Chapter Four
Kelly
Ashriek broke through the humid air, and I turned towards the sound. I saw a woman with dark blonde hair flapping in the water, trying to run back to shore. On instinct, I headed straight for her.
I tried to reach out for her, but she ran full force into my chest. The top of her head reached just below my chin, and I felt myself wrapping my arms around her middle. She looked up at me in a daze, like she didn’t see me coming for her.
Wide golden-brown eyes locked onto mine. For a minute, I felt like I couldn’t breathe as I lost myself in them. She had a light dusting of freckles across her nose, matched with dark eyebrows and eyelashes. Her honey-colored hair was dripping water onto my forearms.
I had no idea how long we had been looking at each other. For all I knew, it could have been five seconds or five years. I swallowed the lump in my throat, preparing to speak and break the spell, when she beat me to it.
“My...my...leg.” She was out of breath as she clutched me tighter. With her body so closely pressed against mine, I felt myself getting hard. Nice, Kelly, great timing.
I tried to think of old ladies in bikinis, an old trick I used in high school, and felt the bulge in my swim trunks deflate, praying she hadn’t noticed.
I glanced down at her leg, looking for injury, but was caught off guard by how long her legs were. My cheeks heated as I noticed how her hot-pink bikini bottoms hugged her curves.
“Jellyfish!” she blurted out, bringing me back to reality. “I got stung by a couple!”
I looked again, now noticing the angry, red sting marks on her left thigh and calf. A breath escaped me that I didn’t even know I’d been holding, making me smile in relief. A few jellyfish stings were far better than what I’d imagined.
“Are you freaking smiling?” she gasped in disgust, wiping the smile instantly off my face as she freed herself from me.
I opened my mouth to say something, anything at all, but I was unable to form any words. I didn’t think we could get any closer until a wave shoved her flush into me. I might have gotten away with it earlier, but this time, she looked down at the spot where our bodies met.
I released her immediately, feeling like a teenager all over again. Her golden eyes stared at me in disgust, and I was certain the blush I’d had earlier was now pure crimson on my face.
Kahale was now at my side and spoke before I got the chance to explain myself.
“Oi, you okay, lady? Did a shark get you?” That had been one of my fears, too.
“Jellyfish,” we said in unison.
“Let’s get you out of the water and take a look.” Kahale took charge.
Why hadn’t I already done that? What the fuck was wrong with me?
I looked over to Emily, Kahale’s wife, and she was looking at us with a concerned frown.
She gave me a thumbs-up in question, and I returned one of my own.
My blind date, whose name I couldn’t remember, was still lying face down, seemingly unconcerned about all the commotion.
It hadn’t surprised me at all that Emily had brought a blind date for me when they had asked if I wanted to join their “last-minute” sunset swim.
When I turned back, Kahale had wrapped an arm around the girl’s waist, helping to guide her the rest of the way to the shore. I suddenly felt jealous of my brother, and I didn’t have a good reason to. I didn’t even know this lady.
Kahale helped her sit, and I noticed a tear running down her cheek. A knot formed in my stomach at the sight of it, and I unexpectedly felt protective of this woman.
“Is it bad?” she asked, her hand hovering over the sting marks.
“I’ve had worse,” Kahale said calmly, but scrunched his face at me.
“I need you to pee on me,” she demanded as her eyes met mine.
“What?” Kahale and I said at the same time.
“I think I read somewhere that you need to pee on jellyfish stings,” she said, completely straight-faced.
I cracked a smile and laughed because there was no way she was serious. She frowned at me and turned her head towards Kahale.
“You,” she pointed at Kahale, “pee on me.” She wiped away the single tear as she seemed to steady herself.
“I don’t know where you read that, but that is not true. That is the dumbest thing I have heard in a long time,” I argued before I could think better of it.
“I’m sorry, are you a doctor?” She bit back. The gold in her eyes looked like molten rock, laced with fury. I caught her looking at the black kākau tattoo on my left bicep, then over to the matching one on Kahale’s.
I was about to open my mouth to tell her that I was a doctor of sorts when Kahale cut in.
“Sure, I’ll pee on you,” he released a deep laugh.
“No, you are not,” my voice was now deep with gravel.
Kahale looked at me, a little surprised. I was not usually the kind to get upset over little things. “You are not in charge of me, brah,” he teased, a cocky smile spreading across his face.
I turned back towards the woman. “You are going to let some stranger pee on you?”
“That’s what you are supposed to do!” she said, as if it were common knowledge.
“It is the ancient Hawaiian way,” Kahale said with a shrug.
“Reese? Reese! Are you okay?” A petite blonde was now running towards us as fast as she could.
Her name was Reese. I didn’t even know how badly I wanted to, no, needed to know her name until I heard it.
“Reese, are you okay?” She wrapped her arms around Reese tightly, as if they might float back out to sea. Despite the height difference, they had some similar characteristics.
“I’m fine, Beth. I just got stung by some jellyfish,” Reese said, pointing down at her leg.
“They got your back, too!” Beth said as she tenderly touched her.
I looked, confirming multiple angry red marks on Reese’s back. Reese noticed me staring and pulled her arms in close, forcing her breasts to push up in her minuscule bikini.
I blushed again, embarrassed by my behavior, and quickly looked away. I was making her feel uncomfortable, and I had been raised better than this.
“Are jellyfish stings deadly? Do you need to go to the ER?” Beth looked slightly panicked.
“I don’t know,” Reese said, much calmer than her counterpart.
“No, they are harmless,” I butted into their conversation, just wanting to smooth the crinkle of worry between Reese’s brows. “They hurt like a bitch, but you’ll live.” I smiled easily.
Reese physically relaxed but didn’t return my smile. “I read you have to pee on jellyfish stings.”
I rolled my eyes. Not this again.
“I don’t think that’s true,” Beth said. Thank goodness, at least she was on my side.
“The best thing you can do is rinse them out in the ocean,” I tried to instruct.
“No, I think someone needs to pee on her. What do you think...” Kahale turned to Beth, clearly not able to remember her name, even though Reese had said it just moments ago.
“I’m Elizabeth. But you can call me Beth.” She smiled brightly.
“I’m Kahale. This is my brother, Kelly.” He gestured to me.
Reese looked from me to Kahale and back again; she looked confused but didn’t say anything.
“Maybe Beth can pee on poor Reese here,” Kahale continued.
“Brah, stop. We’ve lived here our entire lives, and you know that’s not true. If it was, then we’d be peeing on you every other week.”
“Kahale,” Reese spoke, and I was envious that she hadn’t said my name, “if you knew that wasn’t true, then are you just obsessed with pee?”
“I like the drama,” Kahale shrugged innocently.
Beth laughed, but Reese didn’t seem amused. It made me happy that my brother didn’t charm her like he did most people.
“Mahalo, for rescuing my cousin,” Beth said, as if she was testing out the word, making it clear to me that these women were tourists.
“It was my pleasure.” Kahale bowed as if in the presence of royalty. Beth laughed so hard that she snorted. Kahale had always been smooth with women.
“Do you think you can swim?” Beth turned toward Reese. “Maybe the salt water will do some good for it. Then we can go home, and I’ll bet I have some cream that will help.”
Reese nodded her head as she painfully started to stand. She was taller than most women I knew.
Kahale was already heading back up the beach towards his scowling wife, but I was stuck in place, unable to move. I wanted to say something to Reese. Anything to get her golden gaze back on me for a second longer.
Nothing came to mind as she and Beth headed back into the water. I was rooted in place as they lazily swam their way across to the side of the beach where they had set up camp. The golden hour of the sunset illuminated Reese, but she didn’t glance back at me. Not even once.