by J. L. Berg
“I don’t know,” she laughed. “I mean, you saw the tattoo. I’m an indoor girl. Books and Netflix—”
“Now, I understand why you forgot your bathing suit,” I said with a chuckle.
“I didn’t forget it,” she fessed up. “Up until today, I didn’t actually own one.”
“You’re the worst Hawaiian I know.”
Her arms wrapped across her chest. “Oh? And how many of us do you know?”
“Well, just you. But you’re really ruining the stereotype I had.”
She laughed. “And you’re ruining the stereotype I had of Southerners.”
My brow lifted. “Oh, yeah? And what exactly did you envision a Southerner to be when you flew all the way over here?”
Her eyes roamed down my body, like they often did, giving me a giant dose of confidence. “Well, I expected more of a Southern drawl,” she said.
I shrugged. “You’re going to have to go inland for that. I’ve got what’s called an Ocracoke brogue—or what’s left of it. It’s a dying dialect, but if you want to hear it all out, come over to Sunday dinner with my mama.”
“Is that an invitation?”
“I believe it is.”
“Good.”
“Now, about that swimming hiatus,” I said, rising to my feet.
“What? No!”
I held out my hand. She warily eyed it.
“Why do you think I made you buy a bathing suit?” I asked.
“So, you could gawk at me while I tried it on?” she fired back.
I let out a chuckle. “That was, by far, the best part of my day.”
“You’re breaking the rules again, Taylor.” She grinned.
“You’re changing the subject, Leilani.”
“Do I have to?”
“Of course you don’t,” I said. “I’d never force you. But don’t you want to?”
Her eyes fell to the waves breaking just feet from our picnic, and finally, she reached up and took my hand.
Success.
When she rose to her feet, I heard her exhale a large breath from her lungs, like she was expelling nervousness from her body. I kind of liked that I set her on edge.
“We need to get undressed first,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Staring down at her, I managed to blink several times before answering, “Sorry, what?”
A slow grin stretched across her face. “Water,” she said before adding, “Swimsuits?”
None of these words seemed to be working on me. I was still stuck back on the part of the conversation where she’d mentioned getting undressed.
A laugh escaped Leilani’s lips before she rolled her eyes, and she playfully slapped my arm. “You’re horrible. And you’re breaking the rules again.”
I shrugged as she began pulling off her dress. “You’re the one talking about getting naked.”
Her dress halfway over her head, I heard her laugh. “I didn’t say anything about getting naked!”
“Sorry,” I said, taking her all in. The naturally tan skin…the legs that seemed to go on forever…the bikini. “Can’t talk right now. Having a heart attack.”
And back down went the dress.
She tried to appear flustered, mad even, but she couldn’t hide the smirk that pulled at the corners of her mouth. Even when she placed her hand on her hip and said, “Nope, we’re not doing this.”
“What? Why?”
Her forehead wrinkled as her brow rose. “Why? Because you clearly can’t follow the rules.”
And you clearly love it when I don’t, I wanted to say.
But I didn’t.
She was right.
We were supposed to be just friends, and I was breaking the rules I’d made.
But, damn, it was fun.
“Come on.” I offered my hand once again. “I’ll be good.”
She cocked her head to the side, contemplating my request, before finally sliding her fingers into mine.
“Okay,” she said. “But, only because I want to be able to say I swam in the Atlantic Ocean.”
I nodded. “Deal.”
“And you won’t make any inappropriate comments when I take off my dress?”
“Nope,” I said.
I’ll be thinking them though, I thought.
All of them.
At once.
“Total saint,” I promised.
I wasn’t sure she believed the last part, which I gave her credit for, but she began disrobing all the same. To keep myself occupied, I did as well, stripping off my shirt and kicking off my shoes.
When I turned back around, I found Leilani gawking at me.
With a smug grin, I chose not to point out the fact that the rule-breaking was now completely on her.
“Ready?” I asked, trying not to look at her for too long, for fear that things down below would become too hard far too quickly.
Brilliant idea, I scolded myself. Take the hot new friend that you’re desperately trying not to bang out to the beach where you’ll both be half-naked and wet.
Fucking genius.
“Yep,” she said just before a mischievous grin appeared on those rosy red lips of hers. “Race you to the shore!”
And then she took off.
Just when I’d thought I had this nerdy, indoor girl pegged.
I took off after her, laughter welling up from my insides as my legs dug into the sand to try to catch up.
Damn, she was actually a lot faster than I had given her credit for.
But I was a seasoned runner.
We darted around the shore, and finally, as my feet splashed into the water, I grabbed her around the waist, her voice squealing out in delight, and I declared myself the winner.
Her legs kicked, sending salt water into my face.
“No, no, no!” She laughed. “I beat you fair and square!”
“Did not!”
“Did so,” she announced. “I said, first one to the shore, and clearly, that was me!”
I’d waded us out past several waves. The water reached mid-thigh for me but probably waist deep if I were to let her go.
