knew they didn’t have time for this. The guys were watching in bewilderment and Haydee was at the far end of the concourse shouting their names and signaling with her free arm as if trying to direct aircraft. But she didn’t care. She was wearing a Kelly green top that would clash with the purple lei. And Haydee wanted to take pictures once they got to the hotel.
Everything had to be perfect.
“May I have a yellow one instead, please?” she asked sweetly.
“Of course.” The lady’s smile was starting to look forced. She set down the purple lei and snatched a yellow one from the nearby pile. “Welcome to Oahu,” she said, placing the flowers over Danica’s head. “I hope you enjoy your stay.”
“Oh, I will,” Danica replied. “I definitely will.”
Micah stared out the window of the taxi van, watching the familiar terrain pass by. He’d made this drive from the airport dozens of times while visiting Oahu with his family. He knew every turn, every stop, every beach view. But this time it felt different. Everything seemed a little . . . unreal.
He still could barely believe he’d won Camp Ohana’s surf expo. Sure, he’d worked hard and gave it his best shot, but he never actually let his mind go to that next step. He’d never imagined himself holding the trophy or getting congratulated. And he never ever saw himself getting flown to the Junior Surf Invitational.
If only Cassie had competed. She would have won for sure and it would have been nice to have her there with him. Maybe they could have even finished the kiss they’d started earlier . . .
Micah slouched down in his seat and thought about Cassie. There was just something about her that made him feel as if sparks were shooting through him. Was it her looks? No. She was definitely gorgeous, but it was more than that. More than her sweet nature and sense of humor and awesome skills on the surfboard, too. Cassie just felt . . . right. He’d been drawn to her since that first day he saw her in that gold bathing suit. He could still see it in his mind . . .
Then again, maybe there was one tiny upside to Cassie not being there. If she was close by, he might be more focused on her than on the competition.
Micah suddenly realized that Haydee was talking to them.
“. . . some traditional opening ceremony and buffet dinner . . .” she was saying. “Nothing fancy, but be on your best behavior anyway. Remember, you are representing Ohana. After dinner, we all go to bed early. It’s been quite the day, and by sunset I’m sure we’ll be wiped out.”
Everyone looked at her.
“Sorry. I meant tired. Besides, we have a real early start tomorrow. The competition doesn’t start till nine, but they want us down at the beach by seven thirty . . .”
It suddenly felt as if Micah’s stomach had taken a hard right turn, even as the car continued straight ahead. Just the mention of “competition” caused his brain to seize up and made him unable to hear anything else.
That was something else that was strange about being here: He was nervous. He knew it was silly of him to be so shaky. After all, he’d been steady and focused at the camp expo.
But this competition was different. It was . . . more. More intense. More crowded. More everything. He just didn’t want to let everyone down.
The seat shifted slightly as Danica yawned and stretched beside him. The next thing he knew, her head was resting on his right shoulder.
“Uh . . .” was all he could think to say.
“Man, I’m zonked,” Danica murmured. She made a little birdlike noise and snuggled in closer, her right hand falling across his chest, her flower-scented hair right beneath his nose.
Micah looked up at Haydee, wondering if she would put a stop to it with a long lecture about PDA and representing Camp Ohana with proper modest behavior, but she was too busy leafing through a stack of forms. He then glanced over at Zeke, who was sitting on the other side of him, but the guy hadn’t noticed it either. Instead he was staring out the window and mumbling something about the trade winds.
Micah sat straight as a longboard, wondering what to do. Should he make Danica stop? It wasn’t that big a deal. It wasn’t like they were kissing. Danica was probably just worn out from the trip and all the excitement, and the backseat was pretty crowded with the three of them. It didn’t mean anything.
In fact, it was kind of . . . nice. After all, Danica was a friend. Sort of. He still cared about her even after the weirdness of their breakup. And the weirdness was pretty much gone now.
Besides, Micah was also tired. Gradually he relaxed again, easing back into a comfortable position. After a while, the regular swaying motion of the car and the sounds of the motor mixed with Zeke’s steady mumbling made him drift off, too.
Two
It worked.
Danica sat as still as she could, pretending to be napping. Micah, in the meantime, had actually fallen asleep. His head was resting against hers and his hand lay atop her forearm. She could smell that familiar Micah scent she had grown so accustomed to last summer: sunblock mixed with some sort of citrus-scented shampoo. It felt so cozy and comfy.
When she’d first cuddled up against him, she was halfway scared he’d ask her to stop—in his superpolite Micah way. But he didn’t. Then he leaned into her all sweet and snug. It was just the proof she needed. Like, even though he acted as if he was totally over her, his body couldn’t hide his true feelings.
The van slowed to a stop and Danica opened one eye halfway. They had pulled up at the Surfside Hotel. A tiny wave of disappointment washed over her. Now she’d be back to dealing with in-denial Micah.
