Chapter 9
KAWEHI
She'd had no idea what to expect from the day at the beach when she'd gotten into Dom's Bronco that morning, but by the time the afternoon rolled around, she was having the best time she'd had in years.
Even with the building drama between Axl and Maile. They seemed like magnets that were constantly being attracted to each other only to repel each other moments later. Any worries that she'd had about their drama coming between herself and Dom, had fallen away when Dom and the other guys from his team or unit, whatever it was called, laughed it off and encouraged Maile to go after Axl even more.
And while her cousin denied how much fun she was having, Kawehi saw the smiles that Maile and Axl took turns hiding from each other.
While her anxiety drifted away, she found herself making friends with the men that Dom worked with. They were from all over the country and in Riptide's case, he was in the Navy. She had no idea how that worked, but in just a few hours she learned more about the men that Dom worked with than she'd ever heard from Nick.
She couldn't even remember any time when she'd met someone who knew Nick in the Marines. Even their wedding had been mostly her family and even those folks had shown up grudgingly to support her. Nick had told her that none of his platoon was interested in coming to the wedding because it wasn't something they cared about.
In just these few hours, she'd seen what a real team was like and now she had serious questions about what kind of a person Nick had been at work where no one had wanted to come to the wedding.
"Hey."
She looked up and smiled as Riptide sat down beside her on the sand. "There's room on my towel if you want to sit on it."
He waved away her offer with a big grin. "I'm good. I'm used to having sand everywhere. I just wanted to come over and see how you're doing."
"Me?" She shrugged. "I'm good. I'm glad that Dom opened this trip up. I like that I'm getting to meet the people he works with. It's so different from where I work."
Riptide tipped his straw cowboy hat back on his head and beamed at her. "Pallas said that your family owns Lanikai Lanes."
She sat up and nodded. "He did?"
"Yeah, he was bragging about the lanes and your uncle's cooking. He doesn't know yet, but we've all been talking about going to the lanes one night to bowl and eat. I think he'd worry that we'd show our asses," he lifted his chin toward the beach, "especially Axl."
She waved off his concern. "Axl's fine."
Riptide shrugged. "Yeah, we like to give him hell, but he's a good guy."
Kawehi drew her knees up to her chest and laughed. "I'm feeling bad that he and Maile are pushing each other's buttons."
Riptide's head tipped back, and he laughed out loud. "That's one way of saying it, but I agree that they're going after each other. I'm just thinking it's not so much hate as... uh-"
"Badly behaved children annoying each other because they like each other?"
Riptide held out his fist. "You're a smart cookie, Kawehi."
She bumped her knuckles against his. "You're a good guy, Riptide. I'm happy I got to meet you."
"Even though I'm Navy?"
"You make it sound like it's a bad thing."
He gestured at the guys on the sand playing a version of volleyball sans net. "There was a bit of an adjustment period. Not just for Pallas and the guys, but for me, too. It's strange. I still have to report back to the Navy but I'm part of a Marine team. It's okay as long as I don't offer anyone crayons."
Kawehi frowned at him in confusion. "Crayons?"
Riptide winced. "I probably shouldn't have said anything, but you can ask Pallas about it later."
"Maybe I shouldn't?" She saw his shrug and decided it wasn't worth asking Dom. If she was curious, she could always look it up online.
"Hey, Aussie!"
Riptide looked over at the game and Twinkie was standing there with his hands on his hips. "What?"
"Are you going to play or flirt with Pallas' woman?" A moment later the volleyball bounced off of his head. "Hey!"
Twinkie turned around and saw Pallas' raised hands.
Riptide got up off of the sand and dusted off his backside. "I better go and play before Twinkie starts to cry. And we know what happens to sugar when it gets wet." He laughed. "Seriously though, I want you to know that Pallas is a great guy. He's someone you can count on. We all do."
"Thanks, Riptide."
He gave her a quick salute and jogged off toward the volleyball 'court.'
He gave Dom a high five and took his place.
While Dom made his way across the sand, she looked down and dusted off her suit and tried to make sure she was sort of presentable before he sat down beside her.
The speakers that Maile had brought with her were playing the end of a song by the Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau, a favorite of Kawehi's, and by the time Dom sank down onto the towel beside her, she was relaxed.
"Everything okay today?"
She reached out and put her hand on his arm. "It's great!"
"Even with Axl and your cousin?"
She waved off his concern. "I think they're starting to enjoy themselves more than the rest of us." When she looked across the sand, she laughed out loud.
