Chapter 8
Quinn stands in the kitchen looking at me. She pulled on a pair of shorts when she disappeared earlier, and if I had to guess, she also put on a bra. Pity, because I was very much enjoying the view when she first opened the front door.
“I’m not sure I can just walk in and ask if they have any jobs,” she says, blowing out a breath before she sits down.
“Yeah, you can,” I tell her. “So much about getting a job is who you know these days, especially here. If you know someone or you have an in, it definitely helps.”
She takes a sip of her coffee, tilting her head to the side as she asks, “And do I have an in?”
Chuckling, I nod. “Yeah, you have an in,” I say, jerking a thumb at my chest. “Me.”
She rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling as she says, “You, huh?”
“Yep, me,” I confirm. “Come on, Quinn, it’s seriously fine. I promise.”
She takes another sip of coffee as she watches me, and I can tell she’s thinking about it. “Okay, fine,” she eventually says. “But let me get changed first. I don’t want to show up looking like I just rolled out of bed.”
I laugh. “No worries,” I tell her as she stands from the table. “Although for the record, the just-rolled-out-of-bed look suits you.”
Quinn blushes as she turns to head back to her bedroom.
Thirty minutes later, we are pulling into the staff parking area at The Orchid Bay, having managed to convince Quinn to come with me in my car.
“You ready?” I ask, glancing over at her.
She’s fiddling with her resume, her hands smoothing down her skirt and a nervous look on her face as she shakes her head. “I’m not sure about this, Kai.”
“Why not?”
She looks over at me. “I mean, they haven’t even advertised for a masseuse, right? How can I just walk in there and ask them?”
I turn in my seat so I’m facing her as I reach for her hand, taking it in mine. “You can,” I tell her. “This is Owen’s family’s place, Quinn. This is what we do here. We look out for each other.”
She’s shaking her head before I’ve even finished speaking. “It just feels weird. Like you barely even know me, so how can you even vouch for me in there?”
I squeeze her fingers in mine. “I know I don’t really know you that well, okay? But I’d like to change that,” I add. “We’re friends, Quinn. And friends help each other out.”
She blows out a breath, and I think she’s about to tell me to take her home, that she really has changed her mind. But then a song comes on the radio that triggers something in her. Her eyes widen a little as she stares at the radio, her mouth set in a firm line.
I’m about to ask her what’s wrong when she pulls her hand from mine and releases her seat belt before opening the door.
“Okay, let’s do it.”
“Sally,” I say, my arms wide as we walk into the reception area.
Owen’s mom grins at me, stepping out from behind the counter as I pull her into a hug. “Kai, good to see you,” she says, smiling.
“You too, as always,” I reply, hitting her with a wink. Sally laughs, shaking her head at me as I turn to Quinn and introduce her. “Sally, this is my friend Quinn. Quinn, this is Sally, Owen’s mom and owner of this fine establishment.”
“Nice to meet you, Quinn,” Sally says, holding out her hand.
“You too,” Quinn replies, shaking her hand. “This is a beautiful hotel.”
“Thank you,” Sally replies.
“So, Quinn is a masseuse,” I start, already knowing she’s nervous and probably wants to bolt. “She’s recently moved to Maui and is looking for work. Not sure if you guys have anything going or not, but we thought we’d drop by and see.”
Beside me, Quinn swallows hard as she says, “I’m sorry, I know this is really—”
“Actually, this is perfect timing,” Sally says, smiling. “We recently opened another place on Lanai, which has meant some staffing shuffles. We were planning to advertise soon, but if you have your resume here, I’d be happy to take a look.”
“She does,” I say, nudging Quinn.
“I can’t believe I have a job,” Quinn says, shaking her head in disbelief as we walk back to the car.
Laughing, I throw an arm around her shoulders. “You do,” I tell her.
“Thank you, Kai,” she says, looking up at me. “Seriously, I don’t know how I can ever repay you for this.”
Grinning, I stop, turning her to face me. “I know how,” I say, putting my hands on her shoulders.
Quinn smirks, rolling her eyes as she says, “Let me guess, it involves us taking our clothes off?”
I laugh. “Mind out of the gutter, woman!”
Now it’s Quinn laughing. “Oh, that’s not what you were going to suggest?”
I cross my arms, shaking my head. “Nope.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously,” I confirm. “When you and I do get naked, I want it to be because you want to, not because I made you or you owed me or whatever.”
She raises a brow in question. “And what if I never want to?”
I rock back on my heels, hoping that is not the case. “Well, then we just stay friends,” I tell her.
“You’d be happy just being friends with me?”
I huff out a laugh, dropping my arm around her shoulders again as we start walking to the car. “Yes, Quinn, I already told you that. We’re friends, that’s totally okay with me, okay?”
“So what is it you want then?” she asks as we stop by the passenger door.
With a grin, I unlock the car, opening the door for her as I say, “Easy. I wanna teach you to surf.”
We pull up outside The Pipe Dream, and I shut off the engine. Quinn was quiet the whole drive over here, and I’m not sure if that’s because she’s nervous about learning to surf or nervous about me teaching her.
“Come on,” I say with a grin as I get out of the car. “Let’s get you kitted out.” Quinn opens the car door, a reluctant look on her face that has me laughing. Grabbing her hand in mine, I pull her toward the shop. “Come on, it’s just a surf shop, not your execution.”
“Yeah, and there are sharks and shit that live out there,” she says, flinging a hand at the ocean.
“Nah, this is Maui,” I tell her. “It’s safe here.”
