“Thank you for giving up your bed,” she said.
“Mi casa es su casa.”
“Gracias,” Lou said with a grin.
Lou liked Henry. He was outgoing and always smiling. She already felt like she was part of his family after knowing him for one night.
“Coffee will be ready in a minute,” he said. “You want breakfast?”
Lou was starving. Her stomach growled loudly, making Henry laugh.
“I’m going to make you a Hawaiian specialty,” Henry said, reaching for a pan.
“Henry, please don’t go to any more trouble,” Lou protested. He’d already given up his bed for them, she couldn’t ask him to cook as well. “I can fix a piece of toast.”
“No way,” Henry said, grinning. “Go sit outside on the deck, and enjoy the view. I’ll bring it out to you when it’s ready.”
“Henry…”
“No arguments,” he said. He shooed Lou out of the kitchen. “This kitchen is too small for two people, especially when one of them is as gorgeous as you.” Henry fanned his face dramatically. “I’ll burn the food trying not to look at you in that outfit.”
Lou’s cheeks reddened. She was wearing pink satin shorts and a matching camisole. She hadn’t even thought to cover up. “I’ll go change,” she said.
“Oh, God, you’re blushing,” Henry said. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you. Don’t change. Don’t change a thing. You’re perfect just as you are. I was just kidding.”
Lou backed out of the kitchen. Henry poked his head around the corner, holding a frying pan in one hand.
“Mary Lou, don’t change. It’s Hawaii. I see girls in a lot less every day. I’m an idiot. I was just trying to flirt,” he said. “Ignore me. And don’t you dare change.”
Lou went back down the hall and ducked into the bathroom. She used the toilet, brushed her teeth, and raked her hair back into a severe bun. The humidity on the island was more than her hair was used to, and it sprang out from the confines of her pins to curl around her neck. She rinsed her face with water, clearing away the sleep, and confronted her reflection.
Her breasts were clearly defined under the thin material of the camisole, and if that wasn’t enough, her nipples stood at attention like two hard pebbles. Lou’s cheeks darkened with embarrassment as she realized the outfit left little to the imagination. Henry had probably thought she’d done it on purpose, that she was trying to flirt with him.
Lou went out of the bathroom and threw open the door to the bedroom.
“Wake up,” she told Penny, who was sleeping diagonally on the bed.
Penny grumbled, but rolled to her feet and shuffled out the door to the bathroom. Lou opened up her suitcase and searched for something to wear. She came across the white bikini she’d ordered from California to wear on the trip. It consisted of a few strings and two triangles. Lou groaned and threw it on the floor.
When Penny came back in the room, Lou was standing over her suitcase, scowling.
“What’s the matter?” Penny asked.
“I’m a shameless hussy,” Lou said.
Penny laughed. “What?”
Lou was thinking more of the kiss with Keoni than the contents of her suitcase, but she couldn’t admit that to Penny. “I didn’t bring anything decent to wear,” she said.
“Don’t be stupid.” Penny scooted Lou aside and pulled out the swimsuit bottom that matched the tiny white bikini. “This is perfect. We are in Hawaii, Lou. People don’t wear regular clothes.”
“That’s what Henry said.”
Penny crossed her arms and looked down her nose at Lou. “What else did Henry say?” she asked.
“Nothing.”
“My cousin is an idiot.”
“Actually,” Lou said, smiling, “he did say that.”
“Henry has been trying to hit on my friends for years. He’s harmless. He just likes to flirt.” Penny went to her own suitcase and started pulling out clothes. She showed Lou the bikini she intended to wear, which was even tinier than Lou’s. “Don’t worry about Henry. I already told him you’re practically engaged to a dreamboat in Seattle, and that you are the most respectable person I know. Henry knows he doesn’t stand a chance.”
Lou sighed and began tidying the contents of her suitcase. She meticulously folded a shirt as she thought about that kiss she and Keoni had shared. That single kiss had ignited something in Lou, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to put out the flame.