Kawehi saw her cousin jump on Axl where they were standing in the ocean and try to push him under water, she laughed out loud. “Uh, are you thinking of rescuing him?”
Dom pushed up from the towel and squinted into the light. “He’s a good swimmer. She probably can’t do much to hurt him.”
Kawehi grinned at him. “Oh, I think she could if she really wanted to.”
Dom sat up, folding one leg under him. “Well, we need to hope that she doesn’t really want to.” He lifted a hand and dusted some of the sand off of his chest. “But knowing Axl… she might have a reason.”
Kawehi looked across the sand and barely held back a laugh as Axl rose up out of the surf with Maile on his back.
“You’re an ass!”
“No one asked you!”
Axl shook her off his back and took off running along the sand.
Kawehi laughed and got up on her knees. “Oh. This should be good.”
“Yeah?”
She felt him move closer until she felt his arm brush against hers. “Watch.”
As Axl ran across the sand, Maile ran behind him.
“Holy shit is she gaining on him?” Kawehi looked up and saw Twinkie and Chicago come to a stop beside their towel. She smiled and nodded but spoke up because they were watching the show on the beach. “Yeah. She’s played beach volleyball for years. Unless your friend has practice running on sand, she’s going to catch him.”
Chicago laughed out loud and shouted. “Get ‘im!”
Kid and Riptide joined in. Kid laughing and Riptide whistling with a couple of fingers in his mouth.
They were coming up on a part of the beach where a river emptied into the ocean.
Maile was at Axl’s side, the two of them shoulder to shoulder.
“I think she’s going to pass him!” Twinkie sounded amazed.
Kawehi shook her head. “Nope. Not there.”
She felt a hand on her elbow and looked up to see Dom standing beside her. Kawehi took his hand and got to her feet.
“What’s going on?” Dom’s voice was soft in her ear as he leaned in against her arm.
She gestured just beyond the pair, but she wasn’t sure that Dom would know what she was pointing at. “Just watch.”
“Hey!” Riptide waved in her direction. “Do they know-“
“She does!”
“Know what?”
Before she could explain to Dom, Maile started to pass Axl, and the Marine had his gaze on Maile instead of the ground in front of him.
“Oh no.”
She reached out and grabbed a hold of Dom just as Maile and Axl disappeared out of sight.
“Shit!” Kid started running.
Kawehi bit into her bottom lip and watched.
Kid came to a sudden stop just before the sand bank that led down to the river and shook his head. He turned back and made his way over to the rest of the group.
As pale as Kid was, the ruddy color on his cheeks was easily seen.
Twinkie met him coming back. "Are they okay?"
"They'll... they'll be fine as long as they come up to breathe eventually."
Kawehi laughed out loud and Dom joined her as he pulled her into his embrace.
He lifted a hand to brush her hair back from her face. "You knew, didn't you?"
"Well, I knew that she could easily beat him running across the sand. I just didn't know what would happen when she caught him."
"Or when he fell into the river."
She shrugged. "I knew they wouldn’t get hurt. I just didn't know what they'd do when they stopped running."
Dom turned so that his broad back was between her and the others. "Maybe that's their thing," he murmured to her, "they like the chase and the hunt."
She looked up at him grinning. "Maybe. Maile's been so busy trying to get me to get back out in the world, I don't think she expected Axl to stir her up like this."
"I think you've got me stirred up, Kawehi."
"And I'm glad you got me to step outside the bowling alley. There really is life outside of Lanikai Lanes."
He leaned in and kissed her. "I'm glad I stopped in that night. Imagine what I would have missed if I had walked past the door."
"Admit it," she laughed softly, "you secretly love bowling, and you only came into the alley just to feed that love."
She laughed, but he didn't. He kept his gaze steadily on hers. "I might take up a serious bowling habit to spend more time with you."
"Oh, if you're trying to spend time with me, you can start bowling. Or we can spend time together when I'm not working... like we are now."
"I think a two-pronged strategy might get me the kind of access I'm looking for."
"Two-pronged strategy? Is this what you do as a Marine? Come up with battle plans and then execute them?"
"I just want to spend time with you, Kawehi. I do have to admit that being a Marine, I've learned a specific set of skills, but with you, I'm running on need and instinct. I want whatever time and attention you'll give me and that's got nothing to do with what I learned in the military. It's just me wanting to be around you."
"Then it's good that we can stay here into the night. I want to spend that kind of time with you, too."
When he leaned in for a kiss, she opened her mouth under his that had everything to do with her own instincts.
Meeting Domenico had been the most amazing thing to happen to her in years.