“Hmm,” I said playfully. “You see, that’s kind of a problem for me.”
“Oh, really?” She joined in the fun, not caring in the least that I hadn’t let her go as I ventured out a little deeper.
“Yeah, you see, I’m kind of a sore loser.”
“Really?” Her lips formed a sort of knowing smirk. “I would never have guessed.”
“I know. Such a surprise.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Anyway, I tend to act out.”
“Act out?”
I nodded. “When I lose. Not violently, mind you. But I might be known to just—” My hands around her waist were her only warning before I lifted her up and tossed her.
When her face broke the surface of the water, her dark hair now wrapped around her like liquid silk and those bright blue eyes searching, I knew I was going to get some serious payback.
“That was not nice,” she grinned, shaking out her wet hair.
“Like I said, I’m not a great loser.”
I watched as she bobbed over to me. We were deep enough now that she couldn’t touch the bottom, but I could.
A small advantage that she didn’t seem to need.
As soon as she got close enough to me, she pounced. Her legs went around my waist, and all her weight went to pushing me under.
Instantly, I was fish food.
When I came sputtering up for air, I was ready for war.
Instead of tossing her this time, I tried her tactic. Dunking. But she was prepared for that. Wrapping her legs around my waist, she’d made herself dunk-proof.
This girl was smart.
But she’d lost the element of surprise, and this time, I wasn’t going to go down without a fight.
We wrestled around, laughing and yelling at each other, neither gaining much ground until one thing started to become painfully aware.
&nbs
p; Just how close we were.
Her body, covered by that bikini—which would probably keep me up all night—was pressed so tightly against me that I could feel her heart beating inside her chest.
And the fact that we were in water? It just made it ten times worse.
Because, every time she moved against me, she slid.
Up and down.
Now that I was aware of the proximity, that only made me imagine what it would feel like to have her sliding around on top of me in a bed.
Leilani’s breath caught, and I realized why.
All that rubbing and dirty thoughts had caused the semi-wood I sported whenever she was near to go full out.
And she’d noticed.
In a big way.
But, instead of pushing away from me like she normally would, citing our dumb rules or making a silly joke, she just sat there in my arms, lost in the moment with me.
Could she feel it, too?
The sizzle in the air. The crackle in the atmosphere when we touched.
How could I be just friends with someone who made me feel so much?
That was the ultimate question.
The one I was too scared to answer.
And so, this time, it was me to put on the brakes, and I stepped back.
Because, like I’d told her earlier in our little game in the water…
I was a sore loser.
And, if Sierra was right and love and life really were a game, I wasn’t sure I could play and afford to lose this one.
After that moment in the water between Taylor and me, the one I couldn’t stop thinking about, I was in desperate need of advice.
And there was only one place I would go searching for it.
“Oh my God, do you know what time it is?”
I checked my phone. “Um, yeah. It’s midnight here, so it should be, like, barely dinnertime there.”
Piper laughed. “Yeah, I know. I’m just messing with you. What’s up? I haven’t heard from you in a while. Are you burning the midnight oil, trying to get that place ready for your dad?”
“Yes,” I said at first, but then I let out a big sigh and finally said, “No.”
“No? Are you all finished then?”
“Are you kidding?”
She made a sort of noncommittal noise. “I just figured I’d ask. Maybe you were out, celebrating your success?”
“I wish.”
“Okay.” She was obviously sensing my distress. Her best-friend vibes were strong. “Well, let’s start with the basics, shall we? How is the project going?”
I slumped down on the bed in my suite, and I stared up at the ceiling. I’d managed to change out of my wet clothes from the beach and shower after I got home, rinsing all the sand and ocean water from my body.
But the memory of that moment in the water…
“It’s behind,” I answered, clearing my throat. “I’m seriously behind.”
“Why?” she asked. “Are you having problems with the locals like you anticipated?”
I snorted. “You could say that.”
A silence passed between us before she spoke again, “You know, this kind of skeptic nonsense might work with others but not with me. So, why don’t you cut the bullshit and tell me what’s really going on?”
“God, I miss you.” I laughed.
“My feelings for you right now are a little muddled, so spill.”
“I think I’m falling for someone.”
Well, that one shut her right up.
So much so, that, after a while, I actually had to respond with, “Hello?”
“I’m sorry. Did you just say you were falling for someone?”
“Yes,”
“And by someone, you do mean, an actual person? Like flesh and blood? Not a TV character on Game of Thrones?”
I rolled my eyes. “No, this time, it’s not John Snow. Promise.”
She waited, still expecting further clarification.
“Or anyone else of a fictional nature.”
“Sorry,” she said. “I just had to make sure. You haven’t had an actual crush on someone in…well, eons.”
My mouth gaped open. “I have, too!”
“Have not,” she countered. “Name one.”
Sitting up on the bed, I fired back, “The IT guy from work.”
She made another sound that made it clear that she was not impressed. “Gary? Oh, please. You were not at all interested in Gary from IT!”
