"Yes, Juls?" asked Mr. Fathersham.
Only Juls didn't get to answer. Instead, a man stepped through the crowd and very loudly said, "Geocaching is a game of treasure hunting with a GPS-enabled device. Anyone participating must use their device to navigate to a set of coordinates and then try to find the geocache. The geocache is a container that holds either a treasure, generally nothing of real value, or it may contain the coordinates to another geocache. It's lots of fun." He finished, smiling.
Everyone had turned to look at the man. He appeared to be around my age—late twenties. He had black unruly, curly hair, which completely contrasted to his well-cut suit pants and waistcoat. He smiled, and the women in the crowd swooned. Actually so did some of the men. Juls was the only one who scowled at him, but then she was pretty competitive.
"Oh, w-well," stuttered Mr. Fathersham. "That is correct, but you need to be part of a registered team to answer."
The man shrugged and moved towards the bar. I watched as he stepped up to Casey and slapped some money on the counter. Casey's posture stiffened as he glared at the man. Either he didn't appreciate how the game was interrupted, or he knew who this man was.
Mr. Fathersham was calling a replacement question, but I wasn't paying him any attention. I couldn't pull my focus away from Casey.
Casey Dalton was the same age as I was. He'd been born in Portsmouth, England, but now called Kauai home. He had electric blue eyes that twinkled when he smiled. And he smiled a lot! Right now he wasn't smiling, which told me this man wasn't his friend.
Juls called the answer to whatever question had been asked, and I heard the cheer as it appeared her team had won the game. And the good news was that the dogs got a check for $498.65.
"Congratulations," I said, pulling my attention away from the conversation Casey was having with the man and turning to the red team, smiling.
"Thanks. You played well," said Gabby, ever the sweetie.
I blushed. "Yeah, well Mum answered pretty much all of the questions."
"I didn't know what a Harvey Wallbanger was." She shrugged as she touched my arm in a friendly gesture. "Let me know when you're free for that catch-up we said we'd have."
That sounded like a good offer. "How does Friday night sound?" I quickly interjected before she had the chance to leave. "If you're not busy, that is."
She beamed. "Sure. Sounds fun!"
"Great!" I replied, smiling.
She nodded as Juls stepped up to us. "Are you organizing a girls' night out?"
"I guess we could be," said Gabby. "We're just having a drink on Friday. Would you like to join us?"
Juls looked very happy as she quickly bobbed her head up and down, indicating she loved the idea. "Sounds awesome."
I'd moved to Aloha Lagoon from Sydney, Australia, a few months ago, and I hadn't made too many friends yet. Sure I had Casey and my BFF, Alani, but otherwise my circle was limited to work colleagues. I loved the opportunity to make some of them friends.
I left the girls to organize the details and wandered off to find Casey. I'd seen him holding my favorite cocktail in the air and then placing it on the bar for me. After my disastrous attempt at trivia night, I definitely needed that drink.
Mum had been surrounded by a local group of women known as the Scarlet Socks. You had to be over fifty years old and wear scarlet colored socks to join their group. They only had six members, and since Mum's last birthday, they had been trying to recruit her. Their motto was: Fun at any age! And even though Mum believed that, she said she was far too busy working to have time for the hijinks they got up to. I gave her a small wave, grinned at the face she gave me, and made my way across the room.
The atmosphere in The Lava Pot was relaxed and happy. Holidaymakers mixed with the locals filling the room with banter and laughter. The front glass doors were pulled back, opening the bar to the boardwalk and the beach, the tropical evening air leaving a sheen of humidity on my skin. But maybe that was from all the sweating I'd been doing trying to answer the trivia questions.
"Hi," I said, reaching the barstool and placing my backside on it.
"Hi," said Casey, his thick southern English accent rolling off his tongue. He leaned across the wooden bar and gave me a quick kiss.
I sighed contentedly the second his soft lips touched mine. Casey and I had met a couple of months ago when I'd first started my job as the resort's surf instructor for children. I'd taken the job because I'd been desperate, but it appeared I had a natural ability for it. And so far, so good. I hadn't been fired.
