Chapter 4
Nita
When we get to shore, sputtering and laughing, I plop down and catch my breath. I got pounded by a few waves before I found my stride and was able to swim toward the beach. Way was there with me. He asked me if I wanted to ride on his board while he towed me in, but I shook my head.
I want to prove that I can wipe out and still get up and try again. He was right though, I almost lost my swimsuit. I need one that connects behind my shoulders because the straps didn’t hold up through the header as we took off the surfboard.
“Come on,” he says as he holds out a hand to me. “Let’s go back to my place. I’ll make you some breakfast, let you dry off.”
“I brought my towel.” I walk up the beach and grab my towel and shoes. My key fob is still tucked into my right shoe, which is a relief since the beach is a lot more crowded than when I arrived.
“Wrap it around yourself and we’ll head out,” Way says.
I slip into my shoes and wrap my towel around myself before following him to the parking lot. Way’s Jeep is parked right next to the path that leads from Ke Nui Rd to the beach. He clips his board to the rack attached to the roll bar, then turns back to me.
“Hop in.”
“I have my car,” I say as I point to my little hatchback.
“Where’re you gonna clip a board on that thing?”
I sigh. “It was cheaper to sell my car in Cali and buy a little car here than to ship it over. I didn’t think I’d need an SUV or anything big to get around the island.”
“You can use mine for now, but if you take to this, you’ll need your own stick. You could store it at my house if you need to, but if you…”
“If I what?”
He frowns. “I was going to say if you go out on your own, but I don’t like the thought of you out on the swells by yourself.”
“I’m nowhere near ready for that.”
“Promise you’ll let me decide when you’re ready to go out on your own.”
I nod. Part of the reason I’m doing this is to spend more time with Way, so I have no problem agreeing to that.
“Good.” He gives me a satisfied smile, then opens his passenger door. “Let’s get some breakfast.”
I climb in because, well, more time with Way is more time with Way. When he pulls up to the little house, I smile. “You still have this house?”
“Why would I sell my grandmother’s house?”
“I don’t know. I guess I pictured you in some fancy condo overlooking Hale’iwa beach or something.”
He turns the car off, then shakes his head. “I don’t plan to sell Tutu’s house. I did make some upgrades though.”
“I can tell.”
The last time I came to O'ahu was the summer I was fourteen. Way’s grandmother had still lived here then.
We’d stopped by to see her while we were here on vacation.
It had been clean but dated. Now, there’s a nice white picket fence encircling the property.
The house is a happy yellow instead of a dingy green, but the landscaping is just as beautiful as it was then.
Way’s grandmother loved caring for her garden.
As I follow Way into the house, I see a lot has changed inside as well. The hardwood floors have been refinished and the linoleum has been replaced with tile. The kitchen looks brand new and I imagine he’s updated the bathrooms and bedrooms as well. I try not to think too hard about Way’s bedroom.
“How can I help?” I ask when he starts pulling food out of the fridge.
“Do you want to take a shower to warm up and wash off the sea water?”
I nod, and pinch my lips shut to hold back the words that dance on the tip of my tongue, only if you join me.
He points me to the guest bathroom, which is tiny but has a decent size standing shower. I peel off my wet suit and step into the shower. I laugh when I see he has those mini hotel bottles of shampoo and conditioner in the shower. I bet he took them from the hotel where he works.
It’s not until I’m drying myself with one of his fluffy towels that I realize that I only have a swimsuit to change back into, a swimsuit that’s in a drenched ball in the bathroom sink.
I wrap the towel around myself and crack the door open. “Way?”
“Yeah?”
“Can I borrow some clothes?”
“Sure. Help yourself. My hands are covered in bacon grease.”
I step out of the bathroom and tiptoe down the hall to where I know the master bedroom is located. I move first to the dresser, pulling open drawers to look for something to at least cover myself.
The first drawer I open is filled with socks. The second is filled with boxer briefs. For some reason, this makes me pause. Maybe it’s because I picture Way walking through the room from the master bathroom naked as he seeks out a pair of fresh underwear.
I shake off that thought, but it’s too late. My body reacts, my nipples contract and my pulse beats between my legs. I reach out and touch the soft worn material, the same cloth that’s cupped his cock.
“Nita?”
I pull my hand back as if his underwear burned me. The sharp movement releases the corner of the towel that was tucked between my breasts and it falls to the floor with a wet thump.