Pallas & Kawehi (TEAM ‘IO #1)

Chapter 1

KAWEHI

“Kawehi!”

Kawehi Phillips turned her head, smiling. “Yes?”

“Can I get another beer?”

She looked at Mister Compos with a smile. “Not if you’re driving.”

He huffed and grumbled but he didn’t challenge her.

The locals that came into Lanikai Lanes rarely did. They understood that she was just following the rules. Rules that had been in place for nearly fifty years.

“How about a glass of water instead?”

“You got any lemons?”

She grinned at the hopeful sound of his voice.

“You know we do. Wedge or slice.”

“Slice please.”

And he went back to his conversation with the men around him.

Kawehi looked up at the clock. Nine o’clock.

Just a few more hours and she could crawl in bed and get some sleep.

The front door chime sounded behind the bar and four people came in. Three guys in beachwear and another guy by himself.

The three took their time walking around looking at the video games and then the bowling lanes.

The man by himself looked around but he came right for the bar. The only time he stopped was when he saw the vinyl stools at the bar.

It gave her a long moment to look at him and it still wasn’t enough. The man was tall, and he had an air about him that said he knew how to take care of himself.

Kawehi walked over to take his order. “Welcome to Lanikai Lanes. What can I get you?”

He sat down and gave her a hint of a smile. “Water and a menu please.”

Okay then.

“Are you visiting here in Hawaii?”

She had to force herself to take her eyes off of him to pick up a menu.

The last thing she wanted to do was fall on her face and look like a fool.

“Moving here,” he explained.

“Welcome to the islands.” She placed the menu in front of him on the counter and gave him a smile. “Let me know if you have any questions. If not, just let me know what you’d like to order.”

He hesitated and then looked down at the menu.

“Hey!”

She cringed at the demanding tone of voice from one of the three guys who were now standing at the bowling alley counter.

Before she could answer,one of the guys banged the stapler against the counter. “Yo! Can we get some help?”

Kawehi pasted on a smile and took a step in their direction. “Sorry guys. I’ll be right there in one minute to help you.”

She looked at the locals who were sitting at the counter. “Can you guys take care of him for a minute while I help these guys?”

All of the guys nodded or answered her in the affirmative, one of them even gave her a shaka sign and said, “shoots.”

She made her way across the floor from the linoleum under her feet to the old blue carpeting.

By the time she got over to the bowling counter, she could tell the men were irritated and already had a few drinks in them.

“Hey, guys, what can I do to help you.”

“Don’t you guys have someone working the counter? This is ridiculous!”

She hoped that her smile hadn’t falter. “We don’t have many people coming in for bowling, so sometimes the staff covers both the bar and bowling. So, are you guys interested in bowling tonight?”

The look that passed between the three of them put her off. It changed their looks from post-college frat boys to… something else. Something harder.

“Yeah.” One of the guys shrugged and reached into his back pocket for his wallet. “Let’s get a lane and bowl a few games.”

“Great.” She smiled and she meant it. Revenue was revenue, whether it came from nice guys or not. “What are your shoe sizes?”

The first guy on her left gave her his size. “10.”

The guy in the middle looked her straight in the eye. “14.”

The last guy slapped him on the back. “Ha, right. I need a 12.”

The three pairs of shoes were set on the countertop.

In front of the men.

“I’ll set you up on lane six-”

“Naw, I want seven for luck.”

It was the guy in the middle again. “I feel lucky tonight.”

“Okay.”

It was simple enough to flick one switch off and another switch on.

The familiar whir of the equipment told her that the pin setter was doing its job.

“You can use any of the balls on the racks in here. Please don’t take your street shoes onto the floor and no horsing around please.”

“So no throwing each other down the lanes,” Number one said. “Boring, but whatever.”

God, she hoped he was joking.

“Do you want to leave a credit card for your games?”

Number two gave her a look. “Like a bar tab?”

“Absolutely.” She gave them her best customer service smile.

“What about the bar,” Number three gave her a sly smile. “We can have drinks, right?”

She nodded. “Sure. Did you guys drive here?”

Number one took offense. “What business is it of yours?”

“I believe it’s my responsibility to care for our customers and that means making sure you’re good to drive before you do.”

“What?” Number one continued on. “How do you do that?”

“Well, first, I cut you off if I think you’re drunk. If you want to prove me wrong, I have a PBT behind the counter here.”

“PVT?” Number three scoffed. “Isn’t that a kind of solar panel?”

Number two rolled his eyes. “She’s talking about that little thing you blow into so they can find out how much you’ve been drinking.”

Number one leaned in against the counter and met her gaze. “You gonna blow me, too?”

“Credit card, guys?”

Number two pulled out his wallet and put the card on the counter. “A round of beers, please.”