"Busy night," I commented, picking up the Lava Flow cocktail he'd made me and taking my first sip. As the delicious sweetness of the strawberry mixed with the rum hit my taste buds, I gave my second contented sigh for the night.
"Very nice job with the trivia," he replied.
Smartass.
"Thanks. I feel I was a valuable asset to the team," I added, jokingly.
"Yeah. Lucky you knew what that cocktail was." His grin grew, lighting up his face.
"Yep. I'm a well of knowledge."
He leaned across the bar and offered another kiss—one I accepted with pleasure.
When we broke apart, I asked, "Who was that guy before?"
"The guy?"
"Yeah, the one who interrupted the trivia night."
Casey's smile disappeared. "Just someone I once knew."
I wanted to question him further about it, but Lori, the president of the Scarlet Socks, and her best friend, Jenny, moved in next to me. Lori leaned across the bar top and batted her heavily mascaraed eyelashes at Casey, while Jenny stood behind her looking slightly uncomfortable. Casey turned his attention to Lori, his smile making her feel like the only woman in the room. I knew that was how she felt because that was exactly how I felt when he smiled at me.
Normally this was the point where that green monster named Jealousy showed itself. But I knew Casey was all show and no go. He flirted mischievously, but he was faithful to me. I had nothing to worry about.
I hoped.
"What would you lovely ladies like?" he asked them.
Lori laughed. "Well…you know what I like," she said suggestively, touching his arm. Her skintight red dress rode high up her thigh as she leaned towards him. I had to give it to her—for a woman in her fifties she was in exceptionally good shape.
"Lori, you're making me blush. My girlfriend is sitting right there," he said, taking her hand and placing it on the bar, simultaneously nodding to me.
"Oh, that's right. Your girlfriend." She said the word like it was a secret joke between them.
Lori flirting with Casey was a regular occurrence. Sometimes it just cut a bit close to the bone. I ground my teeth and kept telling myself she's as old as my mum.
"I'm unavailable these days," said Casey, wagging his finger at her.
Her eyes flicked to me as she pouted. Touching his arm once more, she purred, "Just imagine what a real woman can do." She laughed.
"Ummm, sitting right here!" I sang, waving my hand in the air.
"Samantha!" she said with mock surprise. "Sorry I didn't see you there. You blended right in." She laughed at her own joke.
Well, at least I hoped it was a joke.
Casey diverted her attention. "How about I make you and Jenny a mojito?"
Lori turned back to face him, licked her lips suggestively, and fluttered her eyelashes once again. "You're the best, Casey. You always know how to satisfy me."
Casey moved to the back wall of the bar and grabbed the ingredients he needed to make the drinks. I watched her admire his backside. True it was an awesome backside, but she shouldn't be admiring it quite as enthusiastically as she was.
"Lori, Martin was there only five minutes ago," I hissed, nodding to the barstool on her left, where her husband had previously been sitting.
"Well he's not there now," she commented, looking slightly amused. Jenny at least had the grace to blush.
Lori's husband, Martin, was a patient man. We'd
become acquainted of late, and I did enjoy our morning chats as I set up the beach to prepare for my lessons each day. An important part of my job was to always know what the surf was doing, but since I'd met Martin, I never needed to check the update. As he religiously walked the beach every morning and kept current with what was what around Aloha Lagoon, he knew more about it than I did. As far as I knew, Martin and Lori had moved to Aloha Lagoon about ten years ago. Before that they'd called somewhere in the Midwest home. I'd never asked exactly where, but now they lived on the outskirts of town. Martin didn't seem to spend a lot of time there, as he was always around the resort—generally The Lava Pot. I did wonder if he actually had a drinking problem. I guessed early retirement and no hobbies could do that to a guy. Or maybe that was due to being married to Lori. That would definitely turn me to drink.
"But he could come back any second, and here you are flirting with Casey."