“Wake up, sleepyheads!” Haydee leaned forward and rapped on Danica’s knee. “We’ve got checking in and unpacking to do.”
“Huh?” Danica said, acting as if she were just now awakening.
Micah’s head jerked up and he blinked, wondering where he was. Then he looked down at his hand resting on Danica’s arm. Quickly he raised it over his head and pretended to stretch.
His eyes met hers and Danica could almost see the tension refilling.
She had to be careful of what she said. If she
came on too strong, he’d avoid her as if she had the Ebola virus. But if she acted like nothing happened, that would be obvious, too.
“Uck!” she exclaimed, patting the top of her head. “I think you drooled in my hair.”
That seemed to do it. Micah laughed and his shoulders returned to their normal elevation. “Sorry,” he said. “Think of it as hair gel.”
“Gross!” She gave him a playful shove.
The four of them spilled out of the van and hauled their luggage and equipment into the hotel lobby. Danica had been expecting someplace a little more upscale—with mood lighting and fountains and marble statues in the lobby. Instead she found herself in an older building, with maroon and navy patterned carpet right out of the 1990s, buzzy fluorescents, and lots of pale, elderly tourist ladies in muumuus.
If any of the others were disappointed in the digs, they weren’t showing it.
“Thank god we’re here,” Haydee said, plopping her tweed duffel on the floor. “You guys are free to wander about while I check us in. But be back in ten minutes.”
“Yesss!” Zeke raised his fist in the air. “Time to go pay homage.”
“What are you talking about?” Danica found it strange that Zeke should be one of the adult chaperones considering he acted more like a kid than she did. “Pay homage to what?”
Zeke looked at her as if live shrimp were crawling out of her ears. “The Duke statue, man.”
“The what?” she repeated, but Zeke was already loping out the front door.
Micah laughed. “Come on. I’ll show you.”
She followed the guys two blocks down to Waikiki Beach. The place was packed. Throngs of tourists with skin the color of marshmallow (soon to be carnation pink) littered the sandy shoreline. But even they couldn’t spoil the view—the beautiful turquoise water glittering in the sunlight, and the familiar postcard image of Diamond Head looming up out of the water to their left.
Zeke led them down the sidewalk to a large bronze statue. It was of a man standing in front of a surfboard with his arms outspread.
“Duke Kahanamoku,” Micah explained to Danica as Zeke, with reverence, placed his airport lei on one of the outstretched arms. “The Father of Surfing. He made the sport popular worldwide.”
Danica stared into the dark metal face. He seemed like a nice guy. Most people would seem stuck-up with their arms out like that—all “Hey, look at me!” Instead he looked as if he were welcoming everyone to the beach.
Maybe someday they’d have a statue of her on the shores of Cocoa Beach, and visitors could leave real necklaces on her arms . . .
“Your turn,” Zeke said, stepping down off the rock base of the monument.
Micah scrambled up and hung his lei on the opposite arm.
Danica suddenly didn’t want to. It was her stupid lei. She’d gotten the right color and everything. Besides, she didn’t want to bow down in front of this dude, no matter how nice he looked or how much he did for her sport. It would be like . . . handing over a piece of her power. “Nope. Not this time, guys,” she said.
Micah just shrugged but Zeke looked at her as if she’d just pulled a gun on him. “What? You aren’t gonna pay tribute?”
“We Florida surfers do our own thing.”
“Okay.” Zeke seemed to be backing away from her ever so slightly. “You want to snub the island, that’s your business. But don’t blame me if bad luck falls upon you.”
“Whatever.” Danica wanted to point out that if the statue was really so powerful, he probably wouldn’t still be stuck working as Camp Ohana’s laziest counselor. But she behaved. “What’s that for?” she asked, changing the subject. She pointed to a camera mounted on a nearby telephone pole.
“It’s a webcam,” Zeke explained.
“For security?”
“Well, yeah, maybe. But also so people can see you on the Internet.”
“You mean people can see us right now? Online?” Danica absently smoothed her hair with her left hand.
“Yep. Oh, hey! That gives me an idea.” Micah’s face lit up so suddenly, it practically went ding. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, hit a couple of buttons, and pressed it against his ear.
“What’s he doing?” Zeke asked.
“Probably calling his dad,” Danica replied.
As she watched Micah pace around with his sleek red Nokia, muttering, “Come on, come on,” a new thought pushed its way to the front of her brain.
“You still have my cell number programmed into your phone?” she asked him.
Micah’s eyes lifted to hers. “Huh? Oh, yeah. It’s in there. Why?”
“Just wondering,” she said, staring out at the ocean. “Thought it could be useful in case we get separated here.”
