Her eyes grow as wide as they did when she was freaked out about sharks. She quickly snatches it from me, and I can’t help but feel insulted.
“I didn’t open it,” I assure her. “I swear.”
Something shifts in her expression and she pulls her act together quickly. “Thanks for keeping it for me. I can’t believe I’m so forgetful.”
“No problem.”
“I’m just going to take this back home, since I don’t need it, right?”
“No, but I can hold onto it again. I swear, Scout’s Honor, that I will not take your credit cards on a shopping spree or look at your eye color on your ID.” Although I am curious how the state of Wisconsin would describe her eye color. Blue or green is too basic.
Her shoulders stiffen a bit as she studies my three fingers waving in the air. “Okay, fine. Thanks.”
“You got it, newbie. Want a beer?”
“Sure,” she says and her eyes smile at me. Still not counting that in my tally, but I sure do love it.
In unison, we walk over to the refreshments, where Kaila and Lin’s boyfriend are arguing about something.
Darnell? Shit.
Kaila pulls me over by the sleeve of my t-shirt. “Jake, tell Darren that you have to know how to swim to surf.” Darren. Darren. Darren. “Hi Audrey, by the way. I’m glad you came,” she says and embraces Audrey like they’re old friends.
“Yeah, bro. That’s pretty much step one,” I say and open the cooler because I’m not drinking that horrid keg beer Darren brought. I offer Audrey an IPA and she nods eagerly. “You know how to swim, right?” I whisper to her.
“Yes,” she whispers back.
“Good.”
“No way, man,” Lin’s boyfriend starts. “Your board is the ultimate floatation device. As long as it’s attached to you, you’re golden. All you gotta do is paddle.”
Kaila throws her arms into the air dramatically, her bracelets jingling like sleigh bells. “You said it yourself, idiot.”
“Said what?” he asks.
I glance over at Audrey and I’m delighted to see she’s as humored by this whole exchange as I am.
“You said, as long as your board is attached to you.” Kaila swats me in the chest. “Tell the moron that it’s possible to get detached from your board.”
“Leashes can break, for your safety. How do you not know that? How do you not know that you have to swim to surf?” I’m astonished at how stupid he is.
“I told you!” Kaila says and raises her arms in victory.
“If that happens and you can’t swim, I’ll be there to save you.” He turns to look at Audrey and says with way too much pride, “I’m Manalua’s lifeguard.”
“Cool.” Audrey nods a few times and leans in toward me. “Is this considered lesson two?”
“Let’s call it one-point-five.”
She nods once and those beautiful lips perk up. “Six,” I whisper.
Her eyes widen. “What did you say?”
“Nothing at all. Hey, look it’s Hideo and Aimi,” I say to change the subject because I’m pretty sure she’s catching on to my tally. I whip Hideo around by the arm so that he’s facing us, and Aimi follows.
“This is Aimi and Hideo Tanaka. She’s the brains behind the marriage, he’s the DJ.”
That makes my favorite friends laugh and they both take a turn shaking hands with Audrey.
“Audrey, right?” Aimi asks.
She swallows hard and nods. “Yep, that’s me.”
“Audrey what, by the way?” I ask. “I don’t think I caught your last name.”
She looks up at me with those gorgeous eyes that look more like the sky right before dusk in this light. “Logan. Audrey Logan.”
“I’m Jake Garrant.” I take hold of her hand and give it a good shake.
Her body shakes a little bit from laughter. “Didn’t we do this already?”
“Maybe,” I say and wink at her. Truthfully, the blitz of her coming into my life and shaking things up is a little fuzzy. I suppose it’s those high-impact moments that can blur by, even if you don’t want them to. It’s like when you see the perfect wave and your body goes into motion, leaving your brain ten feet back.
Audrey sure feels like that perfect wave. Lord knows my body really wants to go for it.
