“I have no idea,” she replied, sipping her own. “You want one?”
“Ugh, don’t tempt me. As nervous as I am, I’m considering it.” Kamryn grimaced.
“Sweetie. You can get them made without alcohol.” Anne waved to their server, Pali, who nodded and made his way over to them.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, with a big grin.
“Can you make my friend one of these?” She held up her glass and added, “with no alcohol?”
“Sure thing.” He smiled and nodded to Kamryn.
Kamryn eyed the tribal tattoos, which wound around both of his arms and across his body. They primarily were geometric in design, and she wondered what they meant.
Pali smiled knowingly, and pointed to the top of his arm. “This one is the Tiki god of peace and tranquility.” He lifted his chin and added, “I’m a musician and I like what he represents.”
Anne’s eyes were glued to Kamryn, wondering how she would react to someone who paid homage to another god.
Kamryn simply replied, “They are beautiful. All of them.” Just because she didn’t believe in other gods, didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate his culture.
“Do you have any?” He was curious. Usually people that inquired about his markings were fans for a reason.
She nodded. “One.”
Anne nearly choked on her drink. Kamryn did not seem like the type. “You do? I didn’t know that.”
“Well, that’s because it’s where most people wouldn’t see.”
Pali’s eyes twinkled. “Nice. What is it of?”
“Actually, I got it in my wilder days before I gave my life to the Lord. And what I got doesn’t reflect who I am anymore, but I’ve kept it to remind myself how far I’ve come.”
“Respect, sista.” Pali offered a fist bump. “Check this one out.” He looked over his shoulder and squatted between their chairs, before lifting his tank.
Tattooed across Pali’s heart lay the body of Christ, as He hung on the cross.
“Nice.” Kamryn laughed. “So the other god you have on your arm?”
Pali pulled down his shirt, and stood. “Part of my culture – my heritage – before I turned myself over to the Lord.” He lifted his chin and asked, “Can I bring you ladies anything else besides your virgin drink?”
The two shook their heads, and watched him walk away.
“Huh? I never would have guessed.” Anne turned her attention back to center stage, where the emcee had been telling the story of the Polynesian culture and the history of the dance.
Kamryn leaned over and whispered, “Just proves you can’t judge a book by its cover.”
“Geez, Kamryn. Do you have to talk religion every where we go?” Tina rolled her eyes. “I mean there are hot men getting ready to dance up there, and you’re having a heart to heart. Get over it.”
Kamryn lifted an eyebrow, but said nothing. She doesn’t get it. She probably never will, and I won’t take the bait.
“Tina!” Anne barked. “Mind your own business and stop picking on her. You’re just being plain rude.”
Some of the other girls, who were afraid to speak up, nodded.
“Yeah, you are!” Denise, who sat nearby, finally chimed in.
“Well, sorry,” Tina blurted, giving Anne a look. “Maybe I’m not ready for Debbie downer, over there, to ruin my good time everywhere we go.”
“Then go sit at another table.” Denise took up for Kamryn this time. “There are plenty to choose from.”
“Whatever! Where’s Chad anyway? He’s supposed to be on this so called date and he’s yet to show up.” She crossed her arms.
“I’d like to know the same thing.” Brianna piped in, adding, “I mean these guys are great but …”
At that exact moment, Chad walked out wearing what every other traditional Polynesian dancer had on … which was next to nothing. He promptly dropped to a squat position in the middle of the group, and popped up doing his best to keep up with them.
As this was his first time, he wasn’t expected to dance like an expert but he definitely had the moves, which were good enough to make a few of the women’s jaws drop.
“Whoa!” Chantal gasped. “Check out his six pack.”
“Check out his hips. He looks good.” Denise was smiling from ear to ear. She bit her straw and leaned back in her chair, taking him in.
As the music slowed to a stop, Chad had never been happier. He’d been practicing for two days non-stop in his free time, and although he almost had the hang of it – he wasn’t near comfortable enough to be out here for the whole world to see.
With his last kick, he heard the girls going wild. As they jumped to their feet, clapping, he felt a surge of confidence. He stood among the other dancers, happy he made it through without making a fool of himself.
“Hello!” He waved, as Terrance ran onstage to announce the next part to the date.
“We want more!” Tina yelled over the group’s clapping.
Terrance brought his hand up and grabbed a microphone. “Well, you’re about to get more. Did you enjoy the food and festivities?”
They all nodded and clapped, wondering what was to come next.
Kamryn pulled Anne’s arm over and whispered in her ear. “Hey thanks for taking up for me earlier.”
She noticed Kamryn’s serious mood, and wondered if it had to do with Tina.
“Of course. That’s what friends are for. You okay?”
“I think so. I just haven’t had any alone time with Chad, and I’d like some.”
“Hey, I remember a certain someone who bagged out on their date. You could have had more time.” Anne teased, but instantly regretted it after seeing Kamryn’s face scrunch up.
“I know. That’s what I am worried about. I thought I’d have a date by now, and I haven’t. I still don’t know if there’s anything there between us, like most of these girls do.”
“Sweetie. You’re in the top ten. He didn’t keep you around for pity. He must have seen something in you.”