She shook out the skimpy swimsuit top and placed it on top of the rest of her clothes. She had been thinking of the warm Hawaiian sun when she’d bought the suit. She’d wanted to get the most exposure possible. Now, when she looked at it, she thought about wearing it for Keoni. What would he think if he saw her in that? What was the Hawaiian word for sexy? Would he teach it to her?
Lou closed her suitcase and zipped it up. Thinking about Keoni was pointless. She wasn’t likely to ever see him again. She planned to convince Penny over breakfast that they should cancel their plans with the two handsome locals and explore Hawaii on their own. The experience might not be as authentic, but it would be safer.
“Do you smell coffee?” Penny asked, interrupting Lou’s thoughts. “I smell coffee.”
Lou sniffed the air and detected the faint spicy and earthy scents of coffee. She loved the smell of coffee, but she barely liked drinking it. The only way Lou could stand the taste of coffee was with a heavy dose of cream. Her friends teased her that she liked drinking milk with a shot of coffee instead of the other way around. Lou knew she had enough cream in her coffee when it lightened to a soft caramel brown, which happened to be the same color as Keoni’s eyes.
Penny and Lou took their fresh-brewed coffee out onto the deck as Henry finished cooking them breakfast. As soon as they walked outside, Lou stopped and stared.
“This isn’t real,” she said, spinning around to take in the view.
Henry’s house was built into the hills overlooking the ocean. His backyard was a sloping green carpet lined with messy hedges and overgrown shrubs that meandered down to the waterfront. Everywhere she looked was green or blue. The vibrant hues didn’t look like anything nature could conjure up. Lou felt like she had been plucked out of gray Seattle and dropped down into a fairy tale.
“I’ve got to get my camera,” Lou said, turning to step back into the house.
“The view from the beach is even better,” Henry said, coming onto the deck with a tray of food.
Lou glanced down at the tray and saw a delicious selection of food. It smelled incredible. She decided to wait until after breakfast to take some pictures.
They sat down together and enjoyed the breakfast of fresh fruit and spam sandwiches that Henry had made. Lou had never tried spam before, and she wasn’t sure she was going to like it.
“You can’t come to Hawaii and not try spam,” he said, taking a bite. “And poi.” He made a face that showed what he thought of poi.
“It’s not bad,” she said, taking another bite of the sandwich.
Henry had pan-fried the meat-like substance so that it was crisp on the outside. It was salty and flavorful and reminded Lou of thick bologna.
“I’m sorry I have to work again today,” Henry said.
“That’s okay,” Penny said. “Bones and Keoni said they would show us around.”
“Actually,” Lou said. “I wanted to talk to you about that.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes. I think we will be fine on our own. Exploring by ourselves will be fun. It will be an adventure.”
“But Keoni and Bones know all the great spots.”
Lou held her ground. “We can find our own great spots.”
“Didn’t you like them?” Penny asked. “I thought they were nice.”
“Keoni and Bones are great guys,” Henry said.
Lou pushed her plate away and picked up her coffee. “It’s not that I didn’t like them. I just thought it might be fun for us to be on our own a bit,” she said. “When Henry’s
off later this week, he can show us around.”
Penny stared at Lou so hard that she felt it all the way to the roots of her hair.
“You liked them too much, didn’t you?” Penny asked.
Lou started to deny it, then she dropped her gaze and nodded.
“I knew it!” Penny said. “You aren’t as innocent as you like to seem.”
“I am innocent, and I want to stay that way.”
Henry burst out laughing. “Did Keoni play his guitar for you?” he asked.
“Yes,” Lou said.
“Don’t feel bad,” Henry said. “There’s never been a woman yet who didn’t fall in love with Keoni after hearing him play his guitar.”
“He sang, too,” Penny chimed in.
“I’m not in love with him,” Lou insisted.
Penny and Henry shared a knowing glance but remained silent. After a moment, Lou picked up her coffee and drank, ignoring them.