Audrey
I’d never seen a real bonfire before. I’d never even experienced a simple campfire. Before moving to Manalua, I was a city girl, through and through. My dad and I lived in a penthouse at the top of a high rise on Lake Shore Drive. For me, nature was limited to Lake Michigan and Grant Park. We even vacationed to other cities like New York, London, and Paris. It was more of a concrete jungle than the natural one in my Manalua backyard. Needless to say, moving to a small town on the coast of Maui has been a drastic change.
The bonfire is an amazing sight, but it’s the smell that I love. Something about the burning wood mixed with the sand and the sea does things to me. My emotions feel cracked open and there’s a yearning between my legs I haven’t felt in months. Okay, maybe it’s not the bonfire. The demigod is looking mighty fine tonight, like exceptionally so in the firelight. He’s clean-shaven and my goodness, his jawline might be the end of me. It’s so well defined it makes me want to walk into the ocean and let the sharks have their way with me because life isn’t fair.
Or is it?
I haven’t seen him cozy up with any ladies. In fact, I’m the only lady he’s spent dedicated time with tonight. The self-doubting part of me thinks that maybe he’s just hospitable, but when he gazes down at me with those piercing blue eyes, he makes me feel like I’m the only person on this beach.
In between numerous introductions to his friends, we’ve been talking. He’s told me all about the First Friday Fire and about some destructive tropical storms the town has endured. He talks a lot about his brother, Sam, as if he’s a proud parent, but he doesn’t say anything about the rest of his family. A lot of the people I meet bring up his dad, especially when we mention that I’m taking surfing lessons. “Oh, you’re in good hands, learning from Brian’s son,” the owner of the hardware store told me. Every time his dad is mentioned, Jake noticeably tightens up. Based on first impressions, I didn’t think there was much that could rattle him, but apparently, it’s a touchy subject for him.
For my part, I don’t share much about my family situation either, what little there is of it anymore.
The fire starts to make me sweat and I could use a little damp air. “I’m going to go sit over there for a bit,” I tell him, and point down the beach a little ways from the bonfire.
He hesitates for a moment before asking, “Can I join you?”
“Sure,” I answer because I do like his company and I’m pretty sure he’s not a crazed killer. Kaila seems on the up and up, and would never point me his direction if he was. I hope.
His smile makes me giddy, which is the exact opposite of how I should be feeling. I need to keep my cool. I’m not exactly in the right place for being with someone, at least more than a one-night stand. The guy doesn’t even know my real name.
“I’m going to grab another beer. Want one?” he asks.
“Yeah, thanks. I’ll have whatever you’re having.”
“You got it.”
As Jake goes fishing for beers in the cooler, I make my way toward the spot I had in mind. It’s far enough away for the firelight not to drown out the stars above and quiet enough to hear the tide.
I slide out of my sandals, gather my long skirt to the front of my legs, and take a seat. The ocean breeze feels fantastic on my face. This is precisely what I needed. I lean back on my elbows and look up at the stars. I never really knew the night sky could be so vibrant until I moved to Manalua.
“I read there will be a meteor shower in June,” Jake says as he joins me in the sand with our beers.
“Awesome! The stars here are magnificent,” I tell him, not able to take my eyes off the sky.
“Not a lot of sky gazing in the
Midwest?” he asks, sounding genuinely confused.
“It’s not the same as here. These stars are special.” I glance over at him and he’s gazing at me as if I’m the one that’s special. I don’t know what to do with that exactly, so I grab for my beer. He hasn’t opened his yet, so I don’t either. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. So you like the stars…what else do you like? Tell me more about you, newbie.”
Crap. I’d rather him make a move on me instead of asking me things about myself. “Things I like?”
“Foreign concept?”
“No, no, not at all,” I say and swallow. “I like movies.”
“Covered that one already, Daniel-san.”
“But we haven’t even talked about E.T. yet.”
“E.T.?”
“Yeah,” I answer and point to the sky. “E.T. phone home.”
Jake rocks back and forth while he laughs. “You really do like movies.”
“I told you I do! Plus, the place I moved into has a ton of them. Since I’ve got a lot of spare time, I end up watching a couple every day. Until today, that is,” I confess.
“Are you between jobs?”
