18. Cherise
Chapter eighteen
Cherise
“Okay, but hear me out… what if we get twelve of these and hand them out like communion shots?” Chelsea asked, holding up a neon pink penis straw.
“Girl, if there’s not at least one dick-shaped object in every photo, did we even party?”
We were at the Fairway Shops in Kaanapali, hopping between touristy boutiques and side-eyeing every poor soul forced to restock the “naughty” aisle after our damage. We asked the group to go ahead of us so we could gather some items for Grace’s bachelorette party tomorrow.
I had a basket full of glow-in-the-dark penis straws, “Bride’s Bitch” sashes, coconut bras, and hula bobble dolls with big butts that twerked when you flicked them.
Yes. I flicked them. More times than I’d like to admit.
“I found the shot glasses,” Chelsea announced, waving a box labeled Bride Tribe with tiny gold dicks etched on the bottom of each glass.
“Ooooo, add one for everyone for the party, and an extra one for my nightstand.”
She cackled, tossing them in. “Malasadas after this?”
“Only if we don’t get kicked out for fondling hula figurines,” I said as I made my figurine hula twerk again.
The breeze blew through the shops, warm, sweet, and smelled of plumerias. Maui was… magic. Waking up to ocean views, giggling with the girls, pretending my real life wasn’t waiting for me back in Atlanta. It was easy here.
Too easy.
Chelsea slowed her steps as we left the shop, juggling our novelty bags and iced coffees. Her eyes slid sideways, her tone way too casual. “Sooo…”
I knew that so. I braced myself, letting out a long exhale. “So…what?”
“So… locker room, huh?” her brows wiggled.
“What locker room?” I asked, knowing damn well what she was implying.
“Mmhmm. You and Leo were in there for how long yesterday? I was legit about to call Search and Rescue.”
I tried to keep a straight face, but the memory of Leo’s ridiculous animal noise climax made me snort so hard I nearly dropped a tray of penis cookies. Chelsea’s eyes bulged.
“We were just… talking.”
“With your clothes on or off?”
“I hate you.”
“You're falling for him, aren’t you?”
I scoffed. “No.” I lied.
Her eyes squinted as she took a sip of her coffee. “Then why are you blushing, and why won’t you make eye contact with me right now, and why—” She froze mid-sentence and gave me a knowing grin. “You like Krabby Patties, don’t you, Squidward?” she sang in her best SpongeBob voice.
I rolled my eyes, but she wasn’t wrong. Leo had this sweet, awkward-hot vibe that snuck up on you.
He was the kind of man who’d open the door, carry your bags, and still somehow look at you as if he was the lucky one.
Leo treated me as if I were some rare ass constellation he’d spent his whole life searching for and finally found.
As if I were some unattainable dream that finally became reality.
Don’t even get me started on the sex. According to Leo, he had never been so sexually drawn to someone.
I could practically blow on it, and the man would be at full attention.
I hadn’t had someone make me feel so admired, so confident.
I hadn’t had someone make me feel like I was the treasure at the end of the rainbow. Not until Leo.
I shook my head and glanced back at Chelsea, who still, in fact, was wearing a shit-eating grin.
“You’re thinking about him right now, aren’t you?”
“You’re such a child.”
“A child who knew you’d fall for Leo.” She did a fake faint, fanning herself dramatically. “The forbidden nerd with the sexy grown-man glow up!”
I laughed. “Okay, listen. Leo and I are just… enjoying each other’s company.”
Chelsea’s eyebrows rose sky high. “Is that what we’re calling it now? In that case, y’all enjoyed the hell out of it based on the noises I heard coming from the hot tub last night.”
I gasped, and shoved her shoulder. “You heard us?! Shit, I didn’t realize we were that loud.”
“OH MY GOD, I WAS RIGHT! You smashed the nerd! You nerd-smashed!”
I covered my face and groaned. “You are literally the worst.”
“So what, is this just vacation dicking, or do I have a new brother-in-law?”
“Slow down. Whatever this is… It’s temporary. When we go back to Atlanta, it’s over. Different lives. Different worlds. That’s the deal.”
She looked unconvinced. “You sure about that?”
