Chapter Twenty-Six
Alexandre’s alarm rang at six a.m. on New Year’s Day. He fumbled for it, disoriented by the pressure on his right arm. He looked down, and the night’s events came rushing back. Alexandre might not have believed he and Mei had gotten together if she wasn’t stirring against him.
“Morning.” He kissed her head. “Do you still want to go to the beach?”
“Hmm.” Mei rolled on top of him. “I’m tempted to spend all day in bed. But I don’t want to miss our last chance at Ka‘ōhao.”
Alexandre smiled mischievously. “If the beach is empty, we could do everything there that we’d do here.”
Mei laughed and jostled his shoulder. “I like the way you think.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist, and they kissed, long and slow.
· · ·
They held hands as Alexandre drove across the island. The first rays of sun tinted the green mountaintops.
Ka‘ōhao Beach was deserted. They padded over the sand, found their spot under the low palm, and sat with their knees touching as they sipped coffee and ate breakfast sandwiches.
Alexandre inhaled the cool ocean air. So much had changed since they’d arrived a week ago. What would happen when they were back in New York? It was Mei’s call. The thought of going back to being friends filled Alexandre with dread. Still, he had to know.
“What a trip, huh?” he said. “We stuck to our plan. We didn’t let Livin or zebrafish take over our vacation.” Inwardly Alexandre groaned. Ugh, work. Not exactly the stuff of romance. But it gave him an opening for the question he really wanted to ask.
“Nope. We were good.” Mei set down her coffee. “Maybe we can keep that going. I need to leave Livin. My health and sanity depend on it. If I promise to leave, will you help me?”
“Sure, but you don’t need to promise anything.”
“I want to. We can make a pact, like we did this week: You hold me accountable, and I’ll help keep you from getting sucked back into the zebrafish vortex.”
“I’ll always need that. The zebrafish vortex is strong.”
“So’s the Livin vortex. Getting out is going to be rough.”
“I know the struggle. But you’ll do it.”
“We’ll do it. Petit à petit.” Mei extended her hand.
“Petit à petit.” They shook on it, then Alexandre took Mei’s other hand.
His heart thumped with nerves. “I’m not sure what you’re thinking about us—if you’re open to dating, or if what happens in Hawai‘i stays in Hawai‘i.” He forced a laugh. “I’ll respect whatever you decide. I meant what I said last night, though. I really care about you. I want to see where this goes.”
Mei stared out at the horizon, the pale sky growing bluer. “I want to be with you, too,” she said quietly.
“But…?” There seemed to be a condition to her statement.
“But maybe we go slow and keep it between us, for now. I hate having secrets, especially from Ali and Luc. I’m just not ready to tell people I’m dating again.”
“I get it. I’m fine with that.” He was. A tiny part of Alexandre was relieved, too. He’d be spared the weirdness of telling Luc he and Mei were seeing each other, at least for a little while. He touched Mei’s cheek. “I’m just happy to be with you.”
She brought her lips to his. “I am, too.”
When they pulled away, Alexandre nodded toward the water. “Feel like a swim?”
“Let’s go.”
They waded into the surf. The cool water gave Alexandre a little shock upon entering. They bobbed out far enough to get a good view of the shoreline while keeping their feet on the sandy bottom. Alexandre gazed at the rustling palms and immaculate white sand, imprinting the image in his mind.
“Taking it all in?” Mei asked.
“I don’t want to forget this view. Or this feeling.”
“Of what it’s like to be alive.”
“Now that you mention it—” Alexandre pushed off the ocean floor, propelling himself backward, taking Mei with him.
She yelped in surprise. Her arms encircled his neck.
Alexandre pulled her close. He savored the softness of her lips, the salt water on his tongue.
Mei’s hands tugged his hair. He nipped her ear.
“Now, this is what it’s like to be alive. ”
They kissed hungrily as the turquoise water lapped their skin and the sun rose higher in the sky.
· · ·
No one was ready to return home. A wistful feeling hung over the gate as they waited, five across in airport chairs.
Maybe Alexandre was projecting, but were Luc and Ali eyeing him and Mei as if they knew something had happened between them?
Alexandre smiled to himself. He wasn’t going to say anything.
Like the last flight, Ali, Luc, and Kaia boarded first. Alexandre and Mei stood up a few minutes later when their zone was called. Like last time, he wheeled her bag. Unlike last time, a new closeness existed between them.
The engine rumbled. The plane gathered speed as it taxied down the runway and lifted into the sky.
Mei pulled Alexandre toward the window. “Check out the view!”
“Wow.” Below them, O‘ahu stood proudly in the glittering ocean. Alexandre spotted Lē‘ahi’s dramatic crater and the vibrant green ridges of the Ko‘olau Range.
“Think we’ll ever come back?” Mei asked.
“Yes.” Alexandre didn’t know why he was so sure. But he was.
They watched O‘ahu disappear in the distance. The Pacific Ocean sparkled, as if waving goodbye.
After dinner service, the cabin lights dimmed. Mei yawned. “All the excitement from the last few days has worn me out.”
“We didn’t sleep much last night,” Alexandre agreed. “Not that I’m complaining.”
Mei poked him playfully. They settled back in their seats, legs entangled under their blankets. Mei rested her head against his arm. A few minutes later, she dozed off.
Alexandre regarded her sleeping form with affection. He was exhausted, but an unfamiliar energy ran through him. Why was he so wired?
Mei stirred and nuzzled against him. Then Alexandre realized: For the first time since leaving Oregon, he wasn’t just plastering on a grin, trying to convince everyone, including himself, that he was happy. Now he was actually content. Genuinely thrilled for the life awaiting him back in New York.
A slow smile spread across his face. Alexandre brushed his lips against Mei’s forehead. Then he leaned back against his headrest and closed his eyes, grateful for the fresh new year that stretched out before him.