He’s also missing a shirt, revealing a chest and stomach carved with muscles and abs. You’re drooling, Aria! I trace the lines of his abs with my eyes all the way down to his impressive ‘V’ that all the girls in movies go crazy for. I have the urge to reach out and touch his abs just to assure myself that he’s real. Sexy tree man is doing crazy things to my libido.
My face turns twenty shades of red when I hear him clear his throat. My face heats further when my eyes reach his face and I see him giving me a knowing smirk. I’m immediately irritated with myself for getting caught checking him out in the first place, and I’m even more irritated with him for having a body that I would even want to check out.
“Are you okay?” This is the third time he’s asked, so I figure I should probably answer him.
“I’m fine,” I reply and start to stand up. Stranger holds out his hands to help me up, but I ignore it. Apparently, being irritated turns me into a bitch.
“I should have been watching where I was going. I’ve never really seen anyone else running out here,” he says, and my irritation begins to dwindle.
“It’s okay. I wasn’t watching where I was going. I thought I—” I begin to tell him that I thought I was being chased by a mad man, but then realize I’ve embarrassed myself enough for one day, so I close my mouth.
I see he’s about to ask me what I was about to say, but something on my leg catches his eye. “Shit, you’re bleeding.”
I look down and, sure enough, there’s a small river of blood running down the front of my shin from a cut I’m sure I got when I was running for my life. “Franculo,” I hiss. Fuck.
I walk backward and sit down on a log so I can inspect my injury further. Problem is, blood makes me woozy. Two seconds after looking at it, I want to pass out.
I don’t know if the sexy stranger sees how pale my face is or just wants to help, but he kneels down to look at my cut. He reaches for my leg. “Here, let me see.”
It’s so cliché, but I swear that as soon as his big hand wrapped around my small calf, a zing of delicious awareness flowed through me, another thing I thought only happened in movies and books. I bet money he felt it too because his eyes snap to mine.
I glance down at his lips right when his tongue pokes out to wet them. It’s when he starts to lean in that it hits me. I’m about to kiss a fucking stranger in the middle of the woods. I’m about to let a sexy man, whose name I don’t even know, put his lips on mine. I’m a skank!
I jump up from the log so fast I knock the stranger on his ass. I barely spare him a sorry before I’m quickly walking away.
“Where are you going?” he asks.
“Home,” I reply without stopping or looking at him.
“No, you’re not.” The matter-of-fact tone in his voice makes my body tighten with fear. I stop moving and my stomach convulses. Is the handsome stranger one of Salazar’s goons? Has he found me already?
My inner worries come to an abrupt stop when I hear the stranger come up behind me. I once again find myself thanking God that I was smart enough to take those self-defense classes.
I count to three and take a deep breath. As soon as I feel his hand on my shoulder, I whip around. My fist slams into his Adam’s apple. He coughs out in pain and doubles over. I place my hands on his shoulders and drive my knee into his manhood. He lets out a girly yell and is gagging when I push him to the ground.
He’s withering in pain when I lean down and shout, “See ya, sucka!”
I turn and run in the direction I was headed in before with a smile on my face, despite the severity of the situation, because I’ve always wanted to use a one liner like that.
I’m probably only twenty feet away from where I attacked him when I hear him coming. I turn my head to look and, sure enough, there he is, running—well, kind of running. He’s got quite the limp—behind me.
“Why won’t you stay down?” I yell to him over my shoulder.
“You’re going the wrong way,” he yells back. I stop running and turn to look at him suspiciously.
“How would you know? You don’t even know me, much less where I live.”
He stops a yard away, then bends at the waist to catch his breath. When he does finally look up, it’s clear he’s pissed by his narrowed eyes.
“You’re right, I don’t know you, but I do know these woods, so I know that if you continue this way, you’re going to end up at Volcano Puhi.”
I want to laugh and cry at my stupidity, but I settle for defensiveness.
“Well, you could have just said that,” I mumble.