She looked at the credit card. “Picture ID for all three of you.”

Number one looked like he was ready for his head to explode. “The fuck!”

“Hey!”

Shocked, all three men turned to look at the counter of the bar.

The guy who had come in on his own was standing beside the stool he’d been sitting on.

“Mind your manners.”

The way he said it wasn’t a request. It was an order.

The guy standing in front of her set down his ID. Two more IDs came a moment later and she looked for the date of birth on each license. “Here, thank you.” She handed the licenses back to their owners. “Thanks guys.”

She put the credit card in a tin cup on the back counter and gave all three a smile. “I’ll get that pitcher and a few glasses for you guys. Enjoy the game!”

She made it all the way back to the bar counter before she blew out a breath. The man who’d been perusing the menu sat back down.

“Thanks for that.”

He gave a half-hearted shrug. “I didn’t like the way they were talking to you.”

That made her smile. “That’s never happened before.”

“What hasn’t? Jerks coming in here like they own the world or-”

“That happens fairly regularly. Lanikai might not be like Waikiki, but we get our share of guys and girls who can’t hold their liquor. Or the guys who think because they have money, they can pretty much run roughshod over anyone in their path.”

“And the other part?”

She picked up a pitcher and then started filling it with draft from the tap.

“You mean a guy standing up for me like that?”

She didn’t even look to see if he nodded. She continued to fill the pitcher with beer. “Not really. My usuals in here don’t take guff from guys like that, but no. Not like the way you did it.”

Kawehi knew that she didn’t want to talk about that. Especially not to someone she’d just met.

The pitcher was filled up and she gave him a smile. “I’ll deliver this to their lane and come back. Are you ready to order?”

He gave her a stiff nod and she walked away with the pitcher in one hand and three acrylic mugs in the other.

She didn’t know what it was, but she felt like he was watching her.

It wasn’t an uncomfortable feeling. Instead, it felt like he was watching out for her.

Crazy? Absolutely.

But it was just a feeling. Likely the product of not enough sleep.

Kawehi crossed from the rug area over to the hard floor where the bowlers were waiting.

As she set the tray down on the unused bench at the back of the area, she saw Number three leaning over. She had a feeling that he was staring at her backside.

Childish. That’s what they were. But they were also old enough to drink.

Maturity wasn’t something these guys had in spades… or in anything.

She just hoped that they were mostly talk. She didn’t think she could handle three of them if they got rowdy at closing.

She walked back to the counter and sighed a little as she walked up to his seat. “So, have you figured out what you’re going to eat?”

“What do you order when you eat here?”

She smiled and shrugged. “There’s a lot of things that I love to eat here. No bad dishes coming out of this kitchen. But if I had to pick one. I’d go with oyako donburi.”

She saw his expression and shrugged.

“You asked.”

He was also smiling, and she found it made him even more handsome than she thought before. “I did, didn’t I. Can I ask what’s in it?”

“Sure. It’s a bowl of white rice topped with a mix of egg, onions, and meat. In this case it’s chicken. It doesn’t look like much, but I like it. Perfect after a long day at work. Comfort food. But I can suggest a few other dishes if you-”

“I’ll order that. I’m in the mood for something new.”

“Okay. And something to drink?”

“Just some water, please.”

Better and better. “Sure. I’ll get that started.”

She walked into the kitchen and leaned against the wall. “Oyako donburi, onegaishimasu.”

“Ai? You hungry all ready?” Her uncle looked up at the clock. “So early?”

“It’s not for me, uncle. A guy came in and he asked me what I eat when I’m hungry. So, I told him.”

“He doesn’t sound like a local boy.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think he’s from here, but there are three guys that came in and they’re on lane seven. I think they could end up being some trouble. If something happens, I’ll call for help.”

Her uncle lifted up his butcher knife. “I’m ready.”

Kawehi laughed a little. “I’m not going to call for you.”

He lowered the knife. “Why not? I’d show ‘em not to mess with you.”

The smile that touched his lips reminded her of when he’d helped her in the past. Just not with his butcher knife. “I know. But there’s three of them out there and they’ve just ordered a pitcher of beer.”

“Eh,” he shook his head. “You make sure to cut them off whenever you feel like.”

“Don’t worry, I will. Okay, give me a bell when the donburi is ready. I’ll come and get it.”

He nodded and gave her a sweet wink.

She went back to the counter and noticed that a couple of her usuals had left. “What happened?”

Mister Compos shrugged. “Dunno… they tried to get me to go too, but I said I’d wait and keep an eye on this guy over here.”

Kawehi was surprised when he gestured at the man who’d just ordered. “Why? He won’t be any trouble.”