"Martin's fine." Lori huffed dismissively, glancing at his empty seat. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him. And anyway, I'm harmless."
I actually didn't think she was harmless. I thought if she was given even half a chance, she'd be on Casey like a rash. Not that I could blame her.
* * *
Martin did indeed come back. I was chatting to him as Benny and his Ukulele Wahines played up a storm. The music was very upbeat, which was in complete opposition to Martin's mood.
"Samantha," he said, swirling the amber liquid in the bottom of his glass. "You deserve better than him." He turned his gaze towards Casey.
"He's a really good guy, Martin. He wouldn't hurt a soul."
The hard set of Martin's jaw told me he didn't believe me.
"Really?"
"Really," I stated.
"The way he flirts with Lori just isn't right."
Personally, I figured it was Lori that was doing the flirting, and I was about to point that out when I saw my BFF, Alani, enter the bar. She saw me and waved. Her megawatt smile instantly lit up the room. Alani was Hawaiian. She was short with long, sleek black hair and the gorgeous, dark islander skin that made my blonde-haired-brown-eyed look pale in comparison when standing next to her. But what made her special was her deep belly laugh, reflecting the happy soul she was underneath her stunning exterior.
"Hi, lovely," I sang as she sat down on the barstool between Martin and me. He nodded to her in acknowledgement but then turned away, staring into the bottom of his glass.
I felt rude, yet secretly relieved to be breaking off my conversation with him, but he didn't seem too interested in talking to both Alani and me, so I let the guilt go.
"Hey you," said Alani. "How did you do at the trivia night?"
I frowned. "I got one answer correct."
"Well that's great." She beamed.
"Really?"
"It's better than none," she said encouragingly.
"Casey messaged me the answer."
"Oh…well, you gave it a try. That's more than a lot of other people did. And I bet the dogs' home will appreciate the money you raised."
That was true. I did turn up, so that counted for something, right?
"How was your night?" I asked. Alani had missed trivia night because she'd had a date with my brother, Luke.
She smiled. "Awesome. Luke was so sweet. He hired a boat, and we went out on the ocean for a picnic dinner. Looking at the stars and back on the lights of Aloha Lagoon was amazing! It was so romantic." Her eyes went all dreamy.
That did sound romantic. "You are talking about my twin brother, Luke, right?"
Alani looked at me and laughed. "Yes. That's the one."
"And he was romantic?"
"Don't look like that! Luke is a very romantic person."
"Okay. If you say so." I looked at Casey and thought I needed to book us in for a date like that.
He was presently talking to Lori, and as she leaned across the bar, her fingers danced up his arm. My eyes momentarily flicked to Martin, checking his reaction, but he was still staring morosely into his now empty glass, seemingly lost in thought.
"Well I'm glad Luke spoiled you," I said to Alani, pushing my irritation with Lori aside. "He can be supersweet when he puts his mind to it," I added with a grin. "Where is he now?"
"He's outside talking to the resort's head landscaper Nick Woodfield. And Luke's always sweet," Alani added, playfully defending Luke.
I laughed and nodded my agreement as Casey filled two glasses with a delicious red liquid and walked towards us, handing both Alani and me a Lava Flow cocktail—he knew us so well. He gave me a look that could melt the icy drink as I heard a voice behind me.
"That looks pretty good. What's it take to get one of them around 'ere?"
I swiveled on my barstool to see who was talking to us. It was the good-looking stranger who had answered the trivia question. He smiled down at Alani and me, charisma oozing out of him.
His southern English accent reminded me of Casey's, and I wondered if that was their connection.
"Get us one of those, would you Case?" he said, flashing Casey a smile.
Casey replied by narrowing his eyes at him but otherwise didn't move.
"Can't refuse service to a paying customer," the stranger said jovially.
Casey let out a long breath, "That'll be seven dollars twenty-five, plus a tip," he almost spat, holding out his hand palm up.
The stranger laughed, pulled out his wallet, and threw a ten-dollar bill onto the bar top. Casey snatched it up and then turned to make the drink. Geez, whatever their history was, it couldn't have been good.
