Chapter 2 #2
Maile leaned closer to him and it only made it easier for him to see the shadow between her tits.
Look away, asshole , he grumbled to himself.
"Maile said that Pallas is cooking stew."
Cameron lifted his head and looked at her. "Stew, eh?"
She nodded, a spark in her eyes. "Yep. One of my favorites. Kawehi said our uncle showed Pallas how to make it today. I bet by now it's so ono."
He frowned for a second. "Ono." He nodded slowly. "That means that it tastes good, right?"
"Ono is better than good, Axl. It's really good. Another way to say it is 'broke da mout!'"
He could only stare at her and nod. "Well, why don't you give her a call. Ask her if she wants us to bring anything over?"
Maile nodded her head and smiled. "Now you're talking like a smart man."
He grinned at her and pulled out of the parking spot. "Of course I am."
She sighed and leaned back against the seat. "There's a first time for everything."
He grit his teeth as he drove up to the booth at the exit of the parking lot. Cameron reached toward the back pocket of his jeans for his wallet he heard Maile sigh. "I've got money to pay for your parking."
Cameron reached out and pushed her hand away. "I've got money."
She pushed his hand back. "So. Do. I."
The window slid open and the parking attendant looked out just as Cameron was batting her hand away.
"Wow," the attendant shook her head, "let the man pay if he wants to pay." She took the ticket from his hand and put it through the scanning machine. "Eight dollars."
"Eight dollars?" Maile's voice was loud enough to echo in the cab of his truck. "When did you show up?"
He gave the woman a ten dollar bill and she gave him his change and a receipt.
"Have a nice day, handsome."
Cameron looked up and gave the woman a smile. "Thanks."
He drove off through the open gate and when he turned his head to see if there were cars coming up the exit road he saw Maile sulking as she opened her phone.
He sat up a little straighter in his seat as she talked to Kawehi.
Sure, parking costs at the airport were stiff, but they're weren't nearly as stiff as his dick.
And knowing that Maile was suffering a little made him happy.
He was suffering a lot.
When they pulled up to Kawehi and Pallas' house Pallas stepped out onto the porch and jogged down into the yard. Maile who was already on the ground gave him a big hug and laughed when he dropped his arm around her shoulders.
"It's good to have you back."
Maile gave him a playful elbow in the gut. "Admit it. I'm a pest most days, but after a couple of weeks away, you missed me."
He shrugged and then dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "Whatever you say..." He tipped his head toward the house. "Go in and see Kawehi. Food's on the table."
Maile hopped to the side clapping her hands. "You don't have to tell me twice." She started to run and stopped short halfway between the driveway and the house. "What about my-"
Pallas waved at her. "We'll get them. Go in."
Maile blew Pallas a kiss and ran up the steps.
He knew that the kiss was for Palls, because if she'd been giving him a big ol' heaping helping of a middle finger.
Even the drive through the H-3 Tunnel didn't make her smile, but being home and the prospect of seeing her cousin made Maile light up from the inside.
Pallas sighed and shook his head. "You're going to burn a hole in her back if you keep staring at her like that."
"Fuck off, Pallas."
His friend, and yes, soon to be leader, shook his head. "You know, if you weren't always such an ass to her, she might be a little nicer to you, too."
Cameron looked at Pallas wondering when his friend had lost his marbles.
"I don't need to be nice to her. I just have to keep myself from killing her.
And you, hopefully, will keep her from killing me.
" He moved around to the side of the truck and opened the two doors to get the suitcase out.
He lifted it onto the ground and sighed. "Why does it feel heavier now?"
"Perhaps it's just the weight of your personality." Pallas smacked him on the back. "You're just an ass, Axl. Get used to it. I'll get the other bag."
Cameron pulled the bag along the cement walkway and with a flex of his muscles, he lifted the bag and climbed the steps to the porch.
He opened the front door and leaned in. "Kawehi? You want me to bring the bags in or leave them out here?"
He smiled when he saw her sitting at the dining table, her hand on the fullest part of her belly.
"Bring it in. You never know when it's going to rain."
"Or when a chicken is going to crap on it."
Kawehi turned her head to look at Maile. "Hey... watch the language!"
Cameron lifted the bag over the bottom of the door frame and set it inside on the side of the doorway. He smiled at the way Kawehi moved her hands to opposite sides of her belly. "What are you doing?"