Mister Compos narrowed his eyes at her. “He’s got muscles.” And when her eyes widened at his comment, he continued on. “I think his muscles have muscles, too. He’s big….” Mister Compos did his best impression of a strongman from a circus, and she had to hold back her laughter.

She looked at the newcomer and saw him smiling as well.

“Well, I don’t think you’re going to be any trouble, right?”

He shook his head. “I’m just hungry.”

“That, we can handle. My uncle’s making your order right now.”

“Uncle?” He looked at the kitchen door. “You both work here?”

“This,” she gestured to the room with a quick wave of her hand, “is a family business. Three generations of my family have run this business. I’m the current generation to run things around here.”

“That’s wonderful,” his voice had softened a little. “It’s nice to have history in a place.”

She picked up a pitcher and refilled his water. “What about you?”

“Me? What about me?”

She nodded. “Or maybe your family? Where are you from?”

He turned on the stool so he was facing her. “My dad was a Marine, so we went where he went. We’d moved three times before I was in high school.”

PALLAS

He wasn’t sure why, but her expressions changed when he mentioned that his dad was a marine.

“That’s a lot of moving,” she sounded shocked, “that had to be hard on you.”

“It was a lot, but my dad always said it was an adventure. When I looked at it that way, it made it easier.”

She nodded. “I think mindset is a big thing when it comes to being happy.”

“You sound like you have experience with that.”

She waved off the thought. “I’m not going to bore you. Tell me what you’re doing here in Lanikai tonight?”

He frowned, his brow tightening above his nose. “Lanikai? I thought I was in Kailua.”

Her eyes opened wider at that. “Areas around here kind of mush together at times, especially if you’re new. It’s not like they put up a big sign. But it’s all Windward side, so six of one-”

“Half dozen of another.” He agreed.

And she nodded, smiling.

Damn, she had a gorgeous smile.

“So what brought you to this side of the island?”

“I’m staying here actually. I’m in temporary housing right now.”

“Temporary housing.”

The way she said it struck a nerve in him.

He hadn’t mentioned the military, but it sounded like she wasn’t thrilled with the idea. He could dance around the subject, but honestly, he wanted to just talk to her.

And if she had a problem with the military, he hoped that they could get around that.

“I’ll be moving on base when a spot opens up.”

“KBAY?”

Yeah. She knew about the military, but apparently she knew the Marine base specifically.

“Kaneohe Marine Corps Base? Yes.”

“Here’s your meal.”

An older gentleman set a bowl in front of him, but when Pallas looked up to thank him, the man’s eyes were dark and guarded.

“Thank you.”

The older man gave him a chin lift before he took a few steps back and then disappeared back into the kitchen.

If anyone thought that that was strange, they didn’t say anything. Pallas picked up the knife and fork that she’d left him on a napkin and looked at the bowl.

It certainly looked like the eggs and chicken had been cooked together. Translucent onions were mixed in as well and he had to admit that it smelled great.

Pallas looked up at the woman, hoping to ask her a question, but-

“Hey!”

She turned to look at the assholes who were bowling.

Yes, they were assholes and yes, he was being judgmental.

He’d seen a lot of guys like them in his life. They dressed down but he’d bet they had their daddy’s black card in their wallet. They looked like they came from California and that they did a lot of surfing. They probably thought they owned the beaches where they came from. Their attitude had been horrible since they walked in.

They were pushy and they were rude.

Two things he didn’t like normally, but being used against a woman?

That got under his skin.

Pallas was used to shutting people like that down, but he hadn’t in this case. Once the guys had decided to bowl, he gave them more leeway than he wanted, but it didn’t look like the business was very popular. At least at this hour.

When he got back to the base, he’d see about talking to some of the other guys.

KBAY didn’t have a bowling alley. They had a lot of things, but not that.

The closest locations would probably be Fort Shafter over the Ko’olaus or Wheeler Air Force Base?

He’d look it up later, but for now, he wanted to try this dish, the oya… oyaku something.

He used his knife and fork to cut off a piece, but before he could put it in his mouth, the older man sitting a few spaces away from him started laughing.

He stopped with the bite just a couple of inches away and turned to look at the older man. “What’s up?”

He gestured back, his shoulders rising with his ongoing laughter. “You don’t need a knife for that.”

Pallas dropped his chin and looked at the other man. “Really?”

He gestured at the caddy poised on the edge of the counter. “You should put some soy sauce on there. It ends up in the rice and that’s super ono.”

“Okay.” He reached for the soy sauce bottle and drizzled a little on the piece he’d just cut off. When he picked up his fork again, he saw that the soy sauce had made the rice under turn a little brown in places. He put the bite into his mouth and the flavor surprised him.

Warm, homey, delicious.

“Comfort food.”

“Can’t go wrong with local foods,” the older man nodded at him, “or local women like Kawehi there.”