The stranger gives me a disbelieving look. “I was about to say that before you went all Tomb Raider on me!” he yells.
“Well, what did you expect? You were all like ‘No, you’re not,’ in your scary, ‘I’m Jason the murderer’ voice.”
I see the stranger’s lips tip up in the corner, like he’s fighting back a smile. I roll my eyes.
“You would have heard I was about to say that if you wouldn’t have throat punched and kneed me in the dick. Damn, wahine, I want to have kids one day!”
I ignore the small, irrational jolt of jealousy at the thought of him having kids with some woman and roll my eyes again. “Whatever,” I mumble as I walk past him in the opposite direction of the volcano.
“Wrong way, again,” he calls to me. I can hear the smile in his voice.
“Oh really? Is there another volcano this way too?” I snap.
“No.” That’s what I thought! Smugly, I continue walking. “Just my house.”
I stop, whip around, and glare.
His stupid smirk turns into a full blown smile and he points left, at another path. “Take this path all the way. Eventually, you’ll come to the exit.”
“Whatever,” I mumble again. He laughs at me as I start heading down the path. “Bastardo!” I yell over my shoulder.
“What’s that accent?”
I’m not sure why I answer, but I do. “Italian.”
“Ah, explains the fiery temper. Have a good night, nani malihini!” Before I can tell him where to shove his good night, he’s jogging away.
It takes forty-five minutes of walking to find my way out of the woods and back to Camille’s house. The sun has completely set by the time I walk in. Camille is sitting on the couch, watching TV with a glass of wine. She looks up with a warm smile when she hears me come in.
“How was your run, sweetheart?”
“It was good,” I answer politely and walk to the room I share with Layla. Layla is already dressed for bed and laying on top of her covers, talking on the phone. I smile at her, grab my drawstring pajama shorts and a white tank top and head to the shower.
I’m in the shower longer than I originally intended, just letting the hot water wash over me. For the first time in weeks, my thoughts aren’t consumed with flashbacks of that horrific night. Right now, all I can think about is the sexy stranger with dreads, blue eyes, and the thick Hawaiian accent.
I rush through the rest of my shower, brush my teeth, and wash my face. When I get out of the shower, the light in the bedroom is off and Layla is under the covers. I can’t see her face in the darkness, but I assume she’s sleeping.
“How was your run?” Layla sleepily mumbles to me seconds after I crawl into my bed.
“I almost kissed a stranger and then I attacked him,” I blurt before I can think better of it. Great, now she probably thinks you’re a loon! I worry that fear is correct when she doesn’t respond, but I relax instantly when Layla bursts out laughing.
It’s not long before I’m laughing right along with her. If you can get past how horribly embarrassing my reply was, it’s kind of funny. I stop and take a deep breath when my stomach starts to hurt.
“Night, Aria,” Layla says. She rolls on her side, facing away from me.
“Night, Layla,” I echo, and close my eyes.
Chapter Four
Pika, Kulani, And Seth, Oh My!
“Ah, you look great!” Lay
la says when I walk out of the bathroom stall wearing the same Resort uniform she was wearing yesterday. I can’t believe how easy it was to get a job.
Layla was right. Roger is a pretty cool guy. He’s short and plump, but has a huge personality. Everything he says is followed by a loud, boisterous laugh. It wasn’t hard to feel relaxed around him.
I was nervous when I handed him my fake paperwork, but he barely spared it a glance before telling me that any guest of Camille’s is more than welcome to work for him. It was blatantly clear he has a thing for Camille, but neither Layla nor I commented on that.
Starting today, after Layla shows me around this huge resort, I will work the lemonade stand out on the golf course with her.
I smile at Layla’s compliment.
“You ready to see the place?” she asks brightly.
“I am. Thank you, again, for getting me this job.”
“No problem. You’re doing me a favor. I would have died of boredom out there all by my lonesome.”
We both laugh as we walk out of the ladies’ bathroom. For the second time since arriving in Hawaii, I bump head first into a hard chest.
