Chapter 4 #2
“Sorry, I can’t stay. I have to get back to my quarters and get some sleep, but I just wanted to see you and remind you that you and I have a date to go to the beach.”
“Date?”
Kawehi tried to ignore her cousin, but it was nearly impossible as she was staring at Domenico like a goldfish out of her bowl. “If you want to change your mind, just know that I’ll be okay without the beach. Remember, I’m not a big swimmer.”
“I know you say that,” he smiled, “but I think you’d have a good time relaxing if I could just get you there. And I did win at mini golf, so it’s my choice.”
“I know,” she smiled at him. “Everything's okay at the base, right?”
Smiling, he stepped closer and lowered his voice. “Yeah. Everything's great, I just wanted to see you. I had a great time the other night.”
“Dom-”
He reached out and touched his hand to the side of her face.
She leaned into his touch and swallowed against the tightness in her throat. It was a strange reaction, she knew, but the last time she'd felt this close to a man he...
"Hey," he brushed his thumb across her cheek, "it's not a big deal. We'll go, sit on the sand, maybe get in the water, talk. Nothing stressful, I promise."
"Okay... but we'll have to play some kind of game again so I can win and pick the next-"
"Date?"
Kawehi looked at her cousin and gave her the stink eye.
Maile pinched her smile down into a thin line, but her eyes were still smiling.
When she looked back at Dom he was smiling too.
"I don't care what you want to call it, Kawehi, I just want to spend some time with you."
When he stepped back, Kawehi felt the loss keenly. Her cheek felt cooler than normal as if the air-conditioning had kicked up suddenly.
"I'll see you on Monday."
“I wish I was seeing you on Monday,” Maile’s laugh was more of a snort than a giggle, “but I don’t poach.” She gave Kawehi a wink.
He nodded. "Let me know if you want me to pick you up."
"I'll text you with the address."
He looked behind him before he took another few steps back. "Feel free to call me, too. If you want."
"Or you could call me."
She smiled at the way his expression brightened at her words. She felt it in her chest, like light building up inside of her.
He nodded. "I will. See you soon."
He turned and headed for the door, and she could have left it there, but something inside of her pushed her for more. "Dom?"
He stopped with his hand on the door, ready to open it. "Yeah?"
“Be careful.”
“I’m always careful, gorgeous.” He gave her a wink and left the bowling alley.
That's when she let out a breath.
“Holy shit balls, Cuz.”
Kawehi turned to look at her cousin. “Stop saying those things.”
Maile waved off her warning. “You’re here griping about my cursing and I’m about to fall off of this chair because your ‘Dom’ isn’t just stupid hot, he’s f-”
“Stop!” Kawehi dropped her face into her hands.
“You’ve got a boyfriend! I thought I’d never see the day that you’d pull yourself out of this funk you’ve been in. And what a man! He’s-”
“Yes, he’s hot and yes, I’m stupid, but I just can’t talk about this right now, okay?”
“Wow.” Maile set down her chopsticks and walked around the counter.
She took Kawehi by the shoulders and lowered her voice as she looked into her cousin’s eyes.
“I know I give you a lot of grief, but it’s been two years since your husband took off.
There’s got to be something you can do to cut those ties officially.
You’ve got this guy… this man running over here to see you after work just because.
When did Nick ever do anything like that? ”
Maile waved off her own question with a shake of her head.
“Seriously, I got chills watching the two of you.”
“I don't want to hear about your chills.” Kawehi moved down the counter to bus the dishes left behind by one of their regulars, stacking the dishes onto one pile. "It's not about chills."
"It's totally about chills. I know what I see."
Kawehi put the pile into a dish tub at the back counter and returned with a wet cloth to wipe down the counter. "He's a nice guy."
"He's a hottie."
"He's very sweet."
"He's totally into you."
Kawehi turned her head to look at her cousin. "I'm not interested in getting into a relationship."
Maile paused with noodles pinched between her chopsticks. "You may not be interested in getting into one, but that doesn't stop the fact that you are getting into one."
Kawehi's shoulders sagged at the thought. "I wasn't looking for one."
“Of course you weren't, Cuz. And I love that about you.” She lowered her chopsticks and shook her head. "That doesn't change the fact that you've got a stupid-hot marine stopping in just to say hello. And look at you like he wants to push you up against that wall and lay one on you."
“Maile!”
“Kawehi!” She laughed softly. “Seriously, I feel like you’ve been sleepwalking for a while and now you’re waking up and I’m so fucking glad.”