It would be useful, but that wasn’t why she asked about it. The fact that she was still one of his cell contacts was an excellent sign. It meant he hadn’t fully deleted her from his life. It meant that he wanted her back in—even if he didn’t realize it himself yet.
“Finally!” Micah exclaimed, doing an about-face. He pressed his phone against his right ear and covered his left ear with his hand. “Charlie? Hey, Charlie! It’s Micah!”
Charlie! Disappointment crashed over Danica like an icy cold wave. He was calling the camp office!
“Yeah! We’re in Oahu. In fact we’re on Waikiki Beach right now! Hey, go get Cassie and bring her to the office. Don’t ask, just do it! Get the whole gang!”
Danica clenched her fists reflexively. She hated hearing him shout Cassie’s name. She knew it was just because he was on his cell at a noisy beach, but still. Broadcast your little obsession to the world, why don’t you?
Micah spun back around and smiled at her and Zeke. “He’s getting them.”
Whoopee. Danica wondered if there was any way she could toss his phone into the surf and make it look like an accident.
“What? Yeah, I’m here!” Again Micah turned his back to her and shouted into the cell. “Who’s there with you? Great! Now I want you to go to a website. Don’t ask, just do it!”
Danica pretended to fiddle with the clasp of her bracelet as he hollered the URL to Charlie. Stupid phones. She had Micah all to herself for a change and what does he do? He calls camp. Maybe she should have put that lei on the dumb statue after all.
“Danica!” She glanced up to see Micah and Zeke in front of the camera. Micah was waving her over while Zeke kept striking different poses.
Fine. She’d play along. Danica sashayed over to the guys and stepped in between them. “Cheese!” she cried, throwing her arms around Micah.
Let Cassie watch. Let her see what she’s missing out on.
He called. He asked for me. Charlie said he wanted me most of all.
Cassie kept turning these thoughts over and over in her mind like a lucky penny, hoping to take the edge off the burning sensation in her gut. There stood Micah, smiling and waving with one hand while holding his phone in the other. And there beside him—no, more like on him—was Danica, looking all perky and pretty and covered in flowers.
The sight of the Duke Kahanamoku statue—her favorite surfer of all time—barely even registered in her brain.
Thanks, Micah. It’s sweet of you to want to say hi to me via the webcam, but I could do without the whole ex-girlfriend-clinging-to-your-side image.
“Can you see us?” came Micah’s voice over the speaker phone.
“Yeah,” everyone replied in unison. Besides her and Charlie, Tori, Andi, and Ben were all crammed into the tiny front room of the camp’s main office.
“You guys are so lucky! I love Waikiki,” Andi crooned. She bounced on the toes of her sneakers, causing her hair to spring about this way and that, like tiny explosions of reddish-brown curls. “Wish we could be there to cheer you on!”
“Me too,” came Micah’s reply. A second later they could see him mouth it via the website image.
Ben stooped over the phone receiver. “So you guys gonna kick some butt tomorrow or what?”
Then came a pause. Micah’s shoulders hunched ever so slightly. “Yeah, I hope,” he said, followed by a chuckle.
“Of course he is!” Tori said to Ben. Then she bent down over the phone. “You’ll rule the place. This is Tori, by the way.”
Another chuckle. Now Micah was shuffling his tennis shoes in the sand. “I figured it was you.”
Cassie wished she could magically reach through the computer screen and throw her arms around Micah—the way Danica kept doing as she mugged for the webcam, only for different reasons. She wanted so badly to reassure him that he would do fine. That it was normal to be nervous before competition—terrifying thoughts of sharks notwithstanding.
Plus, she just wanted to be there, close to him, holding his hand and maybe even finishing up that kiss they started.
“Hey, um, guys? Could I talk to Cassie for a bit? I mean, like, alone. Not over speakerphone.”
Cassie’s mouth automatically boinged upward and her cheeks got all toasty. The others looked at her simultaneously, all wearing matching knowing grins.
“Sure thing,” Andi said. “Good luck tomorrow, guys! Bye!”
One by one they filed out of the office, each of them casting smug glances at Cassie as they passed her. Charlie pushed a button on the phone and gave her the handset as he walked toward the door.
She peeked out the window and waited until they were safely out of earshot before placing the receiver to her ear.
“Hey,” she said through her smile. For some reason, she just couldn’t wipe the dopey-happy look off her face. Plus her knees were doing some sort of weird dance. Good thing he couldn’t see her the way she could see him.
“Hi. How’s it going?” he asked.
“Good.”
“Good. So . . . what’s been going on?”
“You know. Usual stuff.” Cassie ransacked her mind for something more to say—something clever and charming. “The fried potatoes were extra greasy this morning.” She squeezed her eyes shut and groaned. Was that the best she could do?
He laughed. “Really? Sorry to hear it.”
Sunset Page 2