“Yes,” I answer because it’s just easier that way.
“What do you do?”
“I’m a teacher.”
His eyebrows arch up. “Really? What kind?”
“If you had to guess?”
He studies me, up and down, as if something about my physical appearance will give it away. He stops at my eyes and the corners of his mouth turn up. “Math.”
My plan was to say yes to whatever he guessed. So now I’m going to go with math. It wouldn’t have been my first choice, because my math skills could use some serious refreshing, but if anyone came asking for a drama teacher, math would undoubtedly throw them off. “You guessed it,” I reply.
“Really? That’s awesome. You know, Sam could use a tutor. Do you do calculus?”
Shit. “I know it, but I’m not sure I know how to teach it. I teach middle school.” Another lie to throw on the pile.
“Middle school? That is God’s work. I hated Sam at that age.”
Jakes gives me the perfect opening to deflect once again. “You’re really fond of your brother, aren’t you?"
“Well, I practically raised the little guy. Technically he’s my half-brother; we share the same mom,” he answers.
“Does he surf, too?”
That question makes him light up. “Oh yeah. He’s great at it. I think he’s always had something to prove by not being Brian Garrant’s son.”
“That’s your dad, right?”
Jake looks away from me and out at the ocean. “Yep.”
My instincts were right. This is a touchy subject for him, and honestly, I have no right to pry. My toes dig into the sand as we sit silently in this moment.
“Wait a minute,” Jake says abruptly and twists to face me.
“What?” I twist dramatically just for fun and face him back.
“You turned the tables on me. I was asking questions about you.” Damn it. I didn’t think he’d catch on. “How did you end up in Manalua?”
“Simple. Look at this,” I tell him and point all around us. How could this beach not suffice as an adequate answer?
“Did you win the lottery or something? Can I rub you for good luck?” My eyes grow wide and so do his. “Sorry, that came out wrong.”
I raise an eyebrow at him.
“Okay, maybe it didn’t,” he confesses and that makes me happy.
He nods as if he’s processing my smile.
“Well, the truth is,” I begin and this is the actual truth. “I come from a wealthy family.”
I’m not interested in getting into the story about my father, either. However, I loved that man more than words can describe. He was the best person I’ve ever known.
The response I expect from him is something along the lines of how lucky for you, but I don’t get that. Instead, he says cryptically, “Money is a sort of freedom. It allows us to pursue what we love.”
“What’s your pursuit?” I ask, taking the risk that he may ask me the same in return.
“Living peacefully here in Manalua, and catching the perfect wave.”
“How will you know when you’ve caught it?”
Jake gazes at me softly while one side of his mouth curves up. “I imagine I won’t be expecting it when it happens, but that I’ll know in that instant that I have.”
I take a deep breath and my chest rises and falls in rhythm with his.
“What’s your pursuit?” he asks.
“Would you believe me if I told you it’s the same thing?”
He studies me and I worry that he’s going to call bullshit, but somehow he must see that I mean it. That’s all I want, a peaceful life here in Manalua. “I do believe you.”
Jake leans back on his elbows and looks up at the sky. I follow his move.
“I feel like I’ve been taking all the best parts of Manalua for granted. You’re helping me look at it through a fresh lens,” he says.
“Good. I’m glad I can give back something to you.”
“Do you know your constellations?” he asks.
“Of course, I do,” I answer and point up to some random assortment of stars. “That’s Sharkemis, see it?”
“Sharkemis?” he asks cynically.
“Yeah, Sharkemis. The Greek god of sharks. He knew how to tame them and keep them away, kind of like an Aquaman, St. Patrick hybrid.”
His chuckle at my fake constellation hits me in the heart. I love the sound of his laugh.
“Well, do you know about Shellsopholes?” He starts tapping at stars that may, in fact, be the big dipper.
“There?” I ask, pointing at some different stars. I admit it. I want to see his next move.