She gave her cousin a look of frustration.
“Oh my god! I’m sorry for swearing, but just think about it. I’m going to keep you focused on my stupid stuff until your stupid hot Marine takes you to the beach. I don't suppose you'll take a picture of him in his swimsuit for me?”
Kawehi rolled her eyes and finished wiping up the counter with quick furtive circles. "No."
"Oh... you know I wonder if he's a board shorts kinda guy or if he's a Speedo kind of guy. I think board shorts, but I gotta tell you, after seeing that ass walking out of here, I'm dying to know what he'd look like in a Speedo."
"Maile! Stop!"
Kawehi felt her cheeks heat up and she turned to lean back against the counter. “Just eat, please, just eat. I need a few minutes.”
Maile got up from her seat and leaned in over the counter. She put her hand on Kawehi's shoulder and gave her a peck on the cheek. “Okay. Okay. I’ll be nice for now, but later, I'm going to want to know what your boyfriend looks like at the beach.”
Kawehi shook her head and let out a laugh. "He's not my boyfriend. We're just... friends."
The snort she heard from her cousin was followed by a loud laugh. "You keep saying that, Cuz, but no one is buying it."
PALLAS
Pallas rolled over in bed and picked up his phone when he heard it chime. He had always been a light sleeper, but in this case, he was pretty glad that he wasn't a deep sleeper.
KAWEHI: Just got home and you're in trouble, mister.
He narrowed his eyes at his phone confused.
PALLAS: I'm sorry?
KAWEHI: You better be. LOL
He let out the breath that he'd been holding and hit DIAL.
The call picked up almost immediately.
"You have no idea what my cousin put me through after you left today."
He smiled. Her voice wasn't upset. She was laughing even though she sounded tired. "What did she do?"
"She kept asking me to take a picture of you at the beach so she could see what you look like. She thinks you're stupid-hot."
"Is that a good thing?"
"Well, I guess. She thinks it's a great compliment, but I'm not sure I'm all that excited about my cousin lusting after you."
Lusting?
Maybe if he'd been in uniform or walking around his quarters, her words wouldn't have had the reaction they did.
But he was in bed with his boxer briefs, the only thing he was wearing between the top sheet and his bed.
Hearing Kawehi grumbling about her cousin lusting after him had an instant reaction from him.
"Well, I wouldn't mind a photo if you wanted one. I know I'm looking forward to seeing you relaxing on the beach."
"I'm probably going to just lay out in the shade and relax."
"That's fine by me. This isn't supposed to give you stress."
"It's not really," she sighed, "I'm just not all that comfortable wearing a bathing suit."
"Then wear shorts and a T-shirt if you want. I just want time with you."
There was a pause in the conversation and then she spoke again. "I just want to spend time with you, too. I just feel like I'm dangerously close to crossing a line I told myself I wasn't going to cross again."
Pallas reached out and turned on the lamp beside his bed. "Talk to me."
He listened intently as she drew in a breath and let it out again.
"When you came in that first night, I was impressed with the way you stepped in to help. And talking to you was nice. Easy. I liked it."
Okay. "I liked it a lot, too."
"And then playing mini golf, I haven't had so much fun in a long time."
"Same here." He felt an ache in his chest, worried.
"Maile called you, my boyfriend."
"Maile? Your cousin?"
"Yeah. She said that I'm finally out of my funk. Which I can see why she said that, but I'm not sure I'm ready for it."
"Kawehi-"
"I don't know if you're ready for it either." He heard a deep, in-drawn breath. "As long as we're friends, I think it'll be okay. I'm just worried if you think this is something more, that you're not ready for the emotional baggage I'm dragging along with me."
"Do I think we're friends? Absolutely. Do I want to be your boyfriend? Absolutely. The instant you're ready to call me that, I'm here for it."
"But-"
"As for your emotional baggage? I'm strong. I can help you carry it."
"Dom-"
"'Wehi, I know that you're legally not free at the moment, but that's not something that worries me.
He left and hasn't contacted you since. That's his fault.
Not yours. I'm here and I want to spend time with you.
As friends? Sure. But I've kissed you and I want to keep on kissing you.
And when you're ready, I'll be happy to share more with you.
I have my eyes wide open where it comes to you, Kawehi.
I like what I see." He lowered his voice as he spoke.
"I like what I feel when I'm with you. When I think of you, I like what I feel.
I think this is just the beginning of something really good for both of us. "
He held himself back from talking, hoping to hear what she was thinking.
What she was feeling.