“True. Or was it because the other girls, who he let go, were obviously not the right fit?”
Anne shrugged her shoulders. Her heart went out to her friend.
“Hey did you two hear that?” Treana interrupted.
“Hear what?” They said in unison.
“While you two were gabbing, Terrance told us to come up stage and grab a grass skirt.” She stood and followed the rest of the group onstage.
Kamryn shook her head and winced. “I’m not so sure about this. I don’t like dancing in front of others.”
“Come on. Don’t be shy. You’ll do great.” Anne grabbed her hand, and handed her a grass skirt from the table next to them.
“Okay - here’s the twist. We’ve got some expert dancers here to teach you to hula. And you’ll get about an hour to learn a routine.” Terrance watched some of the girls’ faces twist in horror. “Then you’ll perform the dance for Chad and your dance teachers.”
“What? I’m not too sure about this.” Kamryn took a step back from center stage.
Seeing her confidence take a dive, Chad stepped in and placed an arm around Kamryn’s shoulders and said, “Hey, if I can get up here shirtless and do this for all of you. You can do this in a big group of beginners. You’ll do great.”
“Chad, I haven’t danced since I was a kid.” She whispered, hoping the cameras wouldn’t pick it up.
“You were a dancer though, right?”
“Yeah, but I had terrible stage fright and gave it up once I hit junior high.”
“I bet you’re one step ahead of some of the others, who may not have had any training - but you don’t have to do this if you really don’t want to.”
Terrance could see some of the anxiety starting to build in the contestants, who were on stage, so he thought he’d give them a bit more motivation.
“Oh, by the way ... at the end of your performance, your hula teachers will pick a winner. And that lucky lady will win a one on one with Ch
ad for the rest of the night.”
The excitement was brought up a notch instantly, as well as the girls’ competitive nature. Even Kamryn was stirred on enough to get over her shy nature and take on the dance.
Afterwards, Chad thought they all did a great job. There were some obvious stand outs, as far as those that caught on to the technique but he was most impressed with Kamryn, who overcame her stage fright to perform in front of them group and the cameras.
Chad watched the dance teachers deliberate, and wondered who the winner would be. They looked so official with their clipboard that he felt like laughing if it weren’t for the fact that the girls still standing, anxiously waiting the results.
“Hey, how much longer will this take?” Chad asked. “I have some very nervous women up there and I’d like to be able to soothe their nerves.”
One of the hula teachers handed him the clipboard, with a shrug. “We have a tie … between Kamryn and Denise. Denise got the most points for the best dance, but Kamryn was almost at that same level. She got some bonus points for coming out of her shell.”
“So, let me be the tie breaker.” He returned the clipboard and walked over to the stage, where the women awaited.
Anne watched him walk up in his Polynesian attire, and was never more thankful that agreed to be on the show. Simply put, he was stunning.
His skin had a warm glow from the Hawaiian sun, and his lean almost fully exposed body was a thing of beauty. She could see every muscle as he preformed his dance earlier in the afternoon, and now as he walked toward them, she just wanted to run her hands along every inch.
Chad watched Anne’s eyes radiate with desire, and wanted nothing more than take her in his arms and carry her away, but this was a dance contest with nine other women. Even though she preformed a graceful hula, the winners were already decided. He smiled warmly at her in passing, and sent a wink in her direction.
“I have the results.” Chad looked to ten expectant pairs of eyes.
Tina started in his direction, only to be bumped out of the way by Brianna, who slid up next to Chad and wrapped her arm around his waist.
Anne bit her lip to keep from laughing. She loved how the rest of the girls were now pre-empting Tina’s every move. Even though she was sure Chad saw what happened right under his nose, he never skipped a beat.
“The winner of this afternoon’s hula is …” He paused. “Kamryn.”
Kamryn did a little happy dance, and let out a soft squeal. “Yeah, I won!” She was grinning from ear to ear.
Tina rolled her eyes, and said softly under her breath, “Have fun with that one. She’ll talk you to death, or beat you over the head with her Bible.”
Chad had pretended not to see what had transpired between both she and Brianna a few minutes earlier. After all, the girls were competing for his attention … but bashing other people, was one thing he would not let slide.
“Tina.” He dropped his arm from Brianna, and stepped away from the group. “A word?”
The girls looked to one another with knowing eyes and tried to hide their smiles.
Tina looked over her shoulder in surprise. “Me?” She would have been pleased for this change of events, if it weren’t for the fact that Chad looked so serious. “Okay,” she said, unsure and walked toward him.
He took her hand and led her to the sea wall, a few feet away. He slowly sat down, trying to formulate his words.
“Finally … I get you alone.” She smiled, and scooted in close.
“Well, I think this needed to be said in private,” he said cautiously. After all, he’d already seen her in action and didn’t want to be in the path of destruction if she flipped her lid.
“Okay. What’s going on?”
Chad put some distance between them and quietly said, “I think your time here is done.”