“What do you want to do today?” Penny asked after a long silence.
“Go to the beach,” Lou said without hesitation.
“Sounds good to me,” Penny said. She pushed back from the table. “I’ll call Bones and tell him not to come today.”
“Really?” Lou asked, relieved.
“Yes, but only because I love you so much.”
Penny went inside, leaving Henry and Lou alone on the deck.
“Thank you for letting us stay here,” Lou said. “It really is beautiful.”
“It is,” Henry agreed. “I could never go back to Seattle after having lived here.”
Lou sipped her coffee and looked out at the view. She still had eleven days of vacation. She wouldn’t think about Seattle again until she had to.
Henry had warned them not to go past Diamond Head Beach when they got to the shore, but he hadn’t told them why. Unfortunately, Lou and Penny weren’t familiar enough with the beach that they could tell where one ended, and the next began.
Because of Penny’s fair skin, they walked until they found an area shady enough for her to lay her towel down under a grove of palms. Lou stretched out on the sand next to her.
Lou had some Native American Chinook blood in her somewhere down the line, and she tanned easily. After a few hours in the sun, Lou was already golden brown, while Penny still looked like she’d just stepped off the plane from Seattle.
The beach was narrow, but the sand was soft and white, and the water was warm and blue. It was a quiet beach. Only the occasional person walked along the shore toward the south.
“Henry sure is lucky to live so near to the beach,” Lou said.
She was lying on her stomach reading a magazine, hoping to get an even tan.
“Lou?” Penny said.
“What?”
“Do you notice anything funny about this beach?” she asked.
Lou turned over and looked around. The beach sloped into the turquoise water at a gradual angle. She could see all the way out to an island about 200 yards in the sea. It was an incredible sight.
“It’s kind of quiet,” she said. “I’m surprised there aren’t more people here.”
Penny was looking down the beach around the corner. “Look at that,” she said quietly.
Lou looked to where Penny nodded, and her jaw dropped. A man was walking toward them. He was tall and tanned with dark hair. Even from a distance, Lou could see he was completely naked.
“This is a nude beach,” Penny said.
They tried not to stare as the man walked by them, barely glancing in their direction. He walked with a casual, unselfconscious gait, humming a song to himself as he strode past.
“Isn’t he worried about getting burned?” Penny asked, craning her head to watch his naked ass go by.
They burst out laughing and then tried to regain control as another man came into sight from down the beach. He was also naked.
“This must have been what Henry was warning us about,” Lou said.
The second man walked by and nodded at them politely. He seemed unconcerned about his lack of clothing.
Penny reached back and unhooked her bikini top, then tossed it to the sand.
“What are you doing?” Lou asked.
“When in Rome…” she said. “Ah, it feels so good! I’ve never been topless in public before. You should try it,” Penny said.
Lou lay back in the sand and closed her eyes. A few minutes later, two more men walked by. They were holding hands and talking as they passed Penny and Lou. They were clearly a couple.
“Oh, my God,” Lou said, watching them go past. “This isn’t just a nude beach. This is a gay nude beach.”
They laughed until they cried.
Might As Well Stay
Keoni
* * *
Keoni eased himself into the front seat of Bones’s station wagon.
“You look like shit, bruddah,” Bones said, staring at him.
“Thanks, eh?”
Keoni sank against the seat and closed his eyes. The beating Keoni had taken at Waimea Bay felt worse today. The bruises on his face had darkened to deep purple and yellow, and his ribs ached every time he moved.
He had just gotten off work at the pineapple factory where he worked nights. He should have been exhausted from standing up all night, but he was too excited to be tired. He and Bones were spending the day with the girls from Seattle, and Keoni couldn’t wait to see Lou again.
“I got the boat for next Sunday,” Bones said.
“What?”
“For the coral dive. Next Sunday. The day after the Duke. That okay?”
Keoni leaned back in the seat and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. He had forgotten all about the dive.
“Sunday’s fine,” he said.