"How do you two know each other?" I asked, watching Casey rotate his shoulders, stretching his neck.
"We go way back," the man replied, glancing at Casey. "Pulled pints wiv' him at The Ship and Castle in Portsmouth and then at The White Rabbit in Sydney. That was before he went all upmarket," he added, his brow furrowing as a distant look flicked in his eyes. Shaking himself, he turned to me and said, "You sound like an Aussie."
I nodded my head. "Yes, but I live here now."
"Cool. It looks like a nice place to be. You know Casey, then?"
"He's my boyfriend." As much as I tried, I couldn't keep the smugness out of my voice.
As I spoke, Casey returned with the Lava Flow cocktail and slammed the glass onto the bar, making me jump.
"Here's your cocktail," he said to the man. "The tables outside would be your best place to sit and drink it," he suggested. Only it wasn't the friendly suggestion that Casey usually gave the patrons.
"Nah, 'ere's pretty good."
Casey's jaw hardened as he glared at the man. He opened his mouth to say something, when The Lava Pot's newest bartender, Owen, bumped him with a tray of glasses, knocking the entire thing to the floor. The sound of smashing glass quieted the noisy bar for a moment, before the sounds of laughter and chattering once again filled the air.
Owen was pretty cute in a surfer kind of way. His hair was sun bleached, his skin was tanned, and his biceps were amazing, but judging by that display, he was obviously as uncoordinated as I could be.
He blushed as sweat beaded on his forehead, and I heard his quiet curse.
Casey, now wearing most of the alcohol that Owen had been carrying, turned to him.
"I'm so, so sorry, man," Owen stammered.
"It's alright," replied Casey with a sigh. "I'll clean it up. You make the drinks again before the customers can complain about us being slow."
As head barman, Casey made an amazing boss. I could see the frustration in his eyes, but he was only kind to Owen.
"Sure thing," said Owen, before hurrying off to remake the drinks.
Whatever Casey had to say to the man standing next to me, was only expressed with a glare before Casey grabbed a bar towel and moved away, mopping his arm as he went.
The man chuckled before turning his attention to me and Alani.
"Sorry," he said, his super-white smile flashing. "I should introduce myself. I'm Ryan. Ryan Hobson, but my friends call me Hobbs
." He extended his hand first to Alani.
"Alani," she replied.
"Alani. That's a pretty name."
"It's native. It means orange—like the fruit."
"My favorite of all the fruits," replied Ryan. "And such a pretty color."
Ryan then turned to me, his right eyebrow raised questioningly.
"Oh, I'm Samantha." The velvety softness of his skin almost caressed mine as he shook my hand in a greeting, and I felt a shudder of uneasiness run down my spine.
He slid his palm out of mine and pulled up the stool next to me.
"So Alani, are you native to Kauai?" he asked, sitting down.
He obviously thought we were his new best friends. Hawaiians were friendly with everyone, but for me being overly friendly with a stranger in a bar wasn't something that came naturally. Yet it was something I needed to learn. Embrace the island lifestyle should become my new mantra. But with this man, I just couldn't shake Casey's reaction.
Alani nodded. "Uh-huh. My family has been here for generations."
"Cool."
"Were you and Casey close?" I asked, jumping back to our prior conversation.
I thought I saw regret flash in his eyes, but he quickly gave me a super-white smile. He opened his mouth to respond when Casey chose that moment to wander towards us, broom in hand.
"Everything okay?" Casey asked me.
I nodded before studying Ryan just a little bit harder.
Ryan watched Casey with a look of mild curiosity, then lifted his drink and took a gulp. Three gulps later the glass was empty. Geez, he really knew how to drink.
"Can I 'ave a scotch on the rocks next mate?" Ryan asked him.
"Sure," Casey replied flatly, but instead of making the drink, he started to sweep the broken glass.
Ryan once again laughed, turning back to face Alani and me.
Aloha Lagoon Mysteries Boxed Set Volume III (Books 7-9) Page 60