She hits me with an are you fucking serious look as we walk inside. Nate and Sage are both in the shop, Nate talking to a customer while Sage leans against the counter.
“Hey,” she says when she sees us.
“Hey, Sage,” I say, dropping Quinn’s hand as I head over to the rack of rental boards they stock. “Gonna teach Quinn how to surf. Can I borrow one of these until we get her set up with a board?”
“Of course,” Sage replies.
“Cool, thanks. And can you help her with a swimsuit and a rash guard? Can put it all on our tab.”
“Kai,” Quinn says as Sage comes out from behind the counter, a huge smile on her face.
“It’s totally fine,” I say, waving away what I know she wants to say.
Sage laughs, taking Quinn’s hand as she says to her, “Easier just to say yes and thank you, Kai.”
“Yes, it is,” I call out as Sage leads her over to a rack of swimsuits, and I silently plead for her to pick something sexy, preferably a bikini.
I’ve seen her in a bikini before, but I really want to see it again.
I’d like to see her naked too, but I’m not sure we’re even close to that yet.
If we’ll ever be. I wasn’t kidding when I said I was okay with us just being friends, even if I’ve never in my life been just friends with a woman I want to fuck.
But I know I can’t keep using my lines on Quinn and hoping it gets me somewhere, especially after she unloaded all that shit about her ex the other day.
Quinn has been hurt and hurt badly, and the last thing she needs is a guy hitting on her, thinking she’s only useful for a good time.
And so, even though this is totally foreign territory for me, I am going to be the friend she needs right now.
As I’m picking out a board, Nate finishes up with his customer and wanders over, a grin on his face as he watches me.
“Yes?” I ask, even though I know exactly what this is going to be about.
Nate chuckles, glancing over at the girls before turning back to me. “Want to tell me what’s going on here?” he asks.
I look around the shop, as though the answer is obvious. “Gonna teach Quinn to surf. Needed to grab a board,” I tell him.
“Right,” he says. “And you’re teaching her to surf, why exactly?”
I roll my eyes at him as I say, “Um, because she just moved to the island and she doesn’t know how.”
“That’s all, huh?”
“Yeah, that’s all,” I say, pulling a board from the rack. “What’s the big deal, dude? You taught Sage to surf when she first moved here.”
Nate laughs at this, shaking his head at me as he says, “I taught Sage to surf because I was fucking crazy about her and wanted to spend every second with her.”
“Well, yeah, obviously,” I say, knowing this is new—Nate actually talking about how he feels.
Not sure who was worse, him or my idiot brother, trying to pretend like they didn’t have feelings for their girls.
I lean the board I’ve chosen against the counter and turn to him. “We all knew that, dude.”
“Right, and that’s not what this is?” he asks, waving a hand at Sage and Quinn, who is now holding a handful of swimsuits.
I watch as Sage pulls off a blue bikini and hands it to her before ushering her toward the fitting rooms. I’m tempted to call out, to ask that she come out and show me each thing she tries on, but I’m pretty sure I know what her response to that will be.
“Kai,” Nate prompts.
I turn back to him, shoving a hand through my hair as I say, “Well, we’re friends. That’s all.”
“That’s all,” Nate repeats. “Something tells me you want to be more than just friends.”
I laugh at this. “Yeah, she’s sexy as fuck, of course I’d like to get out of the friend zone. But that’s not what Quinn wants right now. Or needs. So, we’re just friends.”
Nate gives me a look, his brow narrowed as he studies me, a curious look on his face. “Okay, who are you and what have you done with my friend?”
“Fuck off,” I say with a laugh. “I can be friends with a woman, you know.”
“You can?”
I give him a friendly punch in the shoulder. “Um, I’m friends with Sage, am I not?”
“Sure, but that’s only because I locked that down before you had a chance to try your moves on her.”
I let out a loud laugh. “Dude, please. Even when she first arrived and you acted like you fucking hated her. You didn’t let anyone within ten feet of Sage. You definitely gave off the stay-the-fuck-away vibes with her.”
“I never hated her,” he mumbles.
With a grin, I throw an arm around Nate’s shoulders, something he’s slowly become used to over the past year or so. “I know. We all knew that. You just needed to pull your head out of your ass and realize it.”
Nate gives me a sideways glance, a smirk on his face as he says, “Right, and when are you gonna get your head out of your ass and realize you want to be more than friends with Quinn, huh?”
“Dude, please. I already know I want more. But I’m also not a dick, so if it’s not what she wants right now, then I’m not going to push it.”
“So, you’re seriously okay just being friends with her?”
“I’m seriously okay with it,” I reply, staring at the closed curtain of the fitting room.
Every now and then, Sage peeks inside, nodding or shaking her head in response to whatever Quinn is trying on.
A weird feeling starts up in my chest, and if I didn’t know better, I’d almost think I was jealous.
“Why?” Nate asks.
Sage takes another look, pulling the curtain open a little wider this time so that I get a glimpse of Quinn in that blue bikini Sage picked out for her. She’s facing me, front on, but I still get a glimpse of her ass in the mirror on the back wall of the fitting room.
“Fuck, please pick the blue one.”
Beside me, Nate laughs, elbowing my side as he says, “Dude, you’re so fucked.”
“What?” I ask, not taking my eyes off Quinn.
“You are fucked,” Nate repeats.
“No, I’m not,” I say, turning back to him when Sage eventually closes the curtain.
“Yeah, you are,” he says with a grin. “Because you’re not even close to being okay in the friend zone.”