“Positive.”
We continued our walk, stopped at a few more stores, grabbed our malasadas, and were ready to meet back up with the group.
“Would it be so bad if you and Leo hit it off?” Chelsea said around a bite of her malasada. “He’s practically a walking green flag,” she added, chewing dramatically.
“Yes… it would. You’re forgetting the fact that he is my ex’s twin brother. That’s going against bro code at the highest level imaginable. I couldn’t ask Leo to do that. Derrick would kill him. He’s already said it himself.”
“Yeah, but did you tell him how you felt? Maybe he thinks you would never go for it anyway, so he didn’t entertain the thought?”
“I don’t even know how I feel. Leo isn’t like any guy I’ve ever dated before.”
“Oh, he must treat you like the queen you are and isn’t a male chauvinistic pig, then?”
“Damn… tell me how you really feel.”
“I’m just saying. You’ve had trash taste in men lately. I know we have daddy issues, but don’t you think it's time to break the cycle? Try someone a little less… toxic?”
As much as I didn’t want to admit it, she had a point.
Derrick and I had been on and off since high school, and between him and all the other shitbags I’ve dated in the past, you’d think I was a glutton for my own punishment.
I had a thing for bad guys, and it got me nowhere but lonely nights cuddled up with Rosie when things were all said and done.
I would have never looked Leo’s way if it had not been for this trip. Part of me regretted that now.
Leo saw right through my layers of sass and guard rails and leaned into me anyway.
Not once has he made me feel like I was too much.
That needed to change the way I was to fit into his perfect box.
I was perfect just the way I was in his eyes, and I hated how much he made me want to believe in something more with him.
Most of all, I hated how much I wanted to reach for it when I knew it could only end in a disaster.
“There they are.” Tessa spotted us, waving us over.
After a whirlwind of boutique browsing, coconut-scented sunscreen samples, and one too many impulse buys at the Fairway Shops, I was more than ready to wrangle my crew and chase down some real food. By “real,” I meant greasy, messy, and worth every carb.
Our driver pulled up in front of us with the van, the AC already blasting.
“Alright, ladies and gentlemen,” I announced, slipping on my oversized shades as our driver opened the doors to the van. “Next stop: Honoapillani Food Truck Park.”
***
The second we pulled up, I could already hear the hum of generators and smell kalua pork and something deep fried in the air.
Stringed lights crisscrossed under the tents.
Picnic tables were scattered across the gravel lot, locals and tourists all sharing space, with paper plates piled high with food that had no business smelling that damn good.
The group dispersed to grab food. I found myself torn between Da Best Pho and Lahaina Gridz until the scent of huli huli chicken reeled me in. Lahaina Gridz it was. I ordered a classic plate lunch: huli huli chicken, mac salad, and rice. Comfort food with a Hawaiian twist.
Chelsea came back with crispy katsu chicken and Thai iced tea bigger than her head. Grace had a poke bowl from Hooked, with a hefty amount of avocado, and Leo was still in the long-ass line for Da Best Pho, desperate to get his hands on some Vietnamese food.
Once everyone had their plates, we grabbed a long picnic table under the tent and slid in. Chickens strutted around our feet as if they too were part of the wedding party. I nearly punched one in the beak when it tried to peck a piece of chicken off my plate.
“Um, ma’am, or sir,” I told the chicken. “I doubt you want to eat your cousin.”
Everyone laughed. Even Savannah. Which, okay, weird.
We ate, we gossiped, we side-eyed each other’s food until forks and chopsticks were flying across the table.
When everyone had finished, full, glowing, and half delirious, I cleared my throat, stood, and tapped my cup of Guava lemonade with a wooden fork. “Alright, love bugs. Now that we’re full of rice, protein, and poor decisions. We are heading back to the Villa to change because today….”
I paused for dramatic effect.
“We’re chasing waterfalls.”
Groans. Cheers. A full-blown whistle filled the air. I held up my phone with a grin, already queuing the TLC playlist while doing a little shimmy.
“No scrubs allowed,” I added, glancing directly at Savannah.
She rolled her eyes and followed me to the van anyway.