“What?” She raised an eyebrow. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am. It’s one thing to be competitive with the other girls. I get that this is a process, and the combination of ten competitive personalities means not everyone will play nice. But when you start undercutting someone on purpose – especially someone as sweet as Kamryn…” Chad narrowed his eyes, trying to gauge her reaction before continuing. “Well, that just doesn’t fly with me, and I’m sorry to say that’s not the kind of girl I’m looking for.”
“You’re serious?”
“Yeah … dead serious.”
“So, you’re letting the best thing here go because I said a few smart-ass comments?” Tina laughed in anger, and continued, “You know what? You can’t handle a real woman. You don’t deserve me.”
Tina got up in anger, and stormed away from the Chad and the rest of the group.
The nine remaining girls watched in awe. From the distance, you could hear a curdling scream as Tina left to pack her things.
“Ridiculous!” They heard her yell, from across the lawn.
Chad stood, with his head hung, and looked down to the ocean. He ran his hands through his hair, and closed his eyes.
“Well it’s about time,” Brianna whispered.
Anne looked from Brianna to Chad, who still stood in solitude by the sea wall. He was in definite need of a friend.
“Go.” She nudged Kamryn. “Go get your man. You finally get your date night.”
Although Anne wished she’d won – she was happy for her friend. At least it was a good girl who got to spend time with him tonight, and she couldn’t have been more proud of him for sending Tina home.
Kamryn slowly approached Chad from behind, and touched his arm. “Hey – I know what you did was because of how she was talking about me. That’s the second time tonight someone has had my back where she was concerned. So, thank you.”
“What happened earlier?” He turned to face her with concern.
“She was mouthing off about some of the same things, and Anne came to my defense.”
“That was nice of her.”
Kamryn saw the light in his eyes when he spoke about Anne, but pushed any doubts she may have had about her chances aside.
“So what are we doing tonight?”
“For starters … put some normal clothes on.” He looked to himself and laughed, as Kamryn covered her mouth, trying to disguise a smile. “It’s okay. You can make fun of me.”
“No.” She giggled. “Ask any of them. We all were drooling … you look great.”
“Then why were you laughing?”
“I was just imagining the draft you might have down there.” She burst out laughing this time, only to be joined by Chad.
“You’re funny.” He grabbed her hand and led her back to the group.
From above, she heard the chopping sound of a helicopter fly overhead and wondered if it was for her.
Chad looked up and smiled. “You ready to take a short trip?”
“Really? That’s for me?”
“Well, the last time we had a date … you left in one alone. I thought it fitting that I should take you in another one for our date.”
“How did you know you’d be taking me out? I mean … I only won a few minutes ago.”
Chad laughed. “That’s the miracle behind Ned and his crew. I had a special date planned for each one of you, so no matter who won – it would be individualized. Jane just made the call as soon as I announced the winner … the helicopter was on standby.”
“Awesome. I feel special.” Her smile lit up her face.
“Well, you are. Come on – let’s say our good byes, and then I can get changed.”
Kamryn looked to his bare chest and noticed how the fire, from the tiki torches, illuminated his skin. She would have preferred him stay this way, but wasn’t about to complain.
Chad’s date was nothing short of spectacular. After they boarded the helicopter, they flew to a private beach, where they had an entire beach to themselves.
Kamryn honestly thought that heaven couldn’t be much more beautiful than the paradise that surrounded them. After an afternoon of
learning to surf and play in the sand, Chad had arranged for a couple’s massage under a moonlit sky. She closed her eyes as her masseuse finished his last pass over her back, and groaned out in pure pleasure.
Chad watched the lazy smile spread across her face, and was thankful he could provide Kamryn some happiness. He sat up, and thanked the two, who had so graciously spent time relaxing their bodies, while Kamryn slipped on her robe and slid off her table.
He grabbed for her hand and led her to a thick futon, which lay under a separate tent overlooking the ocean. Kamryn practically wilted into the thick pillows.
“I think I’m ready for a nap. I’m still full from the luau, my body is totally relaxed, and I’m listening to waves crash in the moonlight. This is the life.” She sighed and closed her eyes.
Chad chuckled. He couldn’t agree more.
“What did you think about today?” He reached for a tray of Hawaiian delicacies.
“I never thought I’d be able to get up on the surf board, but once I did, I was in love. I can’t wait to do it again!” She laughed, taking some fruit he’d passed her.
“You did great! I was so impressed,” he said with amazement.
He reached for their glasses, and handed her a champagne flute full of juice.
“Have you ever had guava juice?”
“Yes, it’s quickly becoming one of my favorites. You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?” She slipped a slice of mango in her mouth. “This is heaven.”
“Well, I thought it would be a good way for us to get to know each other, since we’ve not really talked much.”
“It’s hard when there are a bunch of crazy girls around. I’m more of laid back kind of girl.” She laughed and took sip of her juice. “You’ve got some motivated women vying for your attention.”
Chad laughed. “True.”
“Hey, thanks again. I appreciate you standing up for me with Tina. That means a lot. It’s not easy when you don’t follow the crowd and aren’t considered as one of the cool kids.”
“I think you’re very cool. You stand up for what you believe in. You’re a very giving person too. How is that not cool?”
Kamryn’s heart warmed. “Thanks. Did your hidden cameras tell you all that?”
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