“Kawehi.” Pallas said the name and nodded. “Pretty name.”

“Pretty name,” the older man commented, “beautiful woman.”

Pallas almost laughed, a sensation he hadn’t felt in quite some time. “Are you two…”

The older man huffed out a breath and rolled his eyes. “No play games with me,” his voice had hardened a little. “And you bettah not be playing games with her.”

Me?

Pallas shook his head. “No. No games, I just came in to get a bite to eat.”

He could tell that the older man’s approval of him had dipped a bit. There had to be a story here.

“They say that your generation, whatever it’s called, is smarter than we were, but I’m not so sure given what I see here.”

Pallas lowered his fork back into the bowl. “What did I say?”

He had a feeling that the man might have just waved it off before, but now, he’d put his foot in it, and he hoped it wasn’t all that deep of a hole.

“You might have just come in for food, but I see that you found something else,” he rushed on, “I may be old, but I’m not dumb. If you can’t see it, well… then I’m glad you just think she’s pretty.”

The older man said it in such a way that Pallas was ready to agree with him.

“I take it that you know Kawehi well?”

“Eh, you come from around here and you know everyone. You know the man who leaves his trash can out for two days before he brings it back into his yard. You know the guy who screams at his neighbors for not cutting the grass until it’s knee deep. And you’d find out that Kawehi is the real deal.”

“Are you like this with all the new customers?”

“Are you dense?” The older man stopped glaring at him and leaned to the side.

Pallas swiveled around on the stool to see what the other man was looking for and felt his skin heat up and tighten across his cheeks.

One of the guys was talking to Kawehi with a second one sitting back and smiling, but the third guy had his phone out and was holding it behind her to get a picture of her ass.

Pallas stood up and walked over.

The guys didn’t see him coming, but the third one felt it when Pallas pulled the phone from his hands.

“Hey!” The guy stood up and then took a step back when he saw the height difference between them. “Dude, that’s my cam- phone! That’s my phone.”

“Yeah. You ratted yourself out with that.”

Kawehi walked to his side and looked at the screen. “That’s…”

“Yeah, they were talking to you so he could get some photos.”

The one who called her over shrugged. “She’s not even wearing a skirt.”

That got under Pallas’ skin. “So? You guys think it’s fun to take pictures of her without her knowing, for what?”

The guy whose phone was taken grumped. “It’s not like we were going to use it as spank bank material, man. Come on, give my phone back.”

“One second.” He deleted the photos that the man had snapped of her. Then he turned to Kawehi. “Do you want to call the police?”

He saw her expression change from horror to resignation.

“No need to. Just give him his phone back and they can leave.”

“What?” One of the guys got on his feet. “We haven’t even played one game yet!”

Pallas shrugged. “So? She wants you out of here, get gone.”

“We need the credit card back.”

Kawehi was already on the move. “Go.”

“Don’t you want them to pay for what they played?”

She looked back over at the lanes and then back at the men. “You drank the beer and wore the shoes. I’ll charge you for those. The frames you played? I’m not going to bother with those.” She ran the credit card and put the receipt down for a signature.

The guy who owned the card folded his arms across his chest. “Who said I wanted to pay that. Your security guard is shit. He’s not going to make me to do anything I don’t want to do.”

“No, he’s not, even if he worked for me.” She gave him a hard look. “If you want, I can just keep the card. And I’ll call the local police to come and make a report.”

The worst of the three laughed. “You deleted the photos, asshole. Without any proof, what the fuck do you think the police are going to do about it?”

Pallas pointed up at the ceiling in a nearby corner. “Those are security cameras. By the looks of it, they’re good ones. Full color. Sound.” He purposefully mentioned the cameras as a scare tactic.

“Just sign the receipt, man. Let’s get out of here.”

Unfolding his arms, asshole signed the paper, putting a big old X through the tip section and he walked out through the main door with his friends. Pallas noticed that she finally relaxed as the door swung shut.

She exhaled and turned toward him.

“I hope I didn’t overstep with those guys.”

She was taken aback by his words. “You? Overstep? Hardly.”

He was happy to hear that. “When I saw that guy with his phone pointed at… pointed at you. I… I couldn’t let that happen and not say anything.”

“Well, I’m not upset that you did it.” She looked away from him, her cheeks warming. “Thank you for what you did. I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone say something like that or just step in to fix it that wasn’t family.”

“I find that hard to believe, Kawehi.”

“How did you…”

He gestured back at the counter. “The man at the bar-”

The counter was empty where the other man had been sitting. The place where Pallas had been sitting now had a couple of bowls placed there.

“Oh… what’s going on?” Kawehi made her way back to the counter and he followed behind.

There was a note on the counter, and she picked it up.