She looked at him and followed his gaze to her belly.
She frowned. "What? I'm covering the baby's ears, so she won't hear her aunt swearing like a sailor."
Cameron stopped in his tracks and made the sign of the cross over his heart. "Heaven forbid."
The door behind him closed and Pallas set the second bag down beside the first.
Cameron saw him step up at his side.
Pallas looked at the group. "What did I miss?"
Maile shook her head. "Your big oaf of a teammate is pretending to be Catholic."
Pallas turned to look at him and Cameron looked back. "You're Catholic?"
Cameron shook his head and sent a glare toward Maile. "What are you talking about?"
She spooned a bowl of stew for Kawehi and then filled another bowl. "I had girl friends from Sacred Hearts. They had to do the," she moved her hand over her heart, "the cross thing. And doofus there," she pointed at him with a silver soup spoon, "is doing it backwards."
Pallas looked at him again.
"Hey, how am I supposed to know," Cameron grumbled. "I'm not Catholic. I was doing the," he did the cross thing again and tried to ignore when Maile laughed outright, "because your woman said that Maile was swearing like a sailor."
Pallas turned his startled gaze to his wife. "Sailor?"
Kawehi sat up and frowned at him. "What's wrong with that? It's an idiom."
Maile lifted her chin at them. "See? Even Kawehi knows that you're an idiot."
"Idiom." Kawehi reached across the table and lightly smacked Maile's hand. "I said idiom. It's the turn of a phrase."
Maile shrugged. "He's still doing it wrong."
Pallas shook his head. "Honey, please. Don't link our family to sailors, okay?"
Maile sighed. "What is this thing you have against sailors, anyway."
Kawehi shook her head. "It's a Marines and Navy thing."
Maile waved them over. "Just sit down and eat."
Cameron moved toward the table and moved to the far side to sit. He heard Maile grumbling under her voice.
"I'll never get this grudge thing y'all have with the other military branches."
"It's not our fault that the other branches suck." He sat down beside Maile and took the bowl she handed him.
He looked down into the bowl and frowned.
Picking up the spoon beside it, he poked at the thing inside the bowl. He recognized the stew base, carrots, potatoes, but the web-like thing mixed in it?
Nope.
Maile leaned over and when he looked up at her face, he saw the almost devious smile directed at him. "You look... confused."
"What," he leaned closer, not wanting Kawehi to hear his question, "is this in the stew?"
Maile scooped up a heaping spoonful of the questionable meat-like substance and brought it close to her lips. "Tripe stew."
"Tripe?" He'd heard the word somewhere. "What animal is tripe?"
He must have said the words a little too loud because Kawehi laughed... or rather, she coughed and laughed at the same time, almost choking on her food.
Pallas got up out of his chair and moved to her side, rubbing her back.
Kawehi recovered quickly enough, picking up her paper napkin to dab at her eyes. "What animal?"
Cameron looked at Pallas and saw the hint of a smile on his lips. "What!"
"Just take a bite." Pallas' tone was enough to sound like an order.
Cameron shrugged and put a piece of the tripe in his mouth and chewed. After a few moments, he nodded and swallowed. "It's... odd. But tasty."
Using his spoon, he took up another spoonful and put it in his mouth, chewing happily.
"Tripe," Maile watched him chewing and she smiled from ear to ear, "is cow."
He pushed the food to the side of his mouth so he could speak. "I thought you said it was tripe."
"Tripe, is cow."
He shrugged. "This is a Hawaii thing, right?"
"As far as I know," Maile agreed. "I didn't peg you for liking cow stomach."
"C-cow... what?"
He looked over at Pallas for confirmation. He knew Pallas wouldn't lie to him.
"Stomach," Pallas filled his spoon with stew. "It's pretty good, right?"
Cameron's stomach seemed to be waffling between yum and yech.
He watched as Mailed reached out and picked up the bottle of Chili Pepper Water that was always on the table at Kawehi's house. She splashed a generous amount of the water on her stew.
He didn't even need to ask.
Maile just handed it over to him and he copied her movements.
He took another bite of the stew and shrugged. "It's good."
He wasn't sure what reaction he was expecting but Maile nodded. "There's hope for you yet."
He didn't know why but he liked hearing that.
Even from her.