His mind drifted back to Lou. He had been thinking of her all night. Good thing his job at the cannery was mindless, or he would have screwed up a hundred times.
The kiss they had shared kept playing in his mind over and over. Lou had started it by brushing her lips against his, and then Keoni had finished it. Keoni had meant for the kiss to be a warning, but his plan had backfired on him, leaving him the one wanting more.
Keoni reached into his backpack and pulled out the clean shirt he’d packed before his shift. He didn’t want to smell like a pineapple cannery. Moving slowly, he lifted his arms and pulled off his uniform shirt. His cracked ribs protested with every move. He was sweating from the effort by the time he got on a fresh shirt.
He flipped down the visor and sighed over the disheveled appearance of his hair. Using his fingers as a comb, he did his best to arrange it neatly, but it refused to cooperate and sprung up in messy waves as soon as he dropped his hands.
Bones was right: he looked like shit.
There was nothing more he could do about it. They were turning into Henry’s neighborhood, and he would be seeing Lou in a few minutes. His heart started beating faster as he thought about seeing her again.
Was she as pretty as he remembered, or had Keoni built her up in his mind? It didn’t matter, he realized. Lou was more than a pretty face. He was attracted to more than the way she looked. He loved watching her take pictures. She was a natural at it, Keoni could tell. The way she moved her body into the best positions to capture her shot was like a dance.
Keoni wished he could see some of her photographs. He was sure they were good. Maybe she would send him some when she got home. Keoni knew he was a fool to think he and Lou would still know each other after she left Hawaii, but he couldn’t help wishing it all the same.
This was why he didn’t get involved with tourists, he reminded himself. They all left eventually. They were here to take what they wanted from Hawaii, and then they left.
“Why you so wound up?” Bones asked as they stopped in front of Henry’s house.
“Who says I am?”
“You’re about to jump outta your skin, cuz.”
“Nah,” he said.
Bones laughed and smacked Keoni hard enough on th
e shoulder to make him wince. “You need to relax. Have some fun,” he said, grabbing Keoni’s shoulder and squeezing it. “Quit being so damn serious alla the time, eh? They’re just a coupla girls lookin’ for a good time, and we are here to give it to them.”
Keoni looked away from his cousin. Keoni didn’t do good times with tourists. He didn’t do anything with tourists.
“You like her, or wot?” Bones asked.
“Course I like her. I’m not blind.”
“So what’s the problem? You make too many rules for yourself, bruddah. Stop making your life so hard.”
“Shut up,” Keoni said, climbing out of the car.
He glanced up the hill behind him to Loa Ridge, where Declan had grown up. Declan’s house could be seen high on the ridge. It was a palatial white mansion with ornate columns and three outdoor decks. The land had been gifted to Declan’s family in the 1800s by Kamehameha I. Until the 1950s this property had been mostly farms and ponds. Now, it was subdivided into tiny one-bedroom bungalows like Henry’s.
Keoni had first met Declan on the beaches below. Declan had been a lanky fourteen-year-old just learning to surf when Keoni and Eddie had come down to Patterson’s Break because word had spread that The Bomb was breaking.
Keoni and Eddie had spent the better part of their teens figuring out the point breaks under the shadow of Diamond Head Crater. Most of the surf spots that broke on the south side of the island were only rideable at high tide, but there were a few little sweet spots between the dry reefs that were less regular.
The point breaks all had quirks of their own. They were named after the families who had lived in front of them. There was Patterson’s, Mahoney’s, and Duke’s, named after the wealthy tobacco heiress whose estate was tucked into the cliffs.
The Bomb only broke a few times a year, and it was worth the long walk Eddie and Keoni had to take to surf it. Declan had watched them covertly and had been too shy to talk. But, Eddie decided he liked the skinny haole and had taken Declan under his wing. From then on, it had been the three of them, like a unit.
Try Easy: A Slow-Burn Vacation Fling Love Story (Aloha Series Book 1) Page 7