He scoots closer to me and takes hold of my hand in his. He points up at the sky and taps the stars he wants me to see. His touch sends a rush of flutters through my chest and I take a deep breath. I’m enjoying this game. “Oh right, Shellsopholes. I’d forgotten all about it. Remind me about his story.”
“Wow. I thought you were smart.” I turn his way in mock disgust and he laughs a little. “Okay, well Shellsopholes was the Greek god of seashells. No one took him seriously, so he barfed seashells on the beaches of Earth, so everyone would hurt themselves stepping on his creation.”
“Right, right, right, Shellsopholes. How could I forget?”
“Yeah, that guy was a real dick.”
We both laugh and I fall back into the sand, not caring a bit that I’m going to need another shower tonight. Jake turns and gazes down at me.
“I’m happy you stumbled into my shop and stole those sunglasses, newbie.”
“I’m happy, too,” I tell him.
His eyes flash to my lips and back up to my eyes. I know an important moment is coming and I have to decide what to do. My mind thinks it would be best to retreat, to turn away from that handsome face and those lips that look like they could devour me in the absolute best way possible. But my body wants his kiss. It wants to know what it’s like to enjoy the feel of someone again.
Screw it. I want to kiss him.
I reach up and place my hand on his cheek, brushing my fingertips over his ear. His eyes close a little long on a blink and he puts his hand on my hip.
“Newbie,” he whispers, and I’m relieved he didn’t say Audrey.
“Thor,” I whisper back and that makes the little lines beside his eyes crinkle in happiness.
He rubs his nose against mine. Once, twice, and a third time as his lips lightly graze over mine and I’m undone. I want this. I want him. I slip my hands into his hair and he rewards me with a deep hum that reverberates down my spine, all the way to where my thighs meet. His eyes close fully and mine do too, not even a second after. Suddenly, I can’t tell where my heavy breath begins and where his ends. We’re synchronizing and it’s sexy as hell. The need is very real.
Finally, his lip
s make the contact I’ve been craving, soft at first, but full on my mouth. There’s a little growl in his throat as he pulls back ever so slightly and kisses me again, this time while running his hand down from my hip to my thigh and giving it a squeeze that dares to bruise me, he’s that strong. My toes curl into the sand, as a warmth I haven’t felt in ages spreads from my core.
I’m ready for more, so ready, and I think he is too because we both open our mouths at the same time and our tongues crash together like the breaking of a wave crashes down onto the water.
This connection between us is everything. There’s nothing else, no tide sweeping up toward us, no stars to illuminate our world, no bonfire in the distance, no monster back in Chicago. There’s just Jake. Just me. Just this.
My sense for doing the right thing is lost and I’d be willing to have him take me right here, right now, but he pulls back gently and winds us down with slower, softer kisses. He’s letting the world back in and I want to protest. I want to forget everything again. Before I can say a word, he cups my cheek and stares down at me. “We should go back to the bonfire, before we…”
“Before we what?” I ask breathlessly.
He touches his forehead to mine and his eyes scrunch closed. “Before we get arrested for indecent exposure.”
The heat simmers down inside me and a small laugh escapes. “Fair point,” I tell him and I’m grateful that he’s got some sense. I just met about thirty new people and then I almost got down and dirty in front of them.
Jake helps me up off the sand and I quickly realize that my hair has an unreasonable amount of sand in it, not to mention all the sand that’s gone down the back of my dress and is caked all over my feet. “I’m going to head home and get cleaned up.”
He assesses me and nods. “I’ll walk you home,” he says and reaches out his hand for mine. I slide my hand into his and we walk beside the tide to my cottage. Right before we get to my doorstep, he reaches into his pocket and fishes out my wallet.
“Thanks for holding onto it.” I’m guessing if he did take a look inside my wallet, he’d have some questions. Like, why do you have two IDs? I really shouldn’t be carrying around my real ID anymore. In fact, the first thing I’m going to do when I get inside is put it in my go-bag. The new ID with my alias and new hair color is a real Wisconsin driver’s license. It’s scary how easily I acquired that and a social security number to match back in Chicago. Then again…it’s Chicago.
Between The Waves Page 3