This time I don’t mistake it for a tree, though. Unlike last time, I don’t fall on my ass, but I do hit my forehead hard enough for it to sting. “Dio! I have got to stop doing that,” I grumble while I rub the stinging spot on my forehead.
I look up when I hear a deep chuckle rumble from the chest I just rammed into. I blush when I see that this stranger is almost as handsome as the last. The guy in front of me has blonde hair and green eyes. He’s incredibly tall—not as tall as tree man—but tall. I get the preppy boy vibe when I look at his khaki shorts and blue polo shirt.
“Are you okay?” he asks with a smile in his voice.
“Yeah, I’m lucky I have a hard head or I would need to invest in a helmet.” Stranger and Layla both laugh.
“Seth,” he says. He holds out his hand for me to shake, which I do.
“Gi—” I’m about to answer, but Layla cuts me off.
“Aria. This is Aria. She’s staying with us for a little while, so I got her a job here.”
My stomach flips when I realize that I almost just told Seth my real name. I don’t know how Layla knew how important it was for that secret to be kept, but I’m grateful to her. I shoot her a look of pure thanks before looking back at Seth.
“Oh, you’re working here? That’s awesome. My dad owns this place.” He gives me a friendly smile. I vaguely remember Layla mentioning Seth’s name, but I can’t remember what she said about him. “What part of the resort are you working at?” he asks.
I can practically hear Layla rolling her eyes, and her body language is making it clear that she doesn’t care for Seth. That’s surprising because Layla seems like the kind of person to like everyone.
“I’m running the lemonade stand with Layla,” I answer with a polite tone.
“Cool. Maybe I can show you around this place?”
I’m about to tell him that’s not necessary when Layla butts in again. “That’s big of you, Seth, but I have that handled. See ya.”
She grabs my hand and begins to pull me away. Not wanting to be rude and piss off the son of the guy who just gave me a job, I stop her and turn back to Seth.
“It was nice meeting you.” I smile. My body heats when his eyes devour every inch of my body, from my head to my toes.
“It was nice meeting you too, Aria. I’ll see you around,” he purrs while backing away, biting the corner of his lip. When he disappears from our sight, Layla lets out a loud, dramatic groan.
“God, that guy is such a creep!” She mock shivers, causing me to giggle.
“I take it you don’t like Seth?”
“No. He’s nothing like his dad. Trust me, Aria, you should stay away from him.” The seriousness in her voice grabs my attention. Her eyes are filled with pain. I stop walking and put my hand on her arm.
“Are you okay?” I ask. Layla shakes her head and clears her eyes. Gone is the sad, pain-filled Layla and the bubbly one is back in her place.
“I’m fine. He just rubs me the wrong way.” She waves off my concern and grabs my hand. “Come on, let me show you around this place and then I can introduce you to my boyfriend.” At the mention of her boyfriend, a huge, infectious smile graces her face.
I was not exaggerating when I said this place was huge. It took Layla almost an hour and a half to show me every inch of the resort. Like everywhere else in Hawaii, the resort sits almost right on the ocean. It, of course, has a golf course. On top of the resort roof is one of two pools.
All the guest rooms are on the inside as well as an arcade, another pool, a family dining room, and another way fancier dining room. Layla also took me in a golf cart down the road to the little building where guests can sign up for outdoor activities such as horseback riding, ATV riding, and guided walks to a waterfall not far from here.
Our last stop before starting our shift, and the stop that Layla was most excited about, was the little shack by the ocean. Her boyfriend and his friend run it for the resort and they offer surf lessons for the guests.
“So, how long have you and your boyfriend been together?” I ask Layla as we walk down the paved trail that leads from the resort hotel to the ocean. Even though today was about showing me around, we’ve still had a lot of fun. I realize that Layla is the exact person I pegged her to be from the moment I met her: kind, fun, funny, and bubbly.