“I dated him! I’d call that interested.”
If someone were to give out an award for the biggest eye roll, it would be awarded to Piper because, even with her being in Hawaii, I felt the effects of her peepers twirling around in her head from that statement.
“There is a difference between going out with someone because you’re too polite to say no and being so over the moon for someone that you can hardly breathe. Now, tell me,” she said, “which one describes your relationship with Gary?”
I thought back to our less than stellar date to the aquarium where he’d tried to impress me with the name of every fish in the place.
And yes, I do mean, every single one. He really liked fish.
“Um…”
“Exactly. So, you want to tell me about your mystery man now?”
“Well, now, I’m kind of scared to,” I confessed, finally settling back into my pillows at the top of the bed.
She laughed. “I know I’m doing a good job when I’ve scared you. What’s it this time?”
“Well, what if he’s not worthy enough? What if you deem him as just another Gary?”
“Oh, please, Lani,” she said. “The fact that you’re even bringing him up makes him so far from Gary, it’s not even funny. If he were anything like Gary, you would have sent him packing the day your dad gave you that ultimatum. Come on, it’s midnight, and you’re up, thinking about a guy and not the project you have to present to your father in five weeks. Definitely not a Gary.”
“Yeah, okay,” I agreed, giggling. “I feel kind of bad for Gary now.”
“Don’t,” she said. “He’s marrying a gorgeous girl from marketing in a few weeks.”
“Oh,” I replied, feeling kind of relieved. “Well, good for Gary then.”
“Her name is Dory.”
“Shut your mouth!”
“I kid you not,” she said. “They’re having an entire underwater-themed wedding. A bunch of the IT guys were telling me about it the other day in the break room. I’ve been flirting hard with several of them, trying to see if I can score one of their plus ones…”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well, you’ll have to give me a full report if you do go.”
“Oh, believe me, I will. So, are you going to tell me about this guy, or am I going to have to pry it out of you as usual?”
Direct and to the point. That was Piper.
“Well, actually, you already know a little about him,” I said.
“I do?”
“Yeah, remember the guy I met the first day I was here?”
Her voice changed, and even I could hear the sudden note of surprise in it. “You mean, the guy you gave a stern talking-to? The one who was so angry with you? That guy?”
“Yep.”
“Wow. He talked to you after that? What does he look like?”
My stomach instantly fluttered. “You kind of know that as well.”
I waited for her to put two and two together.
“He’s the sexy guy in the photo you sent me? Damn. Does he have a brother? Because, if so, do you need an assistant? Maybe these North Carolina men really do need some checking out.”
I laughed. “He does have a brother, but he’s married.”
“Boo.”
“I thought you had an IT guy to woo,” I said jokingly.
“Believe the words that are coming out of my mouth”—she said—“none of our IT guys look like that.”
I smiled to myself. “I’m pretty sure Taylor is one of a kind, Piper. Sorry.”
&n
bsp; “Man, you really do have it bad for this guy.”
“I know,” I said. “That’s why you have to help me.”
“Babe, I know it’s maybe been a while, but I’m sure you’ll figure it all out.” She laughed. “It really is like riding a bicycle.”
“Not that!” I exclaimed. “I’m pretty sure I still know how to do that.” I thought back to how it’d felt to be wrapped around Taylor, his body so hard and ready for me. “Yes, I definitely know how all that still works.”
“Great.”
“Good.” I let out a huff of air from my lungs.
“Then, why do you sound so frustrated?” she finally asked.
“Because I don’t think any of this is a good idea,” I finally blurted out.
“What?”
“Me, him—us. It’s not a good idea. Did I tell you we work together?”
“Uh, no. You didn’t mention—”
I didn’t let her finish. The dam had been broken. The floodgates were open. I was letting it all out now. “The town appointed him as my go-between. Him! Can you believe that? Of all the people in this town, they sent him! The one man I couldn’t stand!”
“But, clearly, you can. Stand him, that is.”
“Of course I can!” My hands went up in the air. “Did I mention we kissed?”
“No!”.
“Yep. We kissed. It was amazing. Like life-altering. Until I stepped back and told him I didn’t need any distractions.”
“Ouch.”
“I know. I’m an idiot. So, now, we have rules.”
“What rules?” she asked, obviously trying to keep up with my convoluted life.
“We’re not allowed to date each other.”
“I see.”
“And,” I added, “We’re not allowed to date anyone else either.”
“Huh? Who made up that one?”
“He did.”
“Oh, really?”
“He said it was only going to distract us further. I agreed because…well, that was the day that I saw him with the blonde at lunch.”
“Lani, you are making my head spin.”
“Sorry,” I said, realizing I had been talking way too fast. “He just makes me crazy.”
“Love can do that.”
“Love?” I echoed. “Who said anything about love?”
“You didn’t have to. It’s written all over your face.”
I scrunched my lips to the side. “You can’t see my face, genius.”