I’ve had more fun today than I’ve had my entire life, and that realization has me feeling tremendous guilt. I shouldn’t be having a good time when my mom isn’t here to have it with me. There’s a battle raging inside me. On one side, I want to just forget my life and the nightmares that happened in New York. But, on the other, I continuously remind myself why I’m here, that I need to be on watch. I remind myself that my nightmare isn’t over…it’s not even close.
“Oh, I’ve loved Pika forever, but he’s four years older than me. Even though I had my feelings, and he felt the same way, we didn’t get together until almost a year ago.”
“Seems like a long time to wait for the man you love.”
Layla gives me a sad smile. “Long and sad. Like I said, I always knew Pika was the man for me, and I always believed that, deep down, he knew I was the girl for him, but it took him a long time to admit that. And, in the meantime, I got the first row seat to watch him with countless other girls.” She finishes with a humorless laugh, and I give her a sympathetic smile.
“I’m sorry.” That’s the only response I can think to give her. I can’t imagine how she feels. I’ve never dated. Hell, I’m eighteen and have only ever kissed one guy, but I’ve never even had a crush on a guy so strongly that I would feel the way she must have felt.
I’ve found some guys attractive, but I didn’t go to the best schools. Most of the guys I went to school with were gangbangers who were on the fast track to ending up like my papi. My main focus was school. I wanted every opportunity I could take to help me get out of that neighborhood. A lot of good that did me.
“I’m over it,” Layla says, breaking into my thoughts. “In the end, I got my man, and it was worth all the other shit I had to go through to get him.” As she says this, a loud wolf whistle rings in the air. Both of us look in the direction of the Surf Shack.
I see a guy standing next to the shack with a huge smile directed at Layla. It’s clear the guy is Pika. I take a second to wonder if every guy in Hawaii is a robot because I haven’t met one yet that’s been hard on the eyes. Like all the rest I’ve met so far, Pika is tall, tan, and chiseled, but those are the only features I can take note of from this distance.
Pika holds his arms open. Right before Layla takes off in a dead sprint to him, she looks back at me with a smile. “I’d go through all of it over again.” And then she’s gone.
I laugh and push away my jealousy and a desire to have that kind of relationship. Layla launches herself in Pika’s arms. It takes two seconds for them t
o begin inhaling each other’s faces.
I continue the small trek to the Surf Shack by myself while looking at my feet awkwardly. I don’t want to intrude on their private moment, even though it’s in a very public place.
I’m just reaching the Surf Shack—and still looking away—when I hear a voice that makes every nerve in my body stand on alert. “Okay, quit sucking your girl’s face and help me with the boards!”
“Jealous, bro?” I hear Pika ask, and then they immediately start bantering back and forth. I use their distraction to plan my escape before he sees me, but I only get one step before Layla grabs my arm.
“Kulani, this is Aria, the girl who’s staying with us. I got her a job here.” I close my eyes and take a deep breath before looking at the sexy stranger from the woods last night.
I know Kulani recognizes me when his smirk morphs into a megawatt smile. You would think he just won the lottery. I’m pissed to admit to myself that I haven’t stopped thinking about him since last night and irritated that he still looks as sexy in the daylight by the ocean as he did with the sun setting in the woods. “So, the nani malihini has a name?” he purrs.
Pika and Layla are standing off to the side, their heads bouncing back and forth between us with confused expressions marring their faces.
“You two know each other?” Pika asks.
Kulani laughs. “Yeah, we know each other. Aria here beat the shit out of me last night in the woods when I tried to give her directions.”
I narrow my eyes and my face reddens with both anger and embarrassment. If looks could kill, Kulani would be six feet under.
“That was you?” Pika and Layla loudly ask at the same time. I look over at them to see Layla looking at me and Pika looking at Kulani. That’s when I realize that, like I told Layla, Kulani must have told Pika about it as well. As irrational as it sounds, that just serves to irritate me more.
“You told him?” I hiss with a look on my face that should have him shivering in his swim trunks, but it only amuses him.
